and yet more travel rorts?

Latest minister to come under scrutiny is none other than Finance Minister Cormann whose family weekend jaunts to Broome have cost tax-payers a bundle. I thought his main role in government was to FIND money to ease the so-called 'budget crisis'... not spend it with apparent gay abandon on satisfying his own family needs.

Someone should take a broom(e) to him?

Dogged?

P.M. M.T. says clear and unambiguous rules governing personal expenses incurred by MPs in the course of their 'duties' will be promulgated 'soon' and an independent 'watchdog' will established to ensure that the rules are properly adhered to in future.

Key word is possibly 'soon'... since a number of associated 'rules' were apparently put forward by the Abbott government 3 or more years ago for consideration, but have never seen the light of day since.

Black Friday Blues

Spent most of Friday the 13th. pruning overgrown trees and shrubs around the hacienda. Finished       (exhausted) at dusk and, after skipping dinner I sat down to the normally relaxing task of posting a cartoon blog post. Whereupon I soon fell asleep and woke an hour or so later with a completely blank mind.
Thus, the accompanying 'toon is a send-up of my own frailty.

Where's Malcolm?

With the Christmas holiday season well over, scandals seemingly developing with every hour that passes and presumably routine legislation piling up... has anyone seen or heard from our P.M. Mr. M.T.?

Over the past few clear nights the moon has appeared as a wan blob with greyed indistinct features almost impossible to recognise. Could be the features of our be-leaguered leader... but, I digress.

The Cookie Jar again

Does anyone know how and when a sense of entitlement over-ran decency among many of our so-called parliamentary representatives? Snouts in troughs hardly comes close to satirising the apparent extent of politicians' desire to milk the system for every unguarded taxpayer dollar they can get their sweaty hands on when nobody is looking?

The WHITE Planet?

The BLUE Planet is rapidly becoming WHITE as a giant 'freeze' engulfs Europe and much of the whole Northern hemisphere.

If manufactured 'ICE' doesn't get ya... perhaps the natural cold stuff will anyway?

Goin' North?

This is another catch-up blog meant for Sunday, January 8th., when 'Shark Week' in the south east came to an end in my mind... the only place where it existed for a week as a figment of my childish imagination.

Quite recently oceanic scientists had noted that squadrons of large sharks seemed to be moving south in pursuit of a tropical fish migration attracted by now warmer waters around the south-east corner of our Australian continent. As this trend looked like co-inciding with several annual beach-themed celebrations  (which normally entice masses of people into water frolics) ... my twisted mind conjured up those fun festivals as being like smorgasbord nosh for hungry sharkdom. Indeed, two of the notable gatherings were on the cusp of being postponed due to ominous sightings of large sharks cruising in near vicinity of the event locales. However, intervention by surface and airborne shark watching personal and equipment allowed both of the major events to proceed without the potential predators getting even a sniff of human or animal nourishment.

The toothy finned foragers then appeared in Port Phillip Bay bent on feeding off the likes of Melbourne suburban beaches which are generally packed with prey seeking relief from the heat at this time of year. Slim pickings again I'm afraid. Less than a week ago, a massive storm broke over urban Melbourne dumping record 'gully-washer' down-pours over a wide range of the greater city. The resultant mass transfer of almost every pollutant known to urban man-kind (but predominantly dog droppings) from storm-water drains in

to the bay necessitated closure of almost every beach towards the end of the week... so, otherwise shark-bait humans were warned away from the water for other reasons.

Let's hope the Sharks have learned the lesson that there are no free meals to be had in this neck of the woods... so, they'd best go back north where they are used to the cuisine on offer year-round?