On a recent tax-payer funded world tour, the Minister For Impulse Buying And Medicare, Ms Susssan Leybor’s-Faultneway sold Medicare.
A spokesman for the Minister told us: “It wasn’t a planned sale. She just happened to be on her way back from Paris where she went to make an announcement on the health benfits of climbing the Eiffel Tower when she stopped in New York to check if there were any stakeholders living in that part of the world and a man approached her, asking her if she had any public health systems that she wanted to sell. The sale wasn’t planned or anticipated and all travel was within entitlements unlike those greedy people who mislead Centrelink and need to pay it back.”
When asked about it, the PM refered people to the Minister’s statement fifteen times before being pressed what this did to his complaints about Labor’s Mediscare campaign. He reminded us that he wasn’t responsible for any actual policies so couldn’t be held accountable if promises were seemingly broken. “Look, I haven’t made a decision apart from what colour tie I wear since 2009, so it’s really nothing to do with me!”
With Labor calling for the decision to be overturned, the Deputy PM took the front foot and began talking about something else entirely in the hope that he might once again remind us that this was not the sort of thing that voters cared about. “When I’m stopped in the street, people have totally different concerns from the Canberra elites. They’re not asking about things like same sex marriage or climate change or Safe Schools. They know that I can’t explain these things. They want to know how I manage to keep so calm when faced with Labor’s bloody mindedness everyday. They want to know how to put food on the table which I can explain because it’s a simple matter of taking it from the fridge or stove and placing it on that four-legged item of furniture with chairs around it.”
When it was further revealed that the sale was to a Coalition donor, a spokesman for the government assured us that there was nothing unusual in that. “You’ll find that nearly all of our sales are to donors of the Party. Frankly, they’re the only ones who can afford it, so I don’t see why it should be a problem in this particular case. I suspect that it’s only because the minister is a woman. Next you’ll be asking how many shoes she bought on the trip and making all sorts of sexist suggestions about female ministers, which is just absurd because the PM has increased the number of women in Cabinet by 400%.”
The actual minister concerned was unavailable, having decided to spend time actually having a close look at her investment property in the Gold Coast. The spokesman explained that she was unable to have a close inspection when she purchased it, as she was busy with official business, but now that she’d sold of most of her portfolio, she had plenty of time on her hands.
It must be wonderful to have so much at your fingertips that you can buy and sell on a whim. Anyone for monopoly?
Lov-e-lly Rossleigh! (Not you, your satire! 🙂
You’ve expertly picked up several threads on how corrupt and ludicrous the Snoozen Ley debacle is!
dear oh dear rossleigh,
Suss on everthing is true to the government policy of NOT privatising. Consequently, she did not sell medicare, she merely leased the centrelink operations of medicare till 2116.
It is quite disingenuous to suggest she undertook the would tour for any other reason than to boost her investment property payment above her normal $273 per day.
As for earlier travel it is important to deliver announcements as close as possible to cities where she can take advantage of any opportunities. Similarly, her husband (oops partner) carries a blank bank cheque to cover any deposit requirements.
ps an announcement re the tower eiffel is expected soon.
You lefties are just jealous, Ms Susssan loves flying; it keeps her elated and don’t you just love that big smile of hers…
Womanly multitasking, that’s all, flying, and buying….
Bravo, Helvi.
Hilarious! 🙂
So Ms Ley is unmarried and barren too then ? Goodness, that makes two of them in the LNP, it must be OK now. Julia will be pleased.
Too much serendipity for me.
Sussan has 3 children, her marrige ended in 2004.
Does it matter if Sussan Ley bought her new QLD apartment by accident or planned it in advance? More importantly, why is it appropriate for politicians to fly across the country to make announcements about federal programs at all? What specific relevance to Brisbane was there in the announcement about changes to the PBS? Anyway, Ley just happened to be in QLD and bought an apartment while she was there. I reckon we should try to get more political announcements made in Melbourne. We’d sell all our luxury apartments by accident in no time.
