When the Labour Government of Helen Clark was preaching economic responsibility and restraint to the rest of us, little did we know that Chris Carter was shouting his partner and Jonathan 'Billy Bunter' Hunt to a slap up meal in a London restaurant. The cost to the taxpayer ? A 'mere' $632.00.
Obviously a curry and a beer was just too 'downmarket' for these plonkers to even contemplate.
These are the same people who grandstand about every minor infringement of benefit claims but they have obviously been fiddling their expenses for years.
And its just not one or two of them. Everyone seems to have been at it.
Jim Anderton spent $620 on a massage and some spa treatment. This is not a good look for someone who has recently been attacking Mayor Sideshow Bob Parker about the reckless spending of the Christchurch City Council.
Judith Tizard spent some $150 on a bottle of Bollinger champagne.
While former Finance Minister Michael Cullen was resisting calls to raise the minimum wage he was spending $1500 wining and dining his Australian counterpart.
Parekura Horomia likes eating out a lot. He seems to have a fondness for Chinese food. He spent $750 bill at the Grand Century Chinese Restaurant in Wellington. That's a whole lot of fried rice. Unbelievably Horomia has defended his spending!
As Clayton Cosgrove once berated me for being ''a socialist' , I was fascinated to see that he spent $1,674 on just one suit, and $712 on a taxi trip.
These people are, frankly, spitting in our faces. They are already on unacceptably massive salaries to begin with (not to mention the shares and assets they've got locked away in trusts) so why does someone like Trevor Mallard think its ok to bill the taxpayer for a $1200 limousine trip?
Why does the Minister of Trade Tim Groser think the taxpayer should fund his drinking?
The New Zealand economy is failing and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. But all our 'parliamentary representatives' can do is feed their faces and fill their boots - while demanding we plebs make 'sacrifices.'
Goff's response was predictable as it was cynical. 'Demotion' for Jones, Carter, and Ririnui - whatever that means.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly doesn't mean for-going a cushy parliamentary salary. It's little more than a slap on the wrist followed by business as usual.
I expect that Jones and Ririnui will be 'promoted' again after a suitable period in the 'dogbox'. Carter may of blown his chances though after playing hide and seek with the media yesterday. He seems to have forgotten that when you are in a hole its a sensible idea to stop digging.
ReplyDeleteBut there are other serial offenders like Clayton Cosgrove for instance who have avoided a public dressing down. Where's the consistency by Goff?
There's been a lot of chest-beating by Goff but very little in the way of initiating significant change to the rules surrounding expenses. A couple of symbolic 'demotions' here and there, as long as the rules don't change it seems.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Mr. Cosgrove could lead the charge against his own party in the same way he did against 'boy racers'?