Greed !

The sacking of Minister for the Ageing, Senator Santo Santoro for not disclosing his share portfolio shines the spotlight of the naked greed that many politicians bring to their duties. Santoro was initially disciplined for holding shares in a company whose products interacted with his ministry - but then came the revelation that he had shareholdings in another sixty companies that had not been disclosed.
Politicians are well paid and those holding a ministry are the beneficiaries of even greater remuneration. It seems that enough is never enough for those with aspirations of great wealth.
It is time that both sides of politics reached agreement that all members of parliament - backbenchers as well as ministers - should be prohibited from trading in shares while ever they hold public office. The secrets they share as members of parliament are just too tempting when it comes to share trading with inside knowledge.
They should not be obliged to sell existing shares upon election but such shares should immediately be transferred to a blind trust. In that way, wise share selection prior to becoming a member of parliament would not be disturbed, but the member would have no influence on buying or selling - and that function would be in the hands of a person totally removed from member influence.
Unfortunately this is only a partial solution. Whilst a member of parliament is barred from share trading, that does not apply to members of his family - and his intimate knowledge could be passed on to family or friends who had agreed to trade on his behalf.
There is no perfect solution but as we have seen in recent times - politicians will get their snout in the trough in various ways. Unfortunately - there is no magic bullet that can be used against greed !