THE NOT SO HONOURABLE MEMBERS

'I think in terms of the work expenses we're talking about, where people seek reimbursement for items to do with doing their job on an actual and reasonable basis, we've got a system that is transparent in terms of how it all works,'

'We also have a system of making sure internally that those claims are checked to make sure that they're reasonable before they go through. - Darren Hughes, Labour whip, June 2

After five days the Minister of Finance has bowed to public indignation and is now going to pay back half of the accommodation money he swindled from the taxpayer.

Bill English who has been telling us to all cut back our spending and, like his parliamentary colleagues complains about every little benefit infringement, has been exposed actively and knowingly fiddling his expenses - although he has sanctimoniously told us that he hasn't broken any rules. Welcome to the Bill English School of Creative Accountancy.

His decision to pay back some of the money - and no doubt the Prime Minister has leaned on him to do this - is simply designed to take the heat off himself and his government - and judging by their deafening silence on this issue, all the opposition parties as well.

Next up is the 'review' of MP's expenses, another blatant attempt to sweep this issue under the carpet.

What English has been doing got British MPs sacked. Not in this country though.

Of course we couldn't have expected Wide Boy Bill to admit to sponging off the taxpayer but neither does he appear particularly apologetic about what he has been caught doing. English would only go as far that it 'was a bad look'. Well, next time a poor beneficiary gets caught reecieving a few more measly dollars than they are 'entitled' to can they just claim it's 'a bad look' and there will be no consequences? Yeah, right.

English is not the only rip off merchant at work of course - all the parliamentary MPs appear to be at it .

Labour MP Chris Carter - who is suddenly unavailable to speak to the media- has been jetsetting around the world with his partner courtesy of us. He spent in excess of $200,000 during the first half of 2008. This included $83,000 on international travel, $83,000 travelling in limos, taxis and rental cars, $23,000 on domestic air fares and about $20,000 on accommodation. What's he been doing with all those air points he's stacked up?

It was left to Labour whip Darren Hughes to field questions from the media. He looked uncomfortable on the television news and rightly so - after all, he charged over $40,000 to the taxpayer last year for residing in a ritzy hotel opposite the Beehive.

Of course Darren Hughes and Labour were opposed to any public release of any details about MPs expenses. In early June Hughes told Radio New Zealand:

'I think in terms of the work expenses we're talking about, where people seek reimbursement for items to do with doing their job on an actual and reasonable basis, we've got a system that is transparent in terms of how it all works,'

'We also have a system of making sure internally that those claims are checked to make sure that they're reasonable before they go through.'

Either Hughes is stupid or he was just going a snow job - or both.

Only the tip of the iceberg has been exposed on this scandal.

It's apparent that cocooned within the Beehive, our 'parliamentary representatives' are completely detached from the lives of ordinary people.

Some sixteen years ago, the estranged Italian wife of a high-living nursing home manager complained to the police that she was not getting her fair share of his kickbacks.

That earned her a mention in Italian history books and touched off the 'Clean Hands 'investigation that ended up exposing corruption so vast that payoffs were found to have routinely doubled the cost of public works projects. Bribes from companies big and small, it became apparent, financed political parties.

Prosecutors went after thousands of officials and businesspeople from all over Italy, and eventually brought down the country's top political parties and they have subsequently disappeared altogether.

Unfortunately that's not going to happen to our establishment parties and, again, we are reminded that we lack a genuine mass workers party.

Under such a party there would be no excessive salaries. No official, no member of representative and legislative bodies, no individual exercising a state power, should receive a salary higher than that of a skilled worker. That is the only valid method of preventing people from seeking public office as a way of feathering their nests and sponging on society, the only valid way to get rid of the careerists and the parasites.