Minister McKenzie spits in the face of decency, ethics and every decent Australian
by Michael Pascoe
“They all do it,” we mutter with passing disgust and turn the page. Come the next election we acquiesce to giving them the chance to do it again..."
"But the deputy leader of the National Party, next-in-line to a sometimes-acting Prime Minister, and her hack ministerial advisers did trample people to use your money to keep their snouts and that of their colleagues in the public trough.There are the obvious people used and abused in the process – the community sports volunteers and Sport Australia staff Senator McKenzie teased and misled with the supposed availability of grants, the people she encouraged to diligently work for a sound cause, the people she lied to and discarded.Then there are the less obvious souls – the people who were more deserving of government assistance than those who were targeted for their votes in marginal seats.These people represent the opportunity cost of base political bribery – what greater good could have been achieved with the better use of public money, with the ethical, rather than unethical, use of your money?..."
"Nothing displays a politician’s treason – putting personal interests before the nation’s best interests – than a willingness to raid the public purse for partisan gain.Then there are those volunteers who carefully read the grants’ guidelines, who jumped through the hoops and spent the hours, the many hours working up a deserving application.
There would have been meetings – meetings! – to agree on what was needed and what might be sought.The volunteers are generally true believers in their community and sport, in the fellowship and help it provides, in that quaint old idea of “society”.Senator McKenzie and her hacks toyed with those good people, played with their hopes and betrayed them.The game was rigged. The ref was corrupt.
They never had a chance..."
We need a real Federal ICAC yesterday. There’s no way this government will allow one."
