Just in case you were wondering...

... Australia is not above a little official corruption and shit excuses. No, not Kevin RTudd and bloody ute-gate (AAARRGH, why do they have to stick 'gate' on the end? Why did I for that matter?), which is really more interesting because of the desperation shown by the Liberals to use it to bash Rudd with and the even greater, not to say hilarious, desperation with which they're back pedalling ever since it turned out that it's all largely based on a fake email. Check the link if you really must and you don't already know.

No, I'm talking about the Chief Exec of Sydney Ferries, which is owned by the New South Wales government, putting nearly a quarter of a million dollars of personal expenses on his corporate (i.e. taxpayer funded) credit card. Even his son has had a share.

THE son of former Sydney Ferries chief executive Rear Admiral Geoff Smith took his father's corporate credit card to schoolies celebrations on the Gold Coast where he racked up nearly $7000 worth of expenses, an ICAC inquiry has heard.

Sydney Ferries manager of financial accounting Mabel Misra yesterday told the inquiry that Admiral Smith had told her his son took the card to the infamous end-of-school festivities in 2006.

"(Admiral Smith) indicated to me that his son had accidentally taken his credit card and he had gone for Schoolies, I think to the Gold Coast, and he couldn't get in touch with him or -- or there was some issue that he couldn't retrieve the card back immediately and he had incurred some personal expenditure on the card," Ms Misra said.

Despite a promise he would reimburse the expenses "immediately", a cheque written for $6868 to cover the expenses bounced, she said.

The former rear admiral in the Royal Australian Navy is before an ICAC hearing over his use of the Sydney Ferries corporate credit card with which he allegedly spent $237,000 on personal expenses.

...

It is alleged Admiral Smith spent the money on restaurants, hotels, overseas travel and private school fees.

And his excuse? You're going to fucking love this. According to The Australian Libertarian Society's blog nobody told Admiral Smith that he shouldn't do it. Sound at all familiar? The lack of thought gone into whether it was right rather than merely allowed. The immediate attempt to blame someone or something else, the anonymous person or persons who he feels should have told him not to abuse the credit car, once he'd been found out and the shit was hitting the fan. Is it me or could he fit right in at whatever drinking clubs the serial troughing cunts of Westminster like to prop up? I mean, private schools? Christ alive, I don't think even British politicians have tried that one. I can hear the sounds of Aussies singing Anything you can do we can do better... as if it would somehow make up for being beaten by the poms in Beijing.



Ahem.

Well, one other very important way in which Australia has done better than Britain on such a huge expenses piss take. The NSW Transport Minister has sacked the bugger.