Whatever happened to 'Keeping the bastards honest'?

There's an old hackneyed joke about how you can tell a politician is lying - his or her lips are moving. But has it become so commonplace these days that some people just accept it as a fact of life under Australia's present Labor Government?

That's where the so-called Fourth Estate - the media - should step up and in the words of the late Don Chipp, "Keep the bastards honest."

Chipp pronounced his lofty intentions when he launched the Australian Democrats in 1977 but if that was the main goal, it failed dismally and the party collapsed with the loss of all seats by 2007.

Things have gone downhill since then and in the second term of the Albanese Government, truth is on a very slippery slope. It was elected and then re-elected on a litany of lies including the much repeated promise that our power bills would show savings of $275 by 2025 thanks to "cheap renewables" (they've gone through the roof and heading for the stratosphere), the Coalition was going to axe Medicare and other essential services to pay for its nuclear energy policy (Mediscare Mark 2), a Labor Government would be open and accountable (really?), and a personal pledge by PM Albanesein October 2023 that he would "not let anti-Semitism 'find so much as a foothold here' in Australia".

That was the biggest fail in this very condensed list, as witnessed by the Bondi massacre targeting Jews attending a religious festival where they should have been as safe as any other visitor to any of our great beaches or other public spaces around the country. It was the horrific culmination of a wave of anti-semitism which has been obviously festering since the riot at the Opera House in the wake of the Hamas attack in Israel on 7 October 2023, slaughtering about 1200 people and taking 251 hostages.

What has our government done since then? Recognised Palestine; sent taxpayer cash to Gaza; granted many more visas to largely unvetted Gazan 'refugees' than any other country; tossed around the word 'genocide' in relation to Gaza; included 'Islamophobia' in the same breath as "anti semitism" as if there is some twisted moral equivalence; tolerated years of demonstrations demanding the destruction of Israel; did nothing to rebuke the vile hate preachers, let alone deport them.

Is it any wonder our weak Prime Minister and his apologists continue to stonewall a royal commission as demands for a sweeping judicial inquiry grow? Last week it was top legal and business leaders calling for a royal commission; today it is our leading sportsmen and women.

Terrible as the Bondi attack which claimed 15 lives was, it took the heat out of another scandal embroiling the Albanese Government as 2025 drew towards an ignominious end - the travel rorts scandal where several key players including Sports and Communications Minister Anika Wells faced intense scrutiny for their profligate spending from the public purse, which they insist was "within the rules". Here's what Google AI has to say:

Anika Wells has spent significant taxpayer money on travel, including nearly $9,000 for her husband to attend three AFL Grand Finals, over $100,000 for a New York trip, and thousands for family trips to sporting events like the F1 Grand Prix and skiing at Thredbo, sparking public criticism for her "generous" use of entitlements despite claims they're within guidelines.

Key Expenses & Incidents:

• AFL Grand Finals (2022-2024): Claimed over $8,500 for family travel to Melbourne for these events.
• New York Trip (September 2025): Over $100,000 for flights for herself, a staffer, and a senior public servant to promote Australia's social media ban.
• Thredbo Ski Trip: Billed taxpayers for flights and allowances for her husband and children to join her for a Paralympics event.
• Adelaide Trip(June 2025): $3,681 for flights, hotels, and transport, including attending a friend's birthday party.
• Melbourne F1 Grand Prix(2024): Almost $1,800 for flights and transport for herself and her husband, despite receiving free tickets from Motorsport Australia.
• Australian Open(2023): A $1,000 Comcar charge for a driver to wait seven hours while she attended the tennis final.

Wells defends these expenses as being within the rules for parliamentarians, allowing for "family reunion" travel for spouses and children on business trips."

Maybe it's just a strange coincidence that another example of Albanese treating the truth like playdough occurred on Christmas Eve during a Canberra press conference involving both the Bondi massacre and the travel rorts.

After talking about the terrorist killings and a proposed honour system for the heroes who emerged on the day, a journalist raised the question, "Do you accept that what Ministers have been claiming through entitlements is out of step with community expectations?"

In a rambling reply, the PM made the following statements: " I've seen some comments from the Coalition who don't seem to recognise two things. One is that the system that has been operating is the system that was established in the wake of Sussan Ley's sacking as a minister and it is, we have not made changes to those entitlements before now…"

This reply can be seen in the interview footage at around the 12 minute mark here https://www.youtube.com/watch?. And it made me sit bolt upright in the lounge chair.

I was waiting for one of the Canberra Press Gallery journos to pull him up on that obvious clanger but not one did. They just shrugged their shoulders and let the spinner go through to the keeper before Albo waffled on a bit more about his proposed changes being more in line with community expectations before wishing them all a Merry Christmas.

For anyone else with short memories, the rules were changed by none other than Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell, back in February 2025, as acknowledged by Energy Minister Chris Bowen in an interview in The Guardian.

The changes expanded the definition of "party political duties," which critics argued made it easier to claim taxpayer-funded travel by broadening the scope for politicians' staff to claim travel for campaign activities.

Farrell himself was also caught up in the travel scandal; Google AI again: Senator Don Farrell has spent over $100,000 on taxpayer-funded family travel since the 2022 election, with figures around $90,000 to $120,000 reported for family reunion flights to events like AFL Grand Finals, the Australian Open, and Uluru experiences, making him a high-profile user of these entitlements amidst broader scrutiny of parliamentary expenses.

Now if I remembered all that and a lot of commenters on some social media sites recognised it for what it was, what is the PM's excuse? Why did the journalists let it slide? I doubt if Seinfeld's mate George Costanza's excuse would pass the pub test here: "It's not a lie if you believe it Jerry…"