Pollies taste their own entitlement rhetoric; SA shipbuilding contract – in the interest of Australia, or the Liberal Party? And what is money?

By ARON LEWIN

Entitlement saga drags on: pollies exposed
as hypocrites

Former environment minister and Labor frontbencher Tony Burke – who led calls for Bronwyn Bishop to resign – is the latest federal politician to come under fire for taking advantage of taxpayers’ money.

It was reported that Mr Burke spent $8000 on business-class flight tickets for his family to join him in Uluru, and $90 on tickets for a Robbie Williams concert.

He agreed to reim

burse the concert tickets after conceding on Thursday that it was “beyond community expectations”.

But he refused to repay the flight tickets, citing it was “100 per cent within the rules”.

Mixed messages from the Government saw frontbenchers Alan Tudge and Josh Frydenberg label Mr Burke a hypocrite, while Prime Minister Tony Abbott was reluctant to criticise Mr Burke, and Education Minister Christopher Pyne defended his actions as “completely legitimate”.

Mr Pyne is also under pressure for claiming $5000 to fly his family to Sydney during the Christmas break.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten also said Mr Burke’s actions were within the rules.

A five-person committee led by former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson and former Labor speaker Harry Jenkins will review “all aspects of the current [Government entitlement] system” early next year.

In The Conversation, Michelle Grattan quoted a Liberal backbencher who said the entitlement saga had left the Coalition in a vulnerable position with voters and “burnt into our Liberal support base”.

She wrote that a “a Newspoll next week will show whether the public anger has translated into numbers” against the Liberal and Labor party.

The Australian political editor Dennis Shanahan called on the mother and father of the House of Representatives – Ms Bishop and Philip Ruddock – to quit.

Mr Ruddock was the favourite to succeed Ms Bishop as Speaker until it emerged he also claimed $18,000 for a trip to far north Queensland with his wife.

The Monthly politics editor Sean Kelly and Sydney Morning Herald journalist Mark Kenny wrote that Mr Abbott’s performance during so-called Choppergate weakened his prime ministership.

Managing partner at Marquee Lawyers Michael Bradley wrote for The Drum that even if entitlement guidelines were tightened, MPs would still find loopholes.

Is SA shipbuilding contract political manoeuvring?

The Federal Government announced on Tuesday it would spend $39 billion on nine frigates – a warship – and an undisclosed number of offshore patrol ships.

It’s part of an $89 billion package that will revitalise Australia’s naval capabilities, while the remaining funding will build submarines.

In the Brisbane Times, Defence Minister Kevin Andrews wrote it would “bring forward the Future Frigate program (SEA 5000) to replace the Anzac-class frigates by three years, and bring forward construction of offshore patrol vessels (SEA 1180) to replace the Armidale-class patrol boats”.

Commentators speculated the shipbuilding contract – which secures 2500 existing jobs – was awarded to Adelaide to combat rising unemployment in the state that is at a 15-year high.

But Premier Daniel Andrews said it ignored Victoria and was designed to save Mr Pyne’s seat, which the Nick Xenophon Team is reportedly challenging at the next election.

It’s expected to cost 100 jobs at the Williamstown naval shipyard in Victoria.

The AFR reported that Australian ship exporting company Austal was the favourite in a competitive tender for the contract.

But Mr Pyne told Sky News the submarines might still be built overseas.

“Even in the worst-case scenario, if they were built overseas, at least $30 billion of the $50 billion will end up being spent in Australia because maintenance and sustainment needs to be done in Australia,” Mr Pyne said.

Government set to pull Bitcoin from the internet abyss

The Senate Economics Reference Committee is set to change the definition of "money" that will see Bitcoin recognised and regulated as a mainstream currency.

The Government currently refers the digital currency – which isn’t controlled by a central bank – as an “intangible asset”.

According to the AFR, the change would see Bitcoin owners pay a higher GST rate on transactions, and capital gains and fringe benefit tax.

It imposes a significant barrier for start-up companies using Bitcoin that are based in Australia.

In the AFR, Certified Practicing Accountants Australia chief executive Alex Malley wrote that it was a “welcome contribution” and it “should encourage more disruptive businesses to establish and develop in Australia, rather than avoiding us or operating in grey areas”.

The AFR reported that Coinjar – Australia's biggest Bitcoin exchange platform – had moved its headquarters to the UK to avoid the new taxes.

It  has been reported that further investigation into how Bitcoin is used is required before the Reserve Bank of Australia and ASIC regulate the currency.

But submissions from 48 organisations – including the Australian Federal Police, Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Bankers' Association – on the effects of regulating Bitcoin saw the Senate committee recommend it be treated as a mainstream currency.

Bitcoin’s cryptic make-up has generated a reputation as being a safer currency to be used for criminal action.

But the author of Silk Road – a book on the rise and fall of the online drug marketplace – Eileen Ormsby wrote in The Age that “the argument ‘Bitcoin is bad because it is used for buying drugs’ is illogical”, because cash was used for 99 per cent of drug deals.

Government’s wait-for-the-dole policy under fire

There is no evidence to suggest waiting to receive the dole provides the unemployed with an incentive to search for job, an official at the Department of Social Services said.

It is at odds with the Government’s attempts to justify a policy that forces unemployed people who are aged 25 or younger to wait a month before accessing Centrelink payments.

The Council for Single Mothers and Children and the Australian Council for Social Services (ACOSS) told The Australian they feared the waiting period could see families vulnerable to poverty and domestic violence victims “fall through the cracks”.

“Any waiting period could delay them from fleeing violent relationships because they have no money, putting them and their children in danger,” ACOSS said.