A ‘SNOUT in the trough’, ‘absolute disgrace’ and ‘hypocrite’.
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These are a few of the terms that have been used by Border Mail readers to describe Health Minister Sussan Ley following revelations she bought a Gold Coast unit while on official business.
Such descriptions would have surprised most fair-minded Farrer voters if they had been made before last week.
Ms Ley had largely been seen as a diligent local member who had risen through the ranks to become a minister.
Now her reputation is in question with constituents wondering why she has seemingly been cavalier with taxpayers’ money.
Ms Ley admitted herself the situation gives the appearance she does not understand the issues faced by those doing it tough in Farrer.
It also jars with the Coalition federal government’s general message of needing to clawback expenditure and improve the budget by measures such as cracking down on welfare recipients and tightening pension requirements.
Having decided to stand aside, pending two investigations into her travel, Ms Ley remains confident she will be able to return to the ministry.
“I’m very confident that the investigations will demonstrate that no rules were broken whatsoever,” she told the media in Albury on Monday.
That may be the case, but many would say the rules were inadequate in the first place and need to be changed.
Certainly the member for Indi, Cathy McGowan, believes entitlements need to be overhauled with contemporaneous reporting of claims and a provision to refer misuse to the police in some circumstances.
Albury deputy mayor Amanda Cohn, a Greens party member, also wants perks to be revamped and made less generous.
She has organised a protest to be held at Ms Ley’s office on Wednesday.
If the turnout is large and beyond the predictable political opponents of Ms Ley, it will be a genuine display of dissatisfaction with the MP.
The bottom line for Ms Ley though is that trust in her has been eroded.
Many citizens feel as though she has taken them for suckers – indulging in personal advantage at the expense of the taxpayer.
This heightens cynicism about politicians generally and shows the need for more integrity to rebuild trust in a system that appears prone to rorting.