The Second Oldest Profession !

The "Second oldest profession " shares the same end result with the former.  It exchanges money for a desired outcome !  Ever since the first recorded days of human activity on planet Earth it has been the custom to grease the palm of a person in power to facilitate the granting of a favour.   In modern day parlance - that is described as a "bribe "!

Sadly, the business of "Politics" delivers such power and prestige that it has become the pinnacle of human endeavour.  Becoming one of the few who control the levers of power that dictate the terms under which we mere mortals live becomes an obsession that sweeps away all moral considerations - and getting elected takes great amounts of money !

We have seen the ingenuity that has been applied to keeping  political donations secret.  There are laws in place to stop the more blatant "interested parties "from using their power of money to influence political decisions.  It seems that the old maxim of "Where there is a will - there is a way " is then applied to that conundrum.   Illicit donations in the political sphere are a continuing way of life.

Dr Kerry Schott, former head of Sydney Water heads a panel tasked with forming new rules and regulations to apply to New South Wales political donations.   That is a daunting task and for any outcome to be effective - it will have to pass the scrutiny of the very people whose vote is needed to pass it into law.    That means a political law - that applies to the very politicians who have demonstrated that they lack the will to act within the limits imposed by moral laws !

The first suggestion involves the extension of time limits.   The present law imposes a three year limit on prosecutions for breach of the existing code of donation restrictions and in most cases when a accusation arises, it leads to a lengthy investigation.   When this delivers a finding it is usually past the limit when the offender can face court and become accountable for his or her illegal actions - and accordingly be punished.   If the severity of the breach is so severe that there is a very adverse public reaction,  the member usually resigns from parliament, collects a considerable lifetime parliamentary pension - and completely avoids any possibility of incarceration.   It is proposed that this limit be increased to ten years.

The second suggestion arising from this panel - is to impose a ten year prison sentence on any politician convicted of such a law breach.  Of course, this is a maximum sentence that is subjected to the discretion of the presiding judge hearing the case, but it elevates the charge from a misdemeanour to a serious level - and automatically expels a convicted felon from remaining a member of parliament.

It seems that Dr Schott's panel is faced with the dilemma of trying to create a set of rules that bring two powerful human emotions into conflict. Most politicians adhere to the adage that applies to all "things in love and war " - and include politics as a fair description of "war ".   Whatever the outcome, the urge to fund a successful political campaign and win election will take precedence over any and all restraints designed to prevent the flow of funds for that purpose.

For the centuries that human civilization has existed, all the power of the churches, the parliaments, the police and moral crusaders have failed miserably to curb the oldest profession.   This attempt to bring order to the "second oldest profession "seems doomed to suffer a similar fate !