Politics Super Thread - keep it all in here

[Yossarian]

Is it just me or this new government doing everything it can to get the voters offside?

Expense rorts
now "I read it on Wikipedia"

far out. These people are supposed to be experienced, educated leaders right??

Claiming personal expenses would see anybody else fired from their job.
Quoting Wikipedia would see a student, academic or professional expelled or fired.

I bet you would be happy if he stated "I read it on the Wests Tigers Forum"???

The WTF is probably on a whole more accurate!

 

[Glen_McWilliams]

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/23/australias-debt-ceiling-the-right-decision-but-with-a-touch-of-irony

Greg Jericho is well worth reading. His blog 'Grog's Gamut' is worth a look too http://grogsgamut.blogspot.com.au/ Good to read thoughts on economics from someone who actually understands the subject.
Another blog I'm enjoying is 'Politically Homeless' by Andrew Elder http://andrewelder.blogspot.com.au/

 

[Winnipeg]

Is it just me or this new government doing everything it can to get the voters offside?

Expense rorts
now "I read it on Wikipedia"

far out. These people are supposed to be experienced, educated leaders right??

Claiming personal expenses would see anybody else fired from their job.
Quoting Wikipedia would see a student, academic or professional expelled or fired.

They don't have to explain themselves to the likes of you.

More rorts… Too good for business class:

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/senior-mps-vip-travel-cost-2m-20131026-2w8pm.html

Remember when Abbott said he wanted to show respect for taxpayers money?

This is not going to look good when their commission of audit starts recommending cuts left right and centre.

 

[happy_tiger]

Is it just me or this new government doing everything it can to get the voters offside?

Expense rorts
now "I read it on Wikipedia"

far out. These people are supposed to be experienced, educated leaders right??

Claiming personal expenses would see anybody else fired from their job.
Quoting Wikipedia would see a student, academic or professional expelled or fired.

Can I put this another way to show the hypocrisy of some people's argument ??

So I go to Brisbane / Gold Coast for a conference and I catch up with family while I'm down there

Should that mean I shouldn't claim that trip back through the ATO as an expense ??

In many of the cases that people are claiming has occurred this is what has happened , they were going to a wedding /conference / something linked to their position and while they are their have attended weddings , whatever it may be

So its OK for the commoner , not OK for the pollie

I have actually gone to a Broncos v Tigers game in 2002 which happened on the same weekend as a conference I was attending and still claimed the expenses involved ( the conference that is ,not the game )

 

[system]

Is it just me or this new government doing everything it can to get the voters offside?

Expense rorts
now "I read it on Wikipedia"

far out. These people are supposed to be experienced, educated leaders right??

Claiming personal expenses would see anybody else fired from their job.
Quoting Wikipedia would see a student, academic or professional expelled or fired.

Can I put this another way to show the hypocrisy of some people's argument ??

So I go to Brisbane / Gold Coast for a conference and I catch up with family while I'm down there

Should that mean I shouldn't claim that trip back through the ATO as an expense ??

In many of the cases that people are claiming has occurred this is what has happened , they were going to a wedding /conference / something linked to their position and while they are their have attended weddings , whatever it may be

So its OK for the commoner , not OK for the pollie

I have actually gone to a Broncos v Tigers game in 2002 which happened on the same weekend as a conference I was attending and still claimed the expenses involved ( the conference that is ,not the game )

Happy it depends. If you had planned on visiting the family but then 'invented' a reason to go there for business purposes then yes you should not be entitled to deduct the expenses.

For the same reason the ATO has been cracking down on deductions for conferences in exotic locations.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

 

[happy_tiger]

As long as you go to the conference ,participate in the conference and it is legitimately going to be beneficial to your business / work there shouldn't be an issue

 

[Kul]

As long as you go to the conference ,participate in the conference and it is legitimately going to be beneficial to your business / work there shouldn't be an issue

yep.

I flew to Melb for a week last month for work.

I met up with a mate for dinner. I claimed the meal, i didn't claim the beers or anything else that was 'personal'

this is fair imo

 

[system]

As long as you go to the conference ,participate in the conference and it is legitimately going to be beneficial to your business / work there shouldn't be an issue

That is a lot of ifs.

I think you will find the libs rorting wouldnt satisfy any of those conditions.

The reality is that the Libs have a born to rule mentality and it is why they think such conduct is acceptable. Same reason why Abbott thinks denigrating a previous government to a foreign newspaper is acceptable.

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

 

[Yossarian]

Is it just me or this new government doing everything it can to get the voters offside?

