“My internet, like many in semi-rural areas, was previously unreliable which interfered with my ability to perform my parliamentary and Ministerial duties.”
He lives on the farking Gold Coast!
1 Like
lol technically what he said isn’t wrong, he never actually said he lived in a semi-rural area.
3 Likes
I’m sorry, but an assistant treasurer who just accepts that these sorts of prices are ok, and are just the way it is, has no right to be part of governing the country. Didn’t ever occur to him to check it out? Hasn’t he ever spoken to anyone else who has a farking net connection? How the hell did he think joe average affords the internet? The guy is at best a lazy, entitled farkwit, and at worst an “I don’t give a fark what price the people pay as long as someone is making a big quid carnt” who should be publicly flogged and sent to the manus island gulag. And given this is the same cretin that spent nearly 17k on personalised stationary in 6 months, and the same cretin that has to resign from parliament for numerous code of conduct breaches, I’m going for the latter.
7 Likes
Tossers background is in, … guess what??
Farking IT. 
2 Likes
There are various kinds of farmers. The dairy industry should be isolated in discussions. There are people farming that should not be, especially if they have kept stock and have no way of feeding their animals because of drought. The drought did not occur overnight. They should have de-stocked quite some time ago. The way the weather is monitored and the accuracy of forecasting it these days means that the farmers allegedly caught out by it at the moment tells me they took a gamble and have lost. I don’t begrudge the donations of fodder because the animals need to eat or should be sold off and or slaughtered but donations of money to farmers is bullshit. Social security for farmers is the same value as the dole so a pittance which will feed the family but certainly not cover the many costs associated with the stewardship of the land. They need to go to the banks. I know many farmers would already be indebted to the bank, running a huge overdraft but that is the risk/gamble they take. If they cannot operate without raising capital that way, then it is their own fault if they go belly up. The weather is the weather, and always will be. You are correct though, in my opinion, that they are just another business and why should they get subsidies left, right and centre?
That is another debate because we are talking about food production. Very complex, I believe.
No negligence on the part of public servants. The issue is the unaccountability of the pollies, who are not subject to the strict conditions of service of public servants.
The IPEA role is limited to transparency.
Many of you throw around terms like rort and thief etc with abandon. I don’t know anything about this blokes competency, but all the Pollies I know have staff who check allowances, if their is mistake then correct it.
I have always argued if any public servant including politicians breaks the law and makes an illegal gain then the Federal Police need to investigate and charge them as required.
None of us really know the full details of any of these newspaper driven events.
I get you don’t like politicians but they are a mere reflection of all of us.
This is absolute nonsense.
It’s so much nonsense that I don’t even know where to start with the nonsense of it.
3 Likes
If it is his staffs fault, then it is still his fault
1 Like
Why would you bother to defend this guy, though, who has already been sacked once before for accepting pretty shady benefits.
I disagree that party politicians are a reflection of us all.
Party politicians have to be prepared to give up on their own principles and opinions for the sake of party solidarity and fealty to the faceless men like Michael ■■■■■■■ Kroger, Joe whateverhisnameis from the Shop Assistants Union and to kiss some highly major league buttockage to get preselected.
A lot of independents are Grade A nutbags and malcontents, but there are plenty of decent, honourable people. Lots of douchebags too.
1 Like
It’s his personal home internet account.
His staff have ■■■■ all to do with it!
2 Likes
I could see a guy like this getting his staff to act as his personal assistants. Either way the buck stops with him.
Classic Westminster principle. You can’t blame your subordinates.
1 Like
I am more intrigued that in the current world of telecommunications, this person doesn’t have unlimited internet.
1 Like
They don’t offer that in remote areas like the Gold Coast.
6 Likes
The only people I know who don’t have unlimited are old people who don’t use the internet…
or in this case a politician who runs our country.
2 Likes
Especially when your subordinates acts benefit you directly.
I think it’s just complacency - it’s not his money, so of course he doesn’t need or care enough to get a competitive internet deal.
The media have reported a fact, publicly available to all, of his expenditure. I’m not going to trawl through that data. So I welcome the media doing the slog research and bringing it to public attention.
1 Like