Posts by Ian MacKay
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@Russell: "With all the emotional satisfaction to be had from railing about the issue, I think some people have lost touch with what's reasonable."
I agree if you mean that some pickings say more about the pickers than about the pickees. I wonder if the pickers are doing so from a political position or a moral position or are they just trying new positions to spice up their umm lives? -
Jeremy I too wondered what the difference is between porn and erotica? (I read somewhere that women make up at least half of the audience of one or the other but can't remember where.)
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Reading the continuing lists of Spending, most of which are part of the job it seems, I couldn't help thinking that if the accounts are going to be published every few months in the future as said by John Key, then current Ministers are also going to be embarrassed if the same slant is put on the results.
The Herald. August 2010. Taxpayers money wasted on Luxury Living!: "Minister's bill for 8 days overseas $21,000. Car hire $2,100. Gifts $1856.31 Meals $4,045.23" etc. -
Given the outrage over even legit expenses, has anyone followed up on Mrs Collins "legit" clocking up of over $400 per month for petrol for her self drive car? Thats about 4,000 km for a person who is usually driven in a Crown car. There-fore some one else in the family gets (legit) use at pretty high mileage. If folk are outraged over porn films isn't Collins another form of porn?
(Notice that last night on TV news, within 20 minutes had made a small correction to the story of Collins using the Crown car to get groceries. It was a Staffer. Amazing that a correction was so quick where misinformation about Labour folk goes uncorrected days later.) -
Sofie@10:50AM on 12 Jun 10
Brilliant. Hey. How about becoming a Minister? You would make an excellent Minister of Social Welfare or Minister of Fair Play.
Anyway a fresh breath of common sense and compassion. Thanks. -
You might be right Craig but if what Ririrui was doing, was not following procedures why wouldn't there have been an "Oi! Thats wrong mate!" or to Jim Anderton for that matter? Different time. Less clear rules perhaps?
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Ririnui made two points:
He says that he was told in his office the rules included booking up and repaying as soon as possible. He did so.
He also said that he paid by cheque straight away and no one had ever corrected him or challenged his methods.
Sounds OK to me Craig. -
@Russell:
Have any of the people who've mentioned Chris Carter's limousine hire today bothered to check his apparently reasonable explanation?
Katerine was told that this morning. Chris Carter challenged her to check with Ministerial Services since he was operating on their instructions. As far as I know, no one has checked but it is still being reported as a rort. Shame. By the time it is validated the damage will have been done. Again.
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@Russell:<i>But it does also appear that actual practice was something else for a long time,</i>
That could lead to an interesting question.
Was the "rule" on the spending the same in the 90s and 1999-2008?
When was it stated so clearly? What if the rules that are used to judge Ministers today were not so clear-cut back then? -
I also have no problem with it all on the bill and sorting it later. (The Dom calls it Rorting & Troughing.)
What puzzles me is what should happen if a Minister with an official party in tow, staying at a hotel on expenses paid by the system. The Minister calls for a personal meal to be sent to his room as he has a headache. The purists like Craig say "nothing personal on the bill".
So what in a perfect practical world happens with the meal?