By Neil Hogan
I think the time has finally arrived where we call all politicians for what they have become: parasites.
They will not change their ways until we ‘force’ them to change their ways, so I suggest we all become active players in the game of politics. Namely, as many people as possible should turn up whenever a politician is going to make a public announcement or simply appear in public – no matter which party they represent – and we make our presence seen and our voices heard. Call them for what they have become, as in ‘self-interested parasites’ until they prove otherwise. And to do this we expect they advocate for a Federal ICAC, and politician’s entitlements and expenses in line with standard business practices.
Why should they be able to:
a) be paid $270 per night to stay away from home in a house that is family owned (and probably negatively geared)
b) retire from politics (or not be re-elected) and claim their superannuation while being in other paid employment
c) retire from politics leave and immediately take up a position as a political adviser or political lobbyist. There should be at least a 5-year gap before that can happen.
d) claim expenses to attend sporting events. If various sporting bodies want them to attend events, then either let the sporting body pay for it or they pay for it themselves
e) claim expenses to attend an event as a speaker. If the event wants them as a speaker, again, either let the event pay for it or they pay for it themselves.
f) use anything apart from normal economy travel to attend duties in their line of work as a politician. Most businesses expect their employees to take the ‘best flight of the day’, which means they take the cheapest flight available, and no preference for a particular airline.
These are just a few of the perks that politicians abuse and I’m sure there are many more that could be added to the list, and it’s up to us to highlight them all.
This form of protest really needs to be an organised attack and maybe the Australian Unemployed Workers Union is just the right organisation to handle it. I would imagine that anyone on Newstart – which is very topical at the moment – should only be too happy to be a voice in this protest for change.
We do have a voice and we all should use it to bring about change that is fair and acceptable.
At the moment it is not fair. And it is certainly not acceptable.
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