Flaunting, Extravagant Friday . . .

Fiona Uncategorized

(Image Credit: Vote1Julia – courtesy of Mrs Vote1Julia)
‘Now, everyone say “entitlements” . . .’

I’d been musing about this evening’s thread; then one of Vote1Julia’s brilliant pics turned up in the email (by the way, doesn’t the bridegroom look like a prize dork?). So that decided it: even though this saga has been around for three weeks, it ain’t going anywhere soon.

(Image Credit: Vote1Julia)
‘Choppergate – how it all began.’

The cartoons have been wonderful, some of the commentary insightful. For example, Andrew Elder:

Bishop, as with most politicians, knows that you have to put yourself about if you want to build and maintain your base. The reason why the rules on parliamentary entitlements are like that, and why they won’t change much, is because politicians from all parties agree that you have to travel a lot to maintain your base.

To most people, there is a clear delineation between work and social events. The social events that political parties stage as fundraising events are designed to be social for those contributing money. For the politically ambitious, they involve all the performance-indicator aspects of work with the addition of social skills like seeming pleasant, knowing who to chat to (and if they’re really important, how to chat to them) and not drinking as much as you might at a purely social event – particularly if you’re going to many such events in a day.

For most people, a golf course is unambiguously a social place, different from Bishop’s workplace in the green room under the hill in Canberra. Bishop regards her job as going where her job requires: Collaroy, Launceston, Ottawa, wherever. She has been in politics so much and for so long that she is genuinely astonished that turning up to a fundraiser might lie outside a reasonable definition of a politician’s “work”.

And Jennifer Wilson:

In case you are still in any doubt about what matters and what doesn’t to the Anglo-Saxon hegemony think on this: white Speaker of the House of Representatives and Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s personal pick Bronwyn Bishop remains in charge of the House, in spite of decades of financial abuse of taxpayer funds, the obscene details of which are unfolding daily before our disbelieving eyes. The only thing that keeps her in her job is Abbott’s support, because while the Prime Minister cannot actually sack a Speaker, there’s little doubt that if Abbott pressured her to get on her bike, she’d be mad not to obey.

. . .

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, normally a man with an opinion on everything no matter how irrelevant, remains conspicuously silent on both matters. Ms Bishop’s shenanigans with helicopters and luxury limos have left rotten egg splattered all over Tony’s face, an ungracious response on her part to the man who, when he won government, rewarded her with the prestigious job of Speaker. Getting rid of Bronwyn will cause Tony to lose egg-splattered face, as it will be an admission of his lack of judgement of a woman he’s known for decades, and indeed, has been heard to refer to as his “political mother.”

But as Freud would have it, an adult man must at some point cut ties with his mother, and this could be Tony’s moment to sever the umbilical cord.

Ever since Choppergate broke, this theme – with an obvious name change – has been an almost constant earworm for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2DY4PpmN0s

As for dame kero’s “apology”

Too little too late.

As always in public life, it’s not the crime, it’s the cover up that does the damage.

(Image Credit: Vote1Julia)

A huge thank you to Vote1Julia for letting me use his pics!

Heigh ho, let’s have a flaunting extravagant Friday. Enjoy The Pub’s delightful ambiance, enjoy the comestibles, crank up the jukebox – and if anyone is curious about the origin of the title to this thread . . .

(Image Credit: Amazon)

226 thoughts on “Flaunting, Extravagant Friday . . .”

  2. Someone has been playing with Bronnie’s Wikipedia page.

    The entry under ‘Early Years and Education’ used to say this –

    Born in Sydney as Bronwyn Kathleen Setright, Bronwyn Bishop undertook a five-year LLB program at the University of Sydney.[1] However, she abandoned her degree with three subjects uncompleted after becoming engaged to classmate Alan Bishop; she later gained her professional qualification from the Solicitors’ Admission Board (now Legal Profession Admission Board)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bronwyn_Bishop&oldid=672533983

    An excuse for being too dumb/distracted/lazy/drunk/sex crazed (take your pick) to complete her uni studies. After all, a woman just can’t go to uni if she is engaged. She has to devote her time to planning a wedding.

    Today there’s this – been there since 24 July.

    Born in Sydney as Bronwyn Kathleen Setright, Bronwyn Bishop undertook a five-year LLB program at the University of Sydney.[1] However, she was deemed ineligible to continue after failing a number of subjects multiple times.[2] Bishop failed a total of 11 subjects over six years.[2] In her first year in 1960, she failed all four core subjects. In 1964, she failed four subjects again, and repeated them in 1965, in which she failed three again. The policy of the University of Sydney at the time was that a student was required to show cause why a student should be allowed to repeat a subject for a third time, and Bishop was deemed ineligible to continue

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronwyn_Bishop

  4. One’;s personal life does so get in the way of a successful career, doesn’t it.

    Bronnie blames being pregnant with her first child for the abandonment of her budding acting career. Funny how other actresses – the ones with talent – went on to have huge careers while they continued to have babies.