Expense rorts
now "I read it on Wikipedia"

far out. These people are supposed to be experienced, educated leaders right??

Claiming personal expenses would see anybody else fired from their job.
Quoting Wikipedia would see a student, academic or professional expelled or fired.

Can I put this another way to show the hypocrisy of some people's argument ??

So I go to Brisbane / Gold Coast for a conference and I catch up with family while I'm down there

Should that mean I shouldn't claim that trip back through the ATO as an expense ??

In many of the cases that people are claiming has occurred this is what has happened , they were going to a wedding /conference / something linked to their position and while they are their have attended weddings , whatever it may be

So its OK for the commoner , not OK for the pollie

I have actually gone to a Broncos v Tigers game in 2002 which happened on the same weekend as a conference I was attending and still claimed the expenses involved ( the conference that is ,not the game )

The problem is that the primary purpose of the trip was a wedding. If I go to WImbledon and spend 30 minutes discussing work with someone between games, it doesn't turn it into a business trip. You can't really suggest the wedding trips were for genuine work purposes and the wedding just happened to be taking place conveniently at the same time and nearby.

It's a rort - even they know it is a rort.

In your example the expenses of getting there and staying for the conference are certainly a legitimate expense. I've stayed on after work conferences myself - so long as you pay for the post-conference acommodation/expenses and the flight costs aren't unreasonably pushed up then I have no problem with that. That is not what happened with the pollies though.

 

[system]

Is it just me or this new government doing everything it can to get the voters offside?

Expense rorts
now "I read it on Wikipedia"

far out. These people are supposed to be experienced, educated leaders right??

Claiming personal expenses would see anybody else fired from their job.
Quoting Wikipedia would see a student, academic or professional expelled or fired.

Can I put this another way to show the hypocrisy of some people's argument ??

So I go to Brisbane / Gold Coast for a conference and I catch up with family while I'm down there

Should that mean I shouldn't claim that trip back through the ATO as an expense ??

In many of the cases that people are claiming has occurred this is what has happened , they were going to a wedding /conference / something linked to their position and while they are their have attended weddings , whatever it may be

So its OK for the commoner , not OK for the pollie

I have actually gone to a Broncos v Tigers game in 2002 which happened on the same weekend as a conference I was attending and still claimed the expenses involved ( the conference that is ,not the game )

I put every football game, flights, car hire, accommodation etc either as a business expense or a deduction through the Trusts.

Everyone does it!

_Posted using RoarFEED 2013_

 

[Winnipeg]

Can I put this another way to show the hypocrisy of some people's argument ??

So I go to Brisbane / Gold Coast for a conference and I catch up with family while I'm down there

Should that mean I shouldn't claim that trip back through the ATO as an expense ??

In many of the cases that people are claiming has occurred this is what has happened , they were going to a wedding /conference / something linked to their position and while they are their have attended weddings , whatever it may be

So its OK for the commoner , not OK for the pollie

I have actually gone to a Broncos v Tigers game in 2002 which happened on the same weekend as a conference I was attending and still claimed the expenses involved ( the conference that is ,not the game )

I realise that travel is a part of life for politicians and that mayyybe they should be able to claim it, despite their more than adequate salaries. And that there are a few grey areas here and there where people on either side of politics could conceivably do the wrong thing unknowingly.

However, there are a few things that irk me about the current situation.

In the election the coalition made a big deal of Labor waste, and how they would show better respect to taxpayer money. After the election they made a big deal of Abbott staying at the AFP headquarters while the Lodge was being renovated, and Julie Bishop flying business class instead of first class to New York.

Yet Abbott doesn't see anything wrong with charging taxpayers for his charity events? How is it charity if he is being paid? Charity is about donating your time for no reward, not clocking on and taking home a pay cheque.

 

[Kul]

The huge cuts to CSIRO announced today infurriates me.
One of the most highly regarded scientific institutions in the world with a history of proven results, yet Abbott thinks Science Research is "a waste"

Imagine a world without WiFi.

:deadhorse: :deadhorse:

 

[Saturnalia]

The huge cuts to CSIRO announced today infurriates me.
One of the most highly regarded scientific institutions in the world with a history of proven results, yet Abbott thinks Science Research is "a waste"

Imagine a world without WiFi.

:deadhorse: :deadhorse:

You seem surprised that a PM who didn't appoint a science minister has slashed scientific resources?

But that's ok, because Jesus will solve the energy and ageing population issues.

 

[pHyR3]

The huge cuts to CSIRO announced today infurriates me.
One of the most highly regarded scientific institutions in the world with a history of proven results, yet Abbott thinks Science Research is "a waste"

Imagine a world without WiFi.

