The taxpayer is picking up the tab for departing MPs Marian Hobbs, Margaret Wilson, Brian Connell, Katherine Rich and Peter Brown to fly to Europe first class to ... well, no one's quite sure what these not so Famous Five are flying there to do. "I don't know too much about the purpose," says Marian. "I think it's about MMP. I'm not sure." Ah, sweet Marian. All too aware she's getting a payoff for services rendered before she enters the well-deserved oblivion that retirement from parliament will bring her and her fellow five.
Instead of decrying this trip however -- one that takes in the sights of Milan, Krakau, Prague and Budapest -- I'm going to support it. It would be a very small price to pay if more MPs would indulge in junkets like this instead of spending time around parliament dreaming up new means by which to get in our way and piss us off. If the other one-hundred and sixteen MPs would like to join the inFamous Five, it would be money well spent.
6 comments:
I think you'll find you only want to pay for the first leg of the trip. If they were to come back from Europe with Brussels inspired ideas and raring to get back into parliament you'd want to leave in a hurry.
How decidely uncarbon-friendly of these zealots of Sustainabilty! :)
I guess video-conferencing's for people who have to spend their own money, eh.
In fairness, Sus, I doubt you could call Brian Connell a zealot of sustainability. But I guess Aunty Marian was once Labour's Environment Minister, wasn't she.
Andrew: Yes, good point. Let's make those tickets one way.
It's Tuesday, PC. I'm never fair on a Tuesday.
:)
But regarding Brian Connell: has he actually had the courage to defy the carbonmasses & questioned it all? If so, I take it back. If not, he's tainted by association.
And then on the news last night, Flip-Flop Key can't even bring himself to denounce the junket for what it is: a junket.
Says bucket loads about what he is going to do with my taxes ....
Mark Hubbard
... that is, not give them back.
Mark Hubbard
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