10 April 2012

Zed claims vindication

| johnboy
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Liberal Leader Zed Seselja has announced his take on the audit into his office’s timesheets, and he says it’s good news for him:

A detailed audit by a former Royal Commissioner into the office of ACT Opposition Leader Zed Seselja has found ‘no member of staff received any unintended payment or benefit to which they were not entitled.’

The report also confirmed ‘The office has acted very promptly in bringing the records up to date,’ and that ‘the records currently comply.’

Furthermore, the report has said ‘The audit team was of the view that overall Mr Faulkner probably had claimed less credit for hours than he had actually worked.’ It concluded that ‘available evidence supported the views expressed by Mr Faulkner.’

Mr Seselja said today’s findings are in stark contrast to the $15,000 in ACT Labor Minister’s staff were overpaid in undocumented leave, which the Auditor General found amounted to ‘improperly obtaining a benefit to which the employee is not entitled,’ and called on Katy Gallagher to apologise for her dishonest, cowardly and hypocritical smear campaign against the Opposition.

“This is a comprehensive vindication of the position I have put forward from day one, including extensive statements to the public and the Assembly,” Mr Seselja said. “I remain deeply disappointed that Katy Gallagher and the Greens chose to ignore this and push a taxpayer-funded inquiry which now has confirmed my statement to the Assembly some months ago.

Game on for the election then.

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geni_lou said :

Unfortunately there’s no ICAC/mechanism with teeth, to investigate more fully.

It is amazing that there is no impropriety or corruption in the ACT administration such as to require an ICAC type body. I suppose our unique city-state, public service, highly educated nature means that we’re all above that type of thing. If I’m wrong, I presume the ALP and Greens will put a similar effort as that which they’ve pursued Zed into establishing an anti-corruption commission with plenary powers?

Or would that threaten the cozy relationship between the ALP, Labor Clubs, direct grants of land by Cabinet, waivers of change of use charge, gambling tax policy, and political donations that is the bedrock of this regime?

c_c said :

This is confusing,

The statement above says “The report also confirmed ‘The office has acted very promptly in bringing the records up to date…”

But on ABC News just a minute ago, they said the report had stated the office was “too slow to fix the problem when asked.”

Are they talking about different things?

The report does indeed criticise Zed’s office for being slow to respond when the issue was raised with him previously. It’s then noted that he was quick to resolve the matter once it gained public attention, which he’s decided to take as a compliment. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t intended as one.

chewy14 said :

Gungahlin Al said :

I think it says something about how much Zed must have been sweating about an even worse outcome that he interprets this still damning judgement as a positive…

Can they all go back to trying to run the tin pot council now?

Tin Pot Council = That’s exactly what it is. Makes everyone look like squabblers. Move on and deliver something.

Tio working for the party office on Assembly time is the worst kept secret in town. Except for the one where Hargreaves campaign was run out of the libs Assembly office. What is even more concerning than Zed misusing taxpayer funds to further his own political ambitions is that a) there’s no mechanism in the ACT to approprately deal with it (He can’t be leaglly impelled to tell the truth by the auditor) b) People don’t get the difference between a party office and Assemble office, and don’t seem to get how serious this is.
My guess is the CT journo’s based at the Assembly saw Tio tripping off to the party office most days when he was pulling an Assembly salary, found out that Zed had ignored years worth of requests to get his affairs straight, and did their job. Unfortunately there’s no ICAC/mechanism with teeth, to investigate more fully.

PantsMan said :

Will Katy commission a similarly independent review of the Territory’s finances?

Wow, here I was typing a reply and the box was swept away and no more report in full.

However, I would have thought that the Auditor General’s charter was to independently review the Territory’s finances.

Will Katy commission a similarly independent review of the Territory’s finances?

Gungahlin Al said :

I think it says something about how much Zed must have been sweating about an even worse outcome that he interprets this still damning judgement as a positive…

How is it damning?

The ALP and Greens claimed fraud had been committed, and as far as I can see from reading the CT report, it wasn’t.

Zed looks stupid for not running his office correctly, ALP/Greens look stupid for wasting their time on this.

Imbeciles, the lot of them. Can they all go back to trying to run the tin pot council now?

neanderthalsis said :

At the ballot box, when faced with a Labor government that has failed to deliver any infrastructure project on time and on budget, has done a bodge job on pretty much everything they’ve handled and is in collusion with the Watermelons and an opposition that has some timesheet issues, the choice will be an easy one.

Vote Labor and Greens again ’cause that’s what Canberra does (lately)?

neanderthalsis9:09 am 11 Apr 12

c_c said :

This is confusing,

The statement above says “The report also confirmed ‘The office has acted very promptly in bringing the records up to date…”

But on ABC News just a minute ago, they said the report had stated the office was “too slow to fix the problem when asked.”

Are they talking about different things?

Also on ABC was Katy banging on that Seselja was still in the wrong. Work that one out.

Shades of Anna Bligh’s cries of corruption and dodgy dealings by Cambell Newman and his clan without any real evidence.

At the ballot box, when faced with a Labor government that has failed to deliver any infrastructure project on time and on budget, has done a bodge job on pretty much everything they’ve handled and is in collusion with the Watermelons and an opposition that has some timesheet issues, the choice will be an easy one.

Gungahlin Al said :

I think it says something about how much Zed must have been sweating about an even worse outcome that he interprets this still damning judgement as a positive…

Only the “get Zed mentallity” Canberra Times and their rapidly declining numbers of devotees are claiming this as a “damning judgement” In fact, there is an innuendo in the report that certain people should think twice before they abuse parliamentary priveledge. Suggest you read the report in full and form your own conclusions.
I note johnboy has reserved any comment until he obtains and reads the report.

where’d you get your copy DF?

As Zed announced this I have to assume the report is positivr to the Liberals. I know that if the report had been negative to the Liberals then Katy/Labor would have been all over it like ants at a picnic.

Gungahlin Al8:14 am 11 Apr 12

I think it says something about how much Zed must have been sweating about an even worse outcome that he interprets this still damning judgement as a positive…

johnboy said :

I have asked the liberals for a copy of the report

lol, and if that doesn’t work there’s always FOI!

The way we will really find out what this means is to wait to see the report (is it available anywhere?). I find these media releases can make anything say anything.

I have asked the liberals for a copy of the report

While the lack of prompt submitting of paperwork isn’t a good thing, it was a waste of time and money when it was always going to end up with no evidence of overpayment. If the employees are only paid for time worked, the lack of time sheets would have prevented any overpayment.

If Labor and the Greens were really interested in transparency of payroll payments, they would have opened their own records up to the same scrutiny. I suspect that the review of those records would have found exactly the same problems.

This is confusing,

The statement above says “The report also confirmed ‘The office has acted very promptly in bringing the records up to date…”

But on ABC News just a minute ago, they said the report had stated the office was “too slow to fix the problem when asked.”

Are they talking about different things?

VYBerlinaV8_is_back7:02 pm 10 Apr 12

Well, that sure backfired!

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