So a minister claiming $13,000 in charter flights between capital cites gets the benefit of the doubt, but welfare recipients are left to prove their innocence while being threatened with jail and forced to pay back the debt even while the amount is in dispute. 

The entitlements scandal, which has seen health minister Sussan Ley resign, is also fully deserved. The government had plenty of opportunity fix the current system which allows politicians to claim expenses for the flimsiest of reasons.

The government failed to act on the recommendations of a review into entitlements after the Brownyn Bishop “choppergate” scandal, despite it being one of the issues which annoyed voters the most. 

A government with any understanding of the political mood of the electorate would have known ignoring the report would come back to bite them, and bite them hard. But given you have government ministers such as Steven Ciobo suggesting voters “expect” politicians to claim travel entitlements to attend sporting events, understanding the political mood would not seem to be one of the government’s strengths.

That it took this scandal for the prime minister to announce he will implement the recommendations of the review and also introduce an independent authority suggests he is a leader very good at closing the door after the horse has bolted.

That the latest scandal also involves a minister using a Comcar to buy a $795,000 investment property only makes it more deserved given the Turnbull government has fought against any measures to water down negative gearing and attack housing affordability. 

Having a minister claim entitlements while buying an investment property is probably the best example of an out of touch government as you could imagine. About the only better example would be a minister claiming entitlements to attend a polo event. But that would just be too much of a caricature to believe. 

Oh hello, Julie Bishop. 

There is however one silver lining for the government on this whole awful start to the year. Normally a government would be caught off guard by a having senior minister resign. Fortunately this government has Arthur Sinodinos, who already has experience of standing aside from a ministerial role while facing a corruption investigation, ready to step in and take over Ley’s role. 

Experience matters at such times.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2017/jan/15/the-governm...

A previous trip from Friday to Sunday at the start of July 2013 cost taxpayers $4,563, and a similar trip in May 2012 cost $4,831. The total cost of the five trips was $23,088.

However, a spokeswoman for Cormann jumped to the defence of the finance minister, saying all of his expenses on the trips to Broome were completely legitimate and always appropriately declared.

“Senator Cormann’s job as a senator for Western Australia necessarily involves travel across his very large electorate to attend functions and meet with constituents, business and community stakeholders,” the spokeswoman told Fairfax Media.

“Inevitably, much of the travel and attendance at functions and events in the electorate, whether in Perth or across regional WA, occurs Fridays to Sundays, when Senator Cormann has returned back to his home state from interstate parliamentary work commitments.”

The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has announced he will overhaul the parliamentary entitlements system by establishing a new independent body to oversee MPs’ expense claims.

read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jan/15/mathias-cormann-d...