    Instead at university I became involved in the Sydney University Drama Society, mostly because our campus was on Phillip Street, away from the University, and I wanted some participation in university life.

    I am not sure how it helped my political life but it did allow me to appear as a lawyer in a Channel Nine television series. I did the pilot for them and they asked me to star in the show. I stopped for a while when I was pregnant with Angela and the repeats ran for long enough that she was still able to watch it on TV

    http://sydney.edu.au/alumni/sam/march2013/camperdown-canberra.shtml

    That is a most interesting article, not just because of Madame Chopper’s interesting (an unkind person might say delusional) take on her own life. but also because of the other politicians and former politicians interviewed.

    Some information on Bronnie’s ex. It’s an obituary, so it’s a bit (or a lot) airbrushed.
    http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/judge-helped-start-workcover-20100307-pqmb.html

  6. Choppergate may still be going because someone in the Liberal ranks is trying to engineer Abbott’s removal. They may feel a switch to someone else (possibly with a quickie election) will improve their chances.

  10. ajcanberra
    I think you might be right. A few of the reports of Bronnie’s extravagance are from anonymous ‘Liberal Party’ sources.

  14. At last a qanda that may be worth watching –

    Q&A
    , Ranjana Srivastava, Adam Spencer, Beth Fulton

    9.35pm – 10.42pmABC

  25. Not much is being said about MyJet, the charter firm that supplied the helicopter in Choppergate, except that BB’s CoS is good mates with Andrew Gibbs. Gibbs is contracted by MyJet to handle high end political bookings.

    “Sources have told Fairfax Media that Mr Gibbs’ quote was the most expensive of three obtained by Mrs Bishop’s office.”

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/man-who-arranged-bronwyn-bishops-chopper-flight-is-best-friends-with-speakers-top-adviser-20150717-gieeb5.html#ixzz3hczskqd9

    Googling MyJet, I came across a Sydney company called MyJet Limo

    http://www.myjetlimo.com.au/

    I wondering with BB’s love of using Limos instead of Commcars (ostensibly because they are allowed in bus lanes thereby travel quicker) has the embattled Speaker used MyJet Limos?

    If so, what is the relationship between MyJet Limos and MyJet Aviation? If BB used and paid for MyJet Limos, how do their rates compare with other commercial Limo hire?

  26. https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2015/08/01/senate-inquiry-george-brandiss-arts-funding-plans/14383512002192

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-02/dargues-reef-gold-mine-fears-over-toxic-mine-runoff/6654480

    http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/athletics/33749208

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/us/dry-days-in-west-bring-ferocious-start-to-fire-season.html

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/us/obama-to-unveil-tougher-climate-plan-with-his-legacy-in-mind.html

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/texas-man-shoots-armadillo-bullet-ricochets-back-into-his-face-1.3176390

  27. Just did some quick sums – M/s Bishop is paid( see Fiona won’t make the earns mistake again) about $340,000 salary. Work it out to about $13,000 per fortnight- plus she has an expense allowance that dwarfs her salary. Lost the speaker ship and she goes back to back bench salary of about $196,000 or approximately $7000 per fortnight. Can see why she’s keen to hang on.

  28. should add also ‘importance’ of being allowed to use bus lanes- and having high profile ‘free events’ and invites.

  29. 2gravel

    I can’t find a vid that I can embed, if you click on the underlined part of the text it will open in a new window.

  30. Bronnie’s ‘invites’ – is she genuinely invited to these first nights, performances and whatever because the organisers want her there, or does she just ring up and demand an invitation?

  34. PatriciaKarvelas ‏@PatsKarvelas 22m22 minutes ago

    He is sacking the Speaker? #auspol
    Embedded image permalink

    Presser at 4.30 by Abbott.

  36. From Paul Bongiorno on Twitter:
    Latest speculation: Abbott to take Dennis Shanahan’s advice, keep Bronny but shake up entitlements. Wow!

  42. Fiona

    Two flags to match the two fingers he and Brunhilde are to give the ‘peasants’ ?

  45. joe6pack

    “Check the red around his eyes’

    Those are from all the tears he has been shedding over the political death of his self proclaimed “ideological” mother . Sperm donor being Howie.

  48. So now we know that Abbott didn’t ring Bishop to resign. She rang him.

    Labor must draw the obvious inference here: Abbott is a rank coward.

Comments are closed.