:deadhorse: :deadhorse:

what a backwards idiot…..

how bad were the cuts?

also what happened with the education cuts? is it still money from uni going to schools? doesnt make things that much better...

 

[magpiecol]

The huge cuts to CSIRO announced today infurriates me.
One of the most highly regarded scientific institutions in the world with a history of proven results, yet Abbott thinks Science Research is "a waste"

Imagine a world without WiFi.

:deadhorse: :deadhorse:

what a backwards idiot…..

how bad were the cuts?

also what happened with the education cuts? is it still money from uni going to schools? doesnt make things that much better...

A little bit of decorum would not go astray. I know that you probably learned your diatribe from the previous rabble but please. As for the cuts, some of you people do not seem to get the fact that with all the spending previously, someone has to pay for it.

More cuts please Mr Abbott starting with the ABC.

I worked for the Federal Government for 20 years and all expense claims went to the relevant section for approval. If they were approved you were paid if they were not approved, then you were not paid.

That section was the same one that approved Ms. Gillard;s claim for an RAAF jet to fly her to a wedding.

You lost big time, get over it.

 

[Kul]

The huge cuts to CSIRO announced today infurriates me.
One of the most highly regarded scientific institutions in the world with a history of proven results, yet Abbott thinks Science Research is "a waste"

Imagine a world without WiFi.

:deadhorse: :deadhorse:

what a backwards idiot…..

how bad were the cuts?

also what happened with the education cuts? is it still money from uni going to schools? doesnt make things that much better...

A little bit of decorum would not go astray. I know that you probably learned your diatribe from the previous rabble but please. As for the cuts, some of you people do not seem to get the fact that with all the spending previously, someone has to pay for it.

More cuts please Mr Abbott starting with the ABC.

I worked for the Federal Government for 20 years and all expense claims went to the relevant section for approval. If they were approved you were paid if they were not approved, then you were not paid.

That section was the same one that approved Ms. Gillard;s claim for an RAAF jet to fly her to a wedding.

You lost big time, get over it.

Make cuts by all means, but not with succesful things like CSIRO

Scientific research programs take years to mature from the initial concept phase through pilot studies, broader testing then finally commerical realisation.

CSIRO isn't some airey-fairy idealist government department. It's a highly successful institute with proven results over decades.

With a budget of $757m (governent funding) it has been able to suppliment its revenue by $548m licensing patents, goods and services developed over years/decades. It is about to embark on its second-tier WiFi patent action against companies like Motorola after easily winning its third-tier court battle, netting BILLIONS. After that it will take on the big guns like Apple, Samsung, etc.

In a time where the economy is weak and the books have to be balanced, why cut off the hand that feeds you? If anything, funding to the CSIRO should be increased, divierting funds from elsewhere if need be.

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day…

If cuts need to be made, make them with non-performing things, starting with welfare to bogans.
We waste billions propping up lazy people on the dole. Middle class welfare is a joke.

So, what's better?
Cut funding to smart scientists who are MAKING money, or cut funding to the gronks who live at the pub and on the pokies?

 

[hammertime]

I agree with you Kul, I'm really not sure what Abbott is trying to achieve here. For Australia to continue to have a competitve edge over other countries in the future, it needs to be in intellectual fields like Science and Technology.

We have to make cuts somewhere, but this isn't what I would have picked.

I honestly think we need to raise the GST. But no one is going to touch that.

 

[stryker]

Gotta laugh at this crap about intelligence gathering. The Indo's have a bloody hide carrying on like they are. If they want to downgrade their relationship with us then we should downgrade our foreign aid to them. We have to keep an eye on them. Ozzy tourists have been targeted and murdered over there. They turn a blind eye as thousands of men women and children risk their lives to leave the shores for ours in leaky boats. Their military have committed atrocities in neighbouring countries. They have to be watched. Now we have the disgraceful greens and the yellow bellied Labor leader attacking Abbott! Hopefully Tony sticks to his guns on this issue. No apology is warranted and should not be given.

 

[Tiger_Watto]

Bloody Oath… One should only apologies if you are sorry and on this occasion, we are not sorry. We will continue to collect intelligence data on any head of state we choose. As if they didn't know... We have a Signals Office based in Canberra. Did they think they were collecting data on behalf of Telstra???

If anything, the Indo FM should be apologising to us for playing this out in the media along with his leaking of data about the boat people... Did good old BangBang lose Tony's Email Address???

 

[Glen_McWilliams]

Election year in Indonesia.