A Turnbull government MP took a publicly funded "study tour" to Europe that included a visit to a Polish coal mine in which he owns shares.

Luke Simpkins, a West Australian Liberal, slugged taxpayers nearly $5000 for his seven-day jaunt through Poland and the Netherlands in April and May last year.

In his written report to the Department of Finance, Mr Simpkins said the purpose of his journey to Poland was to "examine the bilateral relationship, including economic opportunities for Australian businesses".

But he did not disclose that he had a direct financial interest in the one Polish coal mine he chose to visit - the Australian-owned Prairie Mining project in Lublin, two hours' drive south-east of Warsaw.

In an update to the register of member's interests in November 2014, Mr Simpkins declared his purchase of "Prairie Downs" shares. The WA-based company, now known as Prairie Mining, is currently digging 722 million tonnes of coal in four locations around Lublin.

In his five-page report of his trip, Mr Simpkins, waxed about the success of Prairie Mining, even suggesting the mine was being "acclaimed" by local politicians.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/liberal-mp-charged-taxpayers-for-european-study-tour-that-visited-coal-mine-investment-in-poland-20160202-gmjkdh.html#ixzz3yz1GS4S8
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Veteran current affairs journalist Kerry O'Brien has criticised the state of Australian politics and the media, saying interviewing has become too much of a "gladiatorial" sport.

The six-time Walkley Award winner signed off from the ABC's flagship investigative program Four Corners last year after five years as its presenter and more than 40 years with the national broadcaster.

Appearing on the ABC's Home Delivery, O'Brien said Australia's democracy was in a bad state.

"The health of the democracy can partly be measured by the health of its media and I don't think the health of our government, of our democracy, is great right now," he said.

"I don't think our politics is in a great state and I don't think our media is in a great state."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-03/kerry-obrien-laments-state-australian-politics-media/7131108

while Monica Attard wrote an article staying that Kerry O'Brien is wrong in his assessment of political interviewing (see above), I guess she is wrong in a moot point. People rarely reveal their true intentions when "confronted". In this context, there sometimes need a bit of editing to avoid the pollies running around the pot, till they say what they really think rather than the caveats of what they want us to think they think.

 

Meanwhile Sam Dastyari of the Labor party miss one company when he tells us:

 

 

"You will not find somebody who came more from the ALP machine than me," Mr Dastyari told the audience, in a recording obtained by Fairfax Media.

"I'm a product of the machine like you would not believe. I joined the Labor Party when I was 16. I took over my first branches by the time I was 17 ... [so] I thought I understood the brutality of politics simply by my time in the NSW Labor Party and my time in the NSW Labor machine."

"[But] none of that braced me for an understanding of just how concentrated, brutal and aggressive a handful of businesses operate [in Australia], and the real corporate power where it actually rests in this country," he said.

He then claimed there are 10 companies that wield the most incredible amount of power in Australia, to the point where it has stifled proper democratic and economic progress.

"Four banks, and we all know who they are – the Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac, and ANZ – three big mining companies, in Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Fortescue Metals, you've got your two big grocery chains, and you've got your big telco, which is Telstra," Mr Dastyari said.

They have "unprecedented concentration of corporate influence" in Australia, he said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/labor-senator-sam-dastyari-claims-10-companies-have-taken-complete-control-of-australias-political-process-20160205-gmmy30.html#ixzz3zI0BFIBe
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And the influential company not mention by Sam is, you've guessed it, is....

News Limited... Great guess. News Limited is the big pipeline through which all the lies, porkies and manipulations of whatever, including markets, positions, future, etc, from the LARGE companies, are pumped into our brain with sauce... in order to accept the compromised positions of pollies.

Without News Limited, the playing field would far fairer for all.

 

 

The prospect of a double dissolution election looms over the return of parliament today, as the Government moves closer to a deal with the Greens on Senate voting changes.

Key points:

• Government moves closer to deal with the Greens on Senate voting changes
• Changes may make it harder for "microparties" to gain a Senate seat using complex preferencing deals
• Because of the significant break before the May budget, there would only be three sitting days to call the election

The Coalition is expected to unveil details of its proposed changes to the laws that govern the election of Upper House representatives this week, following discussions with the Greens and independent senator Nick Xenophon.

It is anticipated the changes would make it harderfor so-called "microparties" to gain a Senate seat using complex preferencing deals.

Cabinet will meet today and those deliberations could fuel speculation of a double dissolution election.

If the Upper House blocks the reintroduction of a building and construction watchdog, the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), it could be used as a trigger.

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-22/government-backbenchers-see-merit-in-double-dissolution-election/7188088

 

Trigger? what a lot of whimps! Cry babies! See toon at top. And should the Greens allow senate changes, they will be seen as the political hypocrites they will have become.