Class Warfare !

In the eyes of the Labor politicians who sit on the Opposition benches, having a lot of money is a sin and they see fit to indulge in class warfare !  They are attempting to portray Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as an elite who is out of touch with the lives of ordinary Australians.

The point of this attack is that Mr Turnbull has his wealth invested in the Cayman Islands, which have a reputation as a " tax haven " with tight security on financial disclosure and rather lax taxation rules.  The inference is that perhaps Mr Turnbull's money is not meeting the tax demands of the Australian Tax office.

The prime minister neatly turned the tables when he revealed that the very people making this accusation were taking advantage of Cayman Island rules - because their superannuation was invested in companies registered there for the taxation benefits it delivered.

Playing the class card may have a similar come uppance in public minds. Malcolm Turnbull is a man who has a fortune that runs to millions of dollars because he is clever - and very successful.   He made his name as a barrister who defeated the best lawyers the British Crown sent to Australia to prevent the publishing of a spy book, and he served in a high position in a public investment company.   Surely those are the attributes that would be welcomed in the person who holds the position of Prime Minister of this country.

In fact, the care Malcolm Turnbull took when he decided to go into politics to put his money at arms length is something that should be required of all politicians.   Malcolm Turnbull - and his wife, Lucy - have no direct control over where their funds end up.   They are held in blind trusts and as a consequence when issues come before the parliament no self interest is possible in coming to the decisions that need to be made for the public good.

The Labor party has chosen an unfortunate time to try and play the class warfare card because the man holding the position of Prime Minister has been successful in business and has acquired wealth. This coincides with an enquiry into the Trade Union movement - which has a controlling interest in  Labor politics - and this enquiry has revealed rorting of members funds by union officials living the good life.  Some unions are best described as " standover merchants " - delivering  peace to commercial interests only after ransom is paid by way of bogus invoices for services that do not exist - or money that is delivered in plain brown paper bags.

The perennial grouch that surrounds politics touches on political donations.   Successful election campaigns cost big money and there are strict rules in place to identify donors, but money has a habit of avoiding those rules when the donor is expecting favourable legislation as one of the outcomes of such largess.  Revelations of such rorts occur on a regular basis.

Strangely, the money we pay our Prime Minister pales into insignificance when compared to the salaries of the CEO's of our four leading banks, or any of the plethora of public companies listed on the stock exchange.  A man who has millions does not go into politics for the money.  Surely we would not prefer to see our government headed by a person with an indifferent work ethic, no discernible business success and no record of being accountable with money !

By the time the next election rolls around, the public will have had sufficient time to evaluate if a man who has successfully run his private career can use those same attributes to deliver the type of Australia the voters want.   They will then vote accordingly !