by morell » Sat Mar 03, 2018 8:48 pm
by Jimmy_041 » Wed Mar 21, 2018 11:43 am
Twenty-one Victorian Labor MPs have been named at the centre of a “Rorts for Votes” scheme and have been found to have breached parliamentary guidelines in an explosive report, which found Labor misused almost $400,000 during the 2014 election campaign.
The Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass has found Labor “crossed a line” in the permissable use of MP entitlements during the 2014 state election campaign, when it employed a team of field officers who were paid in part by MPs’ staff allowances.
The report comes at the end of a two-year investigation which the Andrews government has spent more than $1 million challenging in the courts.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews said ‘absolutely” he apologised for the misuse of the money.
“I’ve made it very clear that I’m sorry this has occurred; the most important thing here is to prove that we’re are sincere in our apology and our response,” he said.
“The full amount has been repaid by the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party.”
Mr Andrews noted that the Ombudsman had made no recommendations of any action to be taken against individuals. He said that the party would implement every recommendation from the report.
Ms Glass said she found $388,000 of parliamentary funds were misused, which Labor has now paid back.
“It was a picture of a well-organised campaign by the ALP to recruit and deploy full-time field organisers in the run-up to the 2014 Victorian state election, of which 21 were employed part-time as electorate officers and paid some $388,000 out of parliamentary funds,” Ms Glass said.
“While some electorate officer work was done for some Members of Parliament, the arrangement to employ field organisers as electorate officers was an artifice to secure partial payment for the campaign out of parliamentary funds, and was wrong.”
Under the scheme outlined by the Ombudsman, 23 members of parliament gave up a proportion of their entitlements to fund a part-time electorate officer for the 2014 field campaign.
In the report, Ms Glass names former Treasurer and then Upper House leader John Lenders as the chief architect of the scheme and the person who bears most responsibility for the misuse of entitlements.
She plainly states that the use of electoral officers - who are paid out of an MP’s parliamentary entitlements - to add to the numbers of field organisers for the election campaign goes beyond the acceptable use of entitlements.
“There is undoubtedly a blurred line between permissible and impermissible uses of parliamentary funds, and what is or is not political activity prohibited by the guide. But in seeking to maximise the use of resources available to the Party, Mr Lenders crossed the line,” she said.
Mr Lenders this month announced his intention to quit as chairman of the state’s rail owner VicTrack, and asked Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan to withdraw his name for reappointment. The news was made public just days ahead of the anticipated release of the Ombudsman’s report.
Mr Lenders has attributed his decision to a busy travel schedule and personal commitments, including the arrival of new grandchildren.
“Given the need for VicTrack to remain very focused on doing its part on delivering the state’s transport agenda, I do not think it appropriate that I seek reappointment at this time,” he said.
The Andrews government has spent more than $1 million attempting to block the Ombudsman’s investigation, which has dogged the government and senior ministers since 2015.
He has repeatedly insisted the party did nothing wrong during the election and that no parliamentary allowances were misused.
The Premier in 2015 said: “I take responsibility for each and every thing that happens under my leadership.”
Yesterday, Deputy Premier James Merlino defended the scheme as a “pooling” of staff, and insisted the party had acted “within the rules”.
The Coalition has seized on the announcement to urge MPs involved to quit.
Opposition treasury spokesman Michael O’Brien yesterday said any MPs found to have been involved must pay the price.
“Everyone knows you cannot use your electorate staff for party political campaigning,’’ he said.
“When rorting has been found, the people who are responsible apologise, pay back the money and lose their jobs, that’s the standard.’’
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said it was a very serious matter.
“It’s obviously to do with the state government, and I’m sure Premier Andrews and the state government will explain a response to this most serious matter,” Mr Shorten said.
by mighty_tiger_79 » Fri Mar 23, 2018 1:35 pm
by Grenville » Fri Mar 23, 2018 2:43 pm
by Gozu » Tue May 08, 2018 12:59 am
Coal giant Glencore has perhaps the most tortuously complex corporate structure in Australia. This morning, over on my website, we revealed one of its entities as being the No. 1 tax dodger in the country, top of the michaelwest.com.au Top 40 Tax Dodging charts.
Our analysis and rankings are based on the Australian Tax Office transparency data which now extends for three years.
Glencore Investment Pty Limited racked up total income of $27.9 billion through 2014 to 2016. Taxable income — after massive deductions — was $108,107,993 on which tax payable was zero.
Glencore is Australia’s largest coal miner and one of the world’s top miners and commodities traders with a colourful corporate history and a reputation for ruthlessness.
A centrepiece in the Glencore tax strategy used to be a loan from an overseas entity for $3.4 billion at interest rates of up to 9%. This has since gone. However, it was struck at the tail of the biggest coal price boom in history when Glencore’s operations here were spitting out billions in cash and Australia hardly needed a loan from overseas at 9%.
