In 2021, comedian John Delmenico wrote a joke for the satirical Chaser news site, summing up the latest politician waste of public money.

“I didn’t break any rules, says guy who makes the rules,” he wrote.

Delmenico brought back the joke back last week because it was timeless – almost doesn’t matter what year it is, it applies.

Because that’s the thing about politics. It’s all in the rules because those who benefit from it all, write the rules.

The current rules exist because the politician driving this latest expense scandal, Sussan Ley, settled an investment property sale while charging taxpayers for her work trip to Queensland’s Gold Coast in 2017.

And even though Ley “didn’t break any rules”, the public pressure was enough for the prime minister at the time, Malcolm Turnbull, to force her to step down. An independent expenses watchdog was established to make entitlement and pay decisions for politicians, and that was supposed to fix it.

But, of course, it didn’t. Because the independent watchdog set the rules according to the information it was given by parliamentarians. People who were used to their workplace providing perks that almost no other workplace in Australia provides, a historical throwback to when parliamentary pay did not cover the long stints of travel needed for the job.

Now, of course, politicians earn more than most Australians – with ministers and senior office holders among the highest earners. But it’s become easy to assure themselves in taking advantage of the generous (and they are generous) entitlements, because everyone else is.

These are people who earn enough money to be able to fly their families on their own money, who can afford to pay for the tickets, sporting boxes and........

© The New Daily