Blueprint LNP policy making!
OzFenric
“Ley just happened to be in QLD and bought an apartment”
She can buy anything she likes but don’t get the taxpayer to fund your and your partner’s trip, in order to buy.
I have a couple of questions;
If she was just making an announcement, why was it necessary for her to take her partner ( funded by the tax payer)?
Was she just in QLD and it was an accident that an LNP donor just happen to be selling an apartment?
How can you buy an apartment without prior knowledge of its existence….does not seem to ring true.
as I said before too much serendipity.
When you are a government Minister there are any number of people offering you attractive loans at very concessional terms, some don’t even have to be repaid but there is a cost.
Liberal Party seems to reward barren woman. Another was Vanstone. More questions need to be asked about the unit. It is said she bought it off a big LNP donor? Will it be another negative geared unit, saving capital gains tax exercise.
What are the “stakeholders” she talks about. Who are they, what do they do? Goes across the world to meet them.
Another classic! I was just thinking this morning how when it comes to women in parliament or indeed the cabinet, the Coalition sticks to its principles and awards on merit. Because that is the right way to do things in Coalition land. Quotas? Pah – more leftist social engineering. And of course the same rules of promotion on merit, not quotas, apply when determining how many Nationals should be in cabinet because otherwise they would be exposed as being complete and utter hypocrites…
Australians’ best interests are being betrayed as a matter of LNP policy
They work for us but our only supervisory role is to elect them every three years. No wonder they behave like a troop of monkeys in a supermarket. It looks like we need an alert keeper with a long cane, a 303 and a couple of kelpies to ensure order.
In this era of gross corruption, blind self interest, unrestrained lobbying and media manipulation, our form of democracy apparently can no longer function adequately. Perhaps it is time to look at systems of direct democracy such as the system used in Switzerland?
Proportional representation voting would also be a step in the right direction as steady progress towards removing the tainted duopoly could be made with each election cycle. A vote for a minor party would no longer be seen as a wasted vote. If and when parties showed themselves to be corrupt or incompetent they simply lose their voter base.
One of your best yet, Rossleigh.
whether vanstone or ley is barren or not is irrelevant to the discussion. Putting this “information” into the discussion is indicative of the australian mind which is not mature enough to respect women.
Well said, keerti.
Ley bought the property at auction. Only registered bidders can bid on the day. She is lying.
Despite Ley’s poor choice in Party politics to represent, I have previously considered her one of the less stupid of the LNP menagerie.
However, Kaye’s latest revelation on top of the other inconsistencies in Ley’s story, just goes to show what a nong she is for thinking she could cover it up.
Why didn’t she come clean earlier? No doubt buying time in the futile hope to win public liking (while conducting cuts to Medicare).
Now she’ll come a double-whammy cropper.
Rossleigh, you are full of shit if you seriously expect your dear readers to believe that the prime minister chooses his own tie. I mean seriously mate, we may be dumb, but we’re not stupid.
@JMS. Maybe she would have missed out on re-election by her actions being compared and combined with choppergate. That would have been another fine mess now, wouldn’t it.
Great work Rossleigh.
Correct me if I am wrong, don’t you have to pay the property price on the day of the auction if you are the successful bidder? If so how do you know how much money is required to arrange a mortgage? Surely this could not have been an impulse buy.
With today’s electronic media, why not make the announcement from Canberra, especially as cheaper commercial flights were not available.
By the way, enough of the comments about women’s (or men’s) marital status or their fertility, irrelevant and not on.
If the Auction was held at the premises – De Ville Apartments, then getting there requires a very deliberate act. It’s not on the main highway and it’s not a location you just stumble upon.
Work was over. so it became somewhat of a ‘Lay Day’. Or should that be a ‘Ley Day’? Seems very Suss …
Methinks, > Suss</strong an has some explaining to do.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/De+Ville+Apartments/@-27.9752804,153.4275464,19z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x4dc70c200669ec7f!8m2!3d-27.9752804!4d153.4280936
There seems to be a new LNP policy announcement due? All LNP politicians will increase their property portfolios while still in office! This will “help” the ECONOMY by taking more top end apartments off the market so those pesky Chinese investors have to go elsewhere?
Remember when Alan jones made that awful speech about Julia Gillards dad dying of shame, Ley was in attendance and said she never heard the speech because she wasn’t paying attention and there was to much noise and laughter.
I remember reading the transcript (which I can’t find anymore, ..funny that ?) and in it Jones was talking directly to Ley from up on the stage about her involvement with the MDB authority. Mayhap she has a hearing problem or mayhap she just lied. Suss is fast becoming her trademark.
P.S. fyi; Ley is pronounced Lee, by the way.
If I ever end up living in an apartment blog, I’d rather have pesky Chinese as my neighbours,rather than cackling Liberals on the floor above…
She sure is a bit suss.
This reminds me of how Julie Bishop somehow always managed to be in Sydney or Melbourne for official business on those very days her beloved football team was playing in those same cities, or how Joe Hockey likewise used official business as an excuse to transport his family to inspect his Hobby Farm in Queensland but tried to cover his tracks by using a hire car for the last leg of the journey.
Joe used to label everyone as “lifters” or “leaners” but politicians have their own way of “lifting” from the Public Purse.
The trough is deep, the snouts are many and we taxpayers are expected to keep it topped up and just look away.
It’s no wonder nobody is listening to them any more.
On property auctions from the Queensland Government website:
“Registered bidders
If you want to bid:
ask the auctioneer if there have been late changes to the contract (they must announce the terms at the start of the auction too)
ask any questions you have about the property
register with the auctioneer.
Only registered bidders can bid on the day. The auctioneer will give you a unique identifier such as a numbered paddle.”
She chose the spelling. I choose the pronunciation. If she wants to be a ‘Lee’, then she knows what to do. Until then, the she will be pronounced as ‘Ley’ as in ‘Hey’!
FYI. She was christened Susan – she added the extra ‘s’. Something to do with Feng Shui I believe.
Nice to know we have a Health Minister who believes in such nonsense. Perhaps she will add Feng Shui to the PBS? Helps with the ‘mental health’ I’m told – by a duly registered idiot.
Thanks for clearing that up, Matters Not.
I thought that the extra “S” was so that we’d pronounce it as “Suss-one”, but I guess that her parents wouldn’t have known at that stage…
Kaye Lee is right. Ley is leying, er, I mean, lying. It”s quite obvious, but no one in Labor, or the media for that matter, is brave enough to come out publicly and sey sew.
Ms Ley bought the apartment in May 2015. She seems to go up there a lot. Take this 5 months of travelling allowance claims for example…..not that I am implying any wrongdoing at all (rolls eyes)
12 Mar 15 12 Mar 15 Coolangatta Minister – Official Business
10 Apr 15 12 Apr 15 Gold Coast Minister – Official Business
17 Apr 15 18 Apr 15 Gold Coast Minister – Official Business
9 May 15 9 May 15 Main Beach Minister – Official Business
14 May 15 14 May 15 Surfers Paradise Minister – Official Business
28 May 15 28 May 15 Brisbane Minister – Official Business
1 Jul 15 2 Jul 15 Brisbane Minister – Official Business
23 Jul 15 24 Jul 15 Main Beach Minister – Official Business
26 Jul 15 26 Jul 15 Brisbane Minister – Official Business
4 Aug 15 4 Aug 15 Brisbane Minister – Official Business
Presumably the regularity of her visits means that she has no need for pesky tenants to rent her apartment.
Such luxury
You can register to bid on the day of an auction but it is unlikely anyone would do that unless they had seen the contract already; not that I believed the ‘spur of the moment’ crap for a second. There is nothing spur of the moment about auctions. I wonder who was bidding against her, some poor young trying to be a first homebuyer, perhaps.
Just the fact that someone in the LNP bullshit machine thought that the spur of the moment claim was a plausible explanation, tells us just how much in contempt these crooks hold us. While they turn the screws on the poorest and most vulnerable people in our community, they blithely rub their privilege in our faces.
KL, yes she does visit the Gold Coast quite a lot. You need to really do your homework before making such a ‘spur of the moment’ decision.
Deanna, it’s very unlikely that ‘some poor young’ was trying to buy such an apartment. Except those who like to conduct a ‘business’.
Spot on, Deanna
Then there are these 8 months of flights to Queensland
1 Jan 15 – Coolangatta to Sydney
4 Feb 15 – Canberra to Brisbane
6 Feb 15 – Brisbane to Sydney
12 Mar 15 – Adelaide to Coolangatta
10 Apr 15 – Sydney to Coolangatta
13 Apr 15 – Brisbane to Canberra
17 Apr 15 – Sydney to Coolangatta
20 Apr 15 – Brisbane to Melbourne
9 May 15 – Sydney to Brisbane
10 May 15 – Coolangatta to Sydney
14 May 15 – Canberra to Coolangatta
15 May 15 – Brisbane to Canberra
28 May 15 – Canberra to Brisbane
29 May 15 – Brisbane to Sydney
1 Jun 15 – Coolangatta to Sydney
1 Jul 15 – Sydney to Brisbane
3 Jul 15 – Brisbane to Sydney
8 Jul 15 – Sydney to Brisbane
9 Jul 15 – Brisbane to Melbourne
9 Jul 15 – Melbourne to Brisbane
10 Jul 15 – Brisbane to Townsville
11 Jul 15 – Townsville to Brisbane
13 Jul 15 – Coolangatta to Sydney
23 Jul 15 – Sydney to Coolangatta
27 Jul 15 – Brisbane to Melbourne
4 Aug 15 – Adelaide to Brisbane
5 Aug 15 – Brisbane to Sydney
Sigh.
I suppose an ICAC’s out of the question?
Very Funny Kaye but disturbing at the same time
Ms Ley bought the apartment in May 2015. She seems to go up there a lot. Take this 5 months of travelling allowance claims for example…..not that I am implying any wrongdoing at all (rolls eyes)
12 Mar 15 12 Mar 15 Coolangatta Minister – Official Business
10 Apr 15 12 Apr 15 Gold Coast Minister – Official Business
17 Apr 15 18 Apr 15 Gold Coast Minister – Official Business
9 May 15 9 May 15 Main Beach Minister – Official Business
14 May 15 14 May 15 Surfers Paradise Minister – Official Business
28 May 15 28 May 15 Brisbane Minister – Official Business
1 Jul 15 2 Jul 15 Brisbane Minister – Official Business
23 Jul 15 24 Jul 15 Main Beach Minister – Official Business
26 Jul 15 26 Jul 15 Brisbane Minister – Official Business
4 Aug 15 4 Aug 15 Brisbane Minister – Official Business
MN, I think you would be surprised at just how much crippling debt (with substantial parental assistance of course), some ‘poor youngs’ are prepared to take on in order to get their piece of the neoliberal capitalist pie, before it’s too late.
A lot of people are still buying in to this shit.
And on tonight’s news, Ley took a week long trip to the states which cost us over $10,000 per day.
Overseas Travel
USA 15 Feb to 21 Feb 16
To lead the MedTech stream of the Australia-US Business Week and conduct a series of bilateral
meetings.
Type Amount
OS Ministerial – Accommodation and meals $11,230.36
OS Ministerial – Equipment allowance $430.00
OS Ministerial – Fares $42,095.04
OS Ministerial – Ground transport $21,271.41
OS Ministerial – Minor official expense advance $315.00
OS Ministerial – Passport costs $381.00
OS Ministerial – Travel advance $411.15
Total – $76,133.96
This MUST stop. These people have forgotten what their job is, think they are celebrities.
Time to get out on the street!
DJ, quite right.
I don’t care if the LNP loonies don’t get out on the street. That will be their profound loss.
I want The ALLiance aka known as Labor and Greens with a few other important notables like Independent Wilkie, out on the street and more importantly at public forums throughout Australia on repeating cycles, so that they can converse face to face with the People in each electorate, hear their concerns and give insights how they will address those concerns and wants.
I wonder why Shorten is shirking that responsibility?
Democracy is in a constant state of distortion/corruption – kindergarten of corruption is local, high school is state, university is federal and masters/phd is international – VIGILANCE ALWAYS!
What was the benefit derived from the cost of $77,000 for Ley to swan around the world? What did she achieve for that investment?
And why would anyone add an extra s to Susan? I mean really? Why? If your parents stuck you with it is one thing – the conscious adult decision smacks of…..I dunno what.
Seems Lee brought house at price last bid at auction. Wonder if that bidder had chance to buy? House must have been passed in at auction. Not sure when her transaction occurred. Gets messier and messier.
KL, there is no breakdown of Ms Ley’s expenses, either overseas or domestic. For example, Ministers do not travel without staff. When Sussan flew from Sydney to Brisbane with her ‘partner’ in tow (before the Unit purchase) she would also be accompanied by her Press Sec – at a minimum. Guaranteed. Who else but the Press Sec would have generated the ‘press releases’, provided the back grounding briefings, answered the questions, filled in the details, smiled frequently, and all that? It’s what Press Secs do.
Then after the Wesley announcement – what happened to the Press Sec? Did she/he accompany Sussan to Main Beach so that she/he could generate more publicity? I think not. Chances are that the Press Sec flew back to Sydney before Sussan arrived at Main Beach – because she/he was not needed. At that point, the presence of the Press Sec would have been an embarrassment.
The political point being, that Labor has an opportunity to embarrass Sussan ‘big time’ but they won’t. Too many skeletons in their own closets. Both Labor and the LNP understand the ‘rules’. No ‘forensics’ allowed. Only superficial ‘attacks’.
And so it goes. Sussan (and others) will survive.
Howard Whitton, an ethicist and visiting fellow at the University of Canberra, when asked if the practice of arranging official business to coincide with private trips so as to claim public funding for them should be a sackable offence, said it was a matter for the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, “though many Australians might think so”.
After Ms Bishop’s resignation, Mr Turnbull toughened ministerial standards guidelines, which include the following words:
“Although their public lives encroach upon their private lives, it is critical that Ministers do not use public office for private purposes …
“Ministers are expected to conduct all official business on the basis that they may be expected to demonstrate publicly that their actions and decisions … were taken with the sole objective of advancing the public interest …
“Ministers must be scrupulous in ensuring the legitimacy and accuracy of any claim for entitlement to ministerial, parliamentary or travel allowance.”
Asked to provide details about the people with whom she met during official business on her trip to the Gold Coast, a spokesman said, “The Minister met with patients on the Gold Coast, however, because of patient confidentiality and sensitivity reasons she does not intend to provide any more information on this meeting.”
The auction was held at 10am or 11am in the apartment itself.
Remember how in Orwell’s 1984 it was Winston Smith’s job to change the archival public records to fit with government messaging and massaging of the truth. I don’t think Talcum would want to be reminded of his comments so the LNP equivalent of Winston Smith can expect a memo anytime.
MattersNot – I think you are right. Labor (and no doubt the Greens and the rest of them too) play the “entitlements” game like the rest of them, but they “deserve it” because they “work so hard”.
Steve, I wouldn’t put the Greens MP’s on the same level as the duopoly MP’s in regard to illegitimate entitlement claims. From what I can tell the Greens MP’s are an ethical and dedicated bunch. Nearly all MP’s do indeed work very hard, in the case of the Greens many voluntary hours have been spent on environmental and worthy social causes with genuine public benefit.
The Liberals and Nationals similarly work hard wining, dining and talking with their neoliberal puppet masters whilst juggling all their personal benefits and investments. The Labor MP’s may in general be a bit better.
Andreas – not knowing the facts, I could neither disagree or agree, so I’m trying to avoid being biased. However having seen Di Natale speak, I was hugely impressed with why he decided to get into politics (through recognising that only by changing the system could the disadvantaged hope for better medical outcomes on a long-term basis and not through the traditional student politics/union hack) so doubt its either the money or the “prestige” that motivates him. Labor – I have doubts about some of them (and I’m hoping to have an article published here soon which states this). Feeney is a known negative gearer, and I suspect a number of others (particularly those of the legal class who always seem able to separate “the job” from “the sincerity of their pronouncements”) will happily denounce the Coalition, whilst continuing to suck heartily on the public teat. For the Coalition, as you say, defrauding the system is a matter that they consider to be their birthright.
Ley executes spectacular backflip. She will survive. The ‘spur of the moment’ story now exposed for what it was.
Steal a loaf of bread, it’s jail. Attempt a much bigger con and it’s alright if you apologise. Hilarious.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/health-minister-sussan-ley-apologises-for-gold-coast-trip-agrees-to-repay-expenses-20170108-gtnrnn.html
She should be made to sell the property for what she paid for it too. Plus fined and sacked. That should just about fix her!
Rotten to the core. And spineless Malcolm will let her get away with it too. I’m waiting to see what Labor demands she do. Falling on her sword should be the least of it.
The apparent inability to understand what is right and what is wrong says it all about these people. They simply aren’t worthy to clean up dogshit, far less be public servants. This kind of behaviour demands appropriate punishment – a fortnight in the pillory should do – but in reality nothing will happen.
Four trips:
“Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley has agreed to partly pay back the cost of four trips to the Gold Coast where she and her partner own two properties.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-08/sussan-ley-to-pay-back-cost-of-taxpayer-funded-gold-coast-trips/8168718
Also of interest, her boyfriend has business interests on the Gold Coast – perhaps a closer look needs to be taken into ALL of her expenses claims involving the GC?
Bacchus,
sounds like another lucrative line of enquiry into Sussan Ley’s dubious dealings.
Why isn’t Shorten showing such ingenuity like all of us unpaid commenters?
Is Shorten copying his like-minded neoliberalist opponents and feeding off the enterprise of our unpaid commentariat?
Hubby has bin cleaning cleaning business there it seems.
Interesting FnF.
Where did you find that out?
Did Shorten tell AUS, or was it his unpaid minions and others who help too?
Ms Ley said her travel to the Gold Coast was “within the rules” but that she had decided to repay the travel claims because she holds herself to high standards.
Her idea of high and mine differ greatly….or perhaps she was describing the smell?
Sussy Ley’s imminent demise will be no thanks to Shorten-led Labor.
Not sure where I read it today. One of MSM. I was surprised as I didn’t see it as big business. Know few struggling to make money cleaning bins. Mostly for likes Woolworths etc.
Suss an Ley will survive because Parliament is not sitting – and won’t be for sometime. The short attention span of the electorate, the MSM, Labor and others will ensure that. Besides the Gold Coast is a great place – who wouldn’t be tempted to visit frequently, and stay a little longer?
I know I do. But it costs me. For Suss an it’s not only free but a means to make even more money via allowances and the like.
And so it goes.
If Shortarse wanted to make an example of Sussy Leybuy, he could.
So why not? Too many skeletons?
Yep! Past, Present and Future. Nothing will really change. While rorts with ‘expenses’ are potential, political ‘speed bumps’, there’s not a problem IF you apologise quickly, and then retire from the ‘spotlight’ for a few weeks. Take leave and all that. But I suspect that Suss an won’t be flying to the Gold Coast anytime soon – at least not on the public expense account.
Which means Minchin has a lot to answer for……. rort with impunity. ..if caught….say sorry….part pay some back..and all is forgiven. Gotta love a good get out of gaol free card. But hey, it was ,loosely, within the ‘rules’ so nothing to see here…oh dear ?
Troughs and snouts etc
Dishonest, untrustworthy, cheating Lazy Susan another of Mal’s more expensive money whores