So disappointed in Joe :(

[azureline**]

I cannot believe how much Mr Hockey has disappointed me this year.

ASPIRING treasurer Joe Hockey has been caught breaching parliamentary rules after failing to declare a family interest for almost his entire 17-year career in federal parliament.

Mr Hockey declared the directorship of Steel Harbour Pty Ltd held by his wife, Melissa Babbage, in May last year among a series of "new positions" under spouse declaration rules.

But business records show Ms Babbage was appointed to the role in 1998.

Pecuniary interest register declarations are supposed to be made within a month.

[izabsmiling]

ASPIRING treasurer Joe Hockey has been caught breaching parliamentary rules after failing to declare a family interest for almost his entire 17-year career in federal parliament.

Mr Hockey declared the directorship of Steel Harbour Pty Ltd held by his wife, Melissa Babbage, in May last year among a series of "new positions" under spouse declaration rules.

But business records show Ms Babbage was appointed to the role in 1998.

Pecuniary interest register declarations are supposed to be made within a month.

The revelations come after News Corp Australia revealed earlier this year Arthur Sinodinos, tipped to be Mr Hockey's right-hand man as finance minister in an Abbott government, failed to declare six company directorships in his first year in the upper house.

Documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show Mrs Babbage was appointed as a director of Steel Harbour Pty Ltd on April 2, 1998.

Her directorship includes the three years Mr Hockey was a member of the Howard ministry from 1998 to 2007 and spans more than some of the long careers of Mr Hockey's colleagues.

Mr Hockey was elected as the member for North Sydney in 1996.

But Mr Hockey's register of pecuniary interests shows he only put the interest on the public record on May 29 last year.

The move came as Mrs Babbage added a string of other directorships to her swag of corporate roles, including with Athletics Australia, the Australian Athletics Federation and Host City Marathon.

Mr Hockey said: "The Labor Party has previously engaged in this type of muckraking and then been forced to correct such unsubstantiated assertions. It is a desperate action from a desperate government."

MPs can be referred to a privileges committee inquiry over omissions with the interests register.

Punishments for knowingly providing incorrect information to parliament can include jail or fines.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national-news/federal-election/joe-hockey-declares-wife8217s-company-director...

Joe Hockey ....if you did it ... you made the mud .

[izabsmiling]

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@**meep** wrote:

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@lakeland27 wrote:

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@**meep** wrote:

I'm not sure exactly what he said but it was during the discussion about his wife.....He said something about not wanting to know about her business interests.

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 so a pre-emptive disclaimer ?

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possibly

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From the opening post...he was  'Clueless'   ? ... lol

____________________________________________________________________________________

The directorship blunder has emerged ahead of a key economic debate showdown between Mr Hockey and Treasurer Chris Bowen at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.

Mr Hockey yesterday suggested he was clueless about his wife's business interests for 14 years and would not explain what the company did.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national-news/federal-election/joe-hockey-declares-wife8217s-company-director...

[polksaladallie]

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@izabsmiling wrote:
 

Mr Hockey yesterday suggested he was clueless about his wife's business interests for 14 years and would not explain what the company did.

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Gee, that inspires confidence in his abilities, doesn't it?

[lakeland27]

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@polksaladallie wrote:

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@izabsmiling wrote:
 

Mr Hockey yesterday suggested he was clueless about his wife's business interests for 14 years and would not explain what the company did.

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Gee, that inspires confidence in his abilities, doesn't it?

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  no change here.

[izabsmiling]

does he not put at least some of those details on his tax return ?

[**meep**]

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@polksaladallie wrote:

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@izabsmiling wrote:
 

Mr Hockey yesterday suggested he was clueless about his wife's business interests for 14 years and would not explain what the company did.

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Gee, that inspires confidence in his abilities, doesn't it?

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JOE: Business is the backbone of the Australian economy.

PETER: ..and Melissa has made all the money. Until recently, she was a top executive with Deutsche Bank. Would it be fair to say that in your married life together, Melissa's earned three times what you've earned, 5 times what you've earned, 10 times what you've earned?

JOE: I'm sure you've out-earned me every year. Almost every year. I don't know how much she's earned. I don't know. And I've - yeah, absolutely, deliberately - I don't want to know if she owns shares or what the situation is because I think it puts me in a conflict position.

PETER: So Melissa makes the investments but doesn't tell you "We're into BHP and we're out of..."

from Sunday Night  - "Slim Joe" interview

[topsidesoul]

I guess its time to stop calling  to him  'Honest Joe' .

[lakeland27]

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@izabsmiling wrote:

does he not put at least some of those details on his tax return ?

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 i really couldn't tell you the answer.

this is interesting

Twitter tug-o-war: treasurers' debate Treasurer Chris Bowen and counterpart Joe Hockey's press club debate

Who do you trust to run Australia's economy?

70% 30%

Tweet

#BowenNPC

Tweet

#HockeyNPC

70  V  30 to bowen.

­

[lakeland27]

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@topsidesoul wrote:

I guess its time to stop calling  to him  'Honest Joe' .

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 did anyone actually call him that ? i don't tune in to 'some' commentary .. surely 2010 put paid to that rumour ?

[topsidesoul]

Long time ago I heard him being referred to as honest Joe. It might have been on one of the breakfast programs he appeared on as a regular and could have been an ironic term by a Labor co debater.

Either way I had to support two family members who were left unemployed thanks to workchoices.

One because the company decided to fire them after 14 years and have the whole company filled by those who are related.

The other because they  would not do the business's MYOB for free as they were not hired as a secretary and they only spent their 'unpiad personal time' learning to use it to then teach the boss , so the boss would stop making mistakes calculating pay.