Friday 13 May 2016

Federal Election 2016: feeling entitled to the last


Have you been a sitting member in the federal parliament since 2004?
Recently lost party pre-selection?
What do you do to retain all the salary, lurks and perks of an MP between 9 May when parliament dissolved and polling day on 2 July 2016?
Why you announce that you will nominate as an Independent candidate.
Problem solved!
Not only are you still on the parliamentary gravy train – even if you happen to lose your seat you will be further compensated by the long-suffering taxpayer when the Australian Electoral Commission pays out if you have received 4% or over of all formal first preference votes recorded in your electorate.
That’s $2.62259 per eligible vote in this double-dissolution election.

At least one disendorsed Liberal Party MP, who thinks he was the most popular MP in his seat there’s ever been, has obviously done the maths and decided to add to the $104,496 plus annual pension he would receive if he simply resigned now.

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