Whew! What a media and talkback frenzy about Labour MP Shane Jones and the several other pollies whose casual use of expense accounts have been revealed in their gory detail! The media are loving this, with statements repeated over and over and over: “Shane Jones watched porn movies using taxpayer money”, “Chris Carter had a massage at the taxpayers expense, flowers for gay partner”, etc etc.
Now I’m not going to defend the silliness and lax organisation of these and other affected politicians, but I am going to appeal for a sense of proportion and perspective, as well as for these holier-than-thou reporters to just temper their delight a bit.
I’ve mentioned in an earlier blog article (different topic) that I’m not overly impressed by the one getting the biggest beating up, Shane Jones, so I’m not defending him like a one-eyed Cantabrian would defend its rugby players no matter what they did on the field. He clearly has been cavalier and sloppy with his accounting, but I don’t equate sloppy with evil.
I’m convinced Jones (and in general the other politicians “found out”) weren’t trying to rort the system. I’m confident that none of them thought, ‘I’ll pay for this one using my MP’s expense account because I’ll get away with it, and it’s sort of a business expense’. I say this because I’ve done similar things myself from time to time with my personal and business accounts.
As my forbearing wife will attest, I’m a stickler for keeping business and personal finances separate, charging expenses to my small business only when there is unarguable justification. (For me it’s just not worth the risk of getting involved in a time-wasting and expensive tax audit process.) But there are times when for convenience I use the business card or bank account for a personal transaction and then pay it back at the end of the month when doing the bank reconciliation. It’s all noted in the records for the accountant to check.
I am aware that this procedure is against the rules of parliament – using the ministerial card when it’s convenient but paying it back from personal funds soon after, which is what Jones appears to have done. But going against the rules and being a cheat or fraudster are poles apart in such instances. (To me it’s like the difference between a motorist breaking the speed limit by 10kph and one overtaking on blind corners and double yellows.) However, those who used their card inappropriately but then did NOT repay do warrant further examination.
I’m also sure that Shane Jones is copping waaaaaay more venom and ridicule because some of it he spent on watching blue movies when away on trips. That’s not a crime. It’s not even a disgraceful thing for any person to do, be they a politician or a business person. And he repaid the costs at the time without prompting from the media. He’s not evil or disgusting or a cheat, he’s just been sloppy and inexact in his spur-of-the-moment accounting.
I am still more disturbed by Finance Minister Bill English’s deliberate and strategic endeavours, until exposed last year, to use the system to make or save significant sums of money through his privileged housing arrangements.
The common tool being used to beat up the politicians caught using their ministerial cards for personal expenses, again usually by the holier-than-thou brigade, is that it’s OK for private business owners to use their business to charge all sorts of dubious expenses to because it’s private money, not taxpayers’ money.
I’m not OK about that. They only do it to avoid paying tax. And every unjustifiable use of business accounts to avoid paying tax is a misuse of public money, because the rest of us have to pay extra tax to make up for their shortfall. Indirectly it’s just as bad a case of cheating as the politicians’ dodges.
Very awesome article! Truely.
New Zealand television reporting is rubbish. They’re embarrassing to watch. Use the internet – at least you can get some international news.
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Just reading the papers, radio, talks with valued friends ……