topic Re: TA “volunteering” in Community Spirit

TA “volunteering”

***super_nova*** — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 21:19:41 GMT

Am i bit strange to think that if person is doing something for charity or is supposedly volunteering they do it in their own time and at their expense?

Tony Abbott claims to be a friend of Indigenous Australians, regularly spending time in their communities “volunteering”. This is an enormously expensive lie. That is an insult to all the people who really do volunteer and give freely their time.

Read more...http://www.independentaustralia.net/2013/politics/tony-abbotts-costly-indigenous-community-volunteering/

Re: TA “volunteering”

azureline** — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 21:29:13 GMT

That hardly seems fair.. my son volunteered to assist in building a school in a remote PNG area..... he had to pay his own plane and helicopter fare... take his own food and supplies, tools etc........... and then trek out again on foot, a days walk.

Re: TA “volunteering”

lakeland27 — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 21:32:23 GMT

he's going to carry this for the rest of his (hopefully) shortened career.

Re: TA “volunteering”

catsnknots — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 21:57:03 GMT

I 100% agree with anyone claiming expenses of volunteering. It is so hard to get anyone to help these days that I think politicians can lead the way and often encourage others to also volunteer.

As for this direct claim I am happy for this to be paid on my behalf. He is representing the government and showing that as a whole we care for the indigenous people. He has made real changes in those forgotten communities.

Why is everyone only focusing on the LNP claims? I hear that there are lots of labor pollies that also have paid back claims?

Re: TA “volunteering”

izabsmiling — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:04:44 GMT

so many lies and so much hypocrisy ...

a person could almost feel that all the promoters of a dodgy product should be held to account too

Re: TA “volunteering”

alexander*beetle — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:07:54 GMT

"Why is everyone only focusing on the LNP claims? I hear that there are lots of labor pollies that also have paid back claims? "

They are all under scrutiny. But TA is the Prime Minister and should be morally above "not being clear what he is entitled to" and because the LNP battered Slipper out of Parliament for doing what they were all doing. Don't also forget that the money was paid back 7 Years later because he got questioned by journalists, not because he thought he had done the wrong thing.

Re: TA “volunteering”

catsnknots — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:08:48 GMT

so is this about rorting or about bashing Tony Abbott?...... no need to answer!!

Re: TA “volunteering”

izabsmiling — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:10:25 GMT

@catmad*2013 wrote:
I 100% agree with anyone claiming expenses of volunteering. It is so hard to get anyone to help these days that I think politicians can lead the way and often encourage others to also volunteer.

As for this direct claim I am happy for this to be paid on my behalf. He is representing the government and showing that as a whole we care for the indigenous people. He has made real changes in those forgotten communities.

Why is everyone only focusing on the LNP claims? I hear that there are lots of labor pollies that also have paid back claims?

the claim he and others in the Liberal party also make is that he spends a full week 'volunteering with the community '

being flown around with business men,stopping for a few photos and this done for a few days is not what most consider 'a week' nor volunteering and being with the community .

and a week every year as well suposedly ????

Re: TA “volunteering”

purplecarrot-top — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:14:02 GMT

Lol catmad why am I not surprised at your replies? If Gillard had done this you would have been wielding the big stick.

Re: TA “volunteering”

lakeland27 — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:18:56 GMT

@catmad*2013 wrote:
so is this about rorting or about bashing Tony Abbott?...... no need to answer!!

both, its his rorting that makes him a target. you may be happy with his excessive claims ,but plenty are not.

Re: TA “volunteering”

freakiness — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:28:07 GMT

@catmad*2013 wrote:
I 100% agree with anyone claiming expenses of volunteering. It is so hard to get anyone to help these days that I think politicians can lead the way and often encourage others to also volunteer.

As for this direct claim I am happy for this to be paid on my behalf. He is representing the government and showing that as a whole we care for the indigenous people. He has made real changes in those forgotten communities.

Why is everyone only focusing on the LNP claims? I hear that there are lots of labor pollies that also have paid back claims?

He was not representing the government at the time he claimed these excessive travel expenses. It was pure campaigning followed by lies about his time there.

Re: TA “volunteering”

catsnknots — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:35:00 GMT

@purplecarrot-top wrote:
Lol catmad why am I not surprised at your replies? If Gillard had done this you would have been wielding the big stick.

Actually I would have applauded her if she went to remote locations for a week and helped the indiginous people of this country.

If she claimed for all of those visits to promote her passion for womens rights, all those visits to girls schools, all those visits to Emilies lists events and any other visit I would not argue she could not claim them. She is promoting a passion (I may not agree with the Emilies list but she does) and as a leader, the first female PM, she has a powerful message that is of benefit to the community.

Iza, you think Tony Abbott just goes for photo events?? You are so incredibly wrong. he helps build, clean, fix up, encourage the young people and let the elders know that we do care. he encourages other business people to get involved.

The thing that many people do not understand about visiting as a politician is that you might only get to spend a few days doing exactly what you intend to do... the other few days are spent with people that want to wine and dine, talk about policies, chew your ear about their needs and just being their. Traveling to and from those locations also involves a very long journey.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/fact-checker/fact-checker-coalition-leader-tony-abbotts-bush-jaunts-make-him-almost-a-local-20130825-2sjzo.html

Re: TA “volunteering”

freakiness — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:43:59 GMT

@catmad*2013 wrote:
@purplecarrot-top wrote:
Lol catmad why am I not surprised at your replies? If Gillard had done this you would have been wielding the big stick.
Actually I would have applauded her if she went to remote locations for a week and helped the indiginous people of this country.

If she claimed for all of those visits to promote her passion for womens rights, all those visits to girls schools, all those visits to Emilies lists events and any other visit I would not argue she could not claim them. She is promoting a passion (I may not agree with the Emilies list but she does) and as a leader, the first female PM, she has a powerful message that is of benefit to the community.

Iza, you think Tony Abbott just goes for photo events?? You are so incredibly wrong. he helps build, clean, fix up, encourage the young people and let the elders know that we do care. he encourages other business people to get involved.

The thing that many people do not understand about visiting as a politician is that you might only get to spend a few days doing exactly what you intend to do... the other few days are spent with people that want to wine and dine, talk about policies, chew your ear about their needs and just being their. Traveling to and from those locations also involves a very long journey.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/fact-checker/fact-checker-coalition-leader-tony-abbotts-bush-jaunts-make-him-almost-a-local-20130825-2sjzo.html

Would you mind finding a single example of a time Abbott went to a remote community for a week.

Not a single one of the claims I've seen have been for a week, That's just the line that's repeated over and over . The claims are all for one to three days and no, it's not volunteering when you claim more per day than the locals get per week.

Re: TA “volunteering”

lakeland27 — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:48:07 GMT

no it isn't volunteering, its electioneering . volunteers don't get paid.

Re: TA “volunteering”

alexander*beetle — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 22:54:56 GMT

I think we understand very well what job politicians have. We're not all stupid. But nothing can take away from what is clearly rorting the system.

How can us paying for him and his wife and daughters to attend the Melbourne Grand Final and the Melbourne Cup in any way part of a legitimate claim?
How is us paying for the travel costs for the promotion of his book in any way legitimate?
How is us paying for his bike rides under the guise of "charity work" legitimate?

It is what it is.

Re: TA “volunteering”

spotweldersfriend — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 23:03:15 GMT

Well if we're paying for it,that means I'm volunteering too, technically. Where's my resume?

Re: TA “volunteering”

spotweldersfriend — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 23:06:40 GMT

I'm running as an independent next election.
1.Move to the country
2.Far right policy platform
3.K'ching.

Re: TA “volunteering”

catsnknots — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 23:07:01 GMT

do you know how long it takes to get to those communities?

From start to finish it will be a week.

he might have only had three full days on the ground building things but there would also be travel time and time to meet with leaders.

I guess you have zero idea of how things work when it comes to these sort of events.

Re: TA “volunteering”

izabsmiling — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 23:11:10 GMT

@spotweldersfriend wrote:
Well if we're paying for it,that means I'm volunteering too, technically. Where's my resume?

why shouldn't we all put that on our resumes anyway ?

It looks good and such claims may help you win the job .

though if we all do it...someone claiming that they volunteer would be reduced to meaning next to nothing wouldn't it ?

Re: TA “volunteering”

izabsmiling — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 23:12:31 GMT

the word might = zero idea of actual fact