Why are our politicians held to much lower standards than the rest of us?
In what workplace would the married boss promoting his pregnant girlfriend be acceptable?
In what workplace would there be so little transparency about the employment, duties and remuneration of staff?
In what workplace would it be acceptable to tell blatant lies about the state of the company?
In what workplace would it be acceptable to turn up drunk?
Imagine how it would go down with the ATO if I tried to claim my attendance at a colleague’s wedding as a work expense. Or if I claimed for publications that have absolutely nothing to do with my work.
And how must FIFO workers feel when they are told that a politician’s job is so onerous that we must pay for their family to join them on their work trip to a resort somewhere nice?
How can anything constructive ever be achieved when management is perpetually locked in an internecine war?
Which shareholders would accept spending hundreds of millions of dollars to keep information secret from them? Paying for feasibility studies, cost-benefit analyses and modelling which are kept from the rest of the board. Paying for court cases to fight against having to answer questions about your activities at work.
Which workplace would tolerate leaking damaging stories to the media in order to attack your colleagues and break down trust in the organisation?
Why is there never any mention of productivity gains or efficiency dividends when deciding on politicians’ wage rises or the number of staff they employ? Perhaps the Deputy Whip of the Nationals doesn’t actually need two media advisers.
What company would pay to fly people all over the country just to be seen? Celebrities and sports stars get appearance money because they bring a return to their promoters. Oh wait….
The politicians wonder how they can win back our trust?
Stop behaving like you are teenagers away from home for the first time – no parents, no teachers roaming the halls, living at an on-campus residential college, drinking and rooting and partying too much on your parent’s credit card. Stop going out every night and start concentrating on your homework. Stop squabbling amongst yourselves and learn how to work as a team rather than trying to outdo each other in a slanging match. Stop your appalling behaviour during class – no interrupting, no yelling out, and no name-calling.
And most of all, stop lying to the people who are paying for you to be there.
