Major Parties Fiddle While the Economy Burns

In our current (and now it’s official) recessionary environment, herVoice is appalled that Australia’s federal politicians have accepted the “Discretionary Electorate Allowance” of just under $5,000 pa granted to them earlier this week. The key word is “discretionary”. If our pollies decide not to spend the allowance, they can keep it as taxable income. So for those parliamentarians who choose not to spend it on electoral expenses, the so-called “allowance” equates to a de facto pay rise of almost $100 per week. Not a pretty picture against a backdrop of small business owners struggling to remain viable in today’s economic climate, workers accepting wage cuts to retain their jobs, working Australians losing their homes and pensioners struggling to survive day to day. It’s bad enough that the “allowance” was granted at all in the current climate, but it’s even worse that at the time of writing, the silence from the major parties against accepting the payment is deafening. The ABN is an apolitical organisation and has no affiliation with any political party.  However, from a natural justice perspective herVoice commends Bob Brown, the Greens and Nick Xenophon for their stance against accepting the payments.  There might be integrity in politics after all. But if there is, the major parties aren’t displaying  theirs –  it’s a total disgrace that well-paid and politically astute parliamentarians are fiddling with their allowances while our economy burns.