Glencore then pops up in the Paradise Papers. According to this Guardian story, the Australian Tax Office had been investigating the company for siphoning billions from Australia to Bermuda via cross currency interest rate swaps.
“On 12 April 2013 two Bermuda-based arms of Glencore — Glencore Capital and Glencore Finance (Bermuda) — changed $25 billion in Australian dollars to US dollars through Glencore Australia Investment Holdings.”
Near the top of the group’s labyrinthine maze of corporate entities — often subject to restructuring so we will deploy the past tense — were the consolidated financial statements of Glencore Operations Australia Pty Ltd. This is not the head of the snake, however. Its parent was Glencore Queensland Ltd, whose parent, in turn, was Glencore Investment Holdings Australia Ltd. Then there was Glencore Investment Pty Ltd, then — what appears to be the head entity in Australia — wait for it … the furtively named GHP 104 160 689 Pty Ltd whose parent was in Bermuda.
by Trader » Tue May 08, 2018 10:38 am
by Q. » Tue May 08, 2018 1:48 pm
Yes, Glencore, who pay no tax, could certainly use a tax cut.Trader wrote:What's the answer?
Lower tax rates to make it less appealing to siphon profits off to a lower taxing country?
by Gozu » Wed Aug 08, 2018 5:45 pm
The Adam Giles Show has been suspended following a backlash over an interview with United Patriots Front leader Blair Cottrell.
After a day of headlines and social media criticism, SKY News boss Angelos Frangopolous has restructured senior editorial roles and put the show hosted by the former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Adam Giles into “recess.”
Former Labor Minister Craig Emerson quit SKY News and politicians have considered boycotts following the interview. SKY News journalists David Speers and Laura Jayes also criticised their own network while sponsors are being targeted on social media.
SKY News Director Greg Byrnes also acknowledged, “It was wrong to have Blair Cottrell on SKY News Australia. His views do not reflect ours. The interview has been removed from repeat timeslots and online platforms.”
The Adam Giles Show has been on air since May.
Last month SKY was heavily criticised for not challenging Senator David Leyonhjelm’s remarks about Senator Hanson-Young, whilst recent channel resignations have included Greg Thomson and Samantha Maiden.
Frangopolous will himself be departing SKY News in the near future having announced his resignation late last month.
by mighty_tiger_79 » Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:49 pm
by Magellan » Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:25 pm
by Q. » Wed Aug 15, 2018 7:49 pm
White supremacist rhetoric is creeping it's way into the mainstreamMagellan wrote:Fraser Anning.
The most unrepresentative of the unrepresentative swill in the senate desperately seeking relevance and a profile amongst the redneck population of northern Queensland with a speech that wouldn't have been out of place during world war one. Appropriately dispatched in the last 24 hours to the time capsule he's crawled out of.
by Gozu » Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:10 pm
An Australian crossbench senator has invoked the term “the final solution” in an inflammatory speech calling for a plebiscite asking voters whether they want to end all immigration by Muslims and non-English speaking people “from the third world”.
Fraser Anning, formerly of the far-right Pauline Hanson One Nation party, and now a member of the Katter’s Australia party, used his maiden speech in the Senate to call for “a plebiscite to allow the Australian people to decide whether they want wholesale non-English speaking immigrants from the third world, and particularly whether they want any Muslims”.
by stan » Wed Aug 15, 2018 11:08 pm
There was actually a really good cartoon that describe the situation well. The hate speech has always been there in the minority, its just the media are highlighting it as it's controversial.Q. wrote:White supremacist rhetoric is creeping it's way into the mainstreamMagellan wrote:Fraser Anning.
The most unrepresentative of the unrepresentative swill in the senate desperately seeking relevance and a profile amongst the redneck population of northern Queensland with a speech that wouldn't have been out of place during world war one. Appropriately dispatched in the last 24 hours to the time capsule he's crawled out of.
by stan » Wed Aug 15, 2018 11:21 pm
by Q. » Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:16 am
by Jimmy_041 » Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:35 am
by Q. » Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:28 am
You're excusing Anning's "final solution" speech?Jimmy_041 wrote:Yes, the tolerant left are so tolerant
by Jimmy_041 » Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:23 pm
Q. wrote:You're excusing Anning's "final solution" speech?Jimmy_041 wrote:Yes, the tolerant left are so tolerant
by cracka » Thu Aug 16, 2018 1:02 pm
Jimmy_041 wrote:Q. wrote:You're excusing Anning's "final solution" speech?Jimmy_041 wrote:Yes, the tolerant left are so tolerant
Huh? I haven't heard his speech
I am referring to the cartoon characterising the left people as peaceful loving/not hating, beautiful human beings (I wouldn't dare use the word "protesters")
by Psyber » Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:18 am
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