ELITIST REPUBLICANS MUST STOP BLUDGING AND PAY THEIR WAY

To ‘bludge’ means “shirk responsibility and live off the efforts of others” and we all now know how republicans are bludging off the taxpayer, all the time.

For instance, using parliamentary resources, republican MPs have been inviting people within their electorates to republican meetings. Whilst this probably falls within the rather loose parliamentary guidelines, one wonders whether MPs responding to requests by individuals asking for prints of the Queen by inviting them to a republican BBQ event does? We have written to the appropriate minister in this regard because it certainly appears to be an abuse of office.

Only recently, we learnt that Peter FitzSimons had used his university position to obtain a $5,000 discount from Sydney University for his 2016 republican dinner. That is $5,000 Sydney University did not get!

Now we have Matt Thistlethwaite MP using his contacts on Randwick City Council to waive the $183 usage fee to use Randwick Oval for a republican barbecue. That is $183 Randwick ratepayers have to forego!

And all this, from the Australian Republic Movement which has received huge donations from big business with James Packer alone contributing a quarter of a million dollars.

$5,000 and now $183 may not appear to be large amounts, but the attitