Whatever happened to 'Keeping the bastards honest'?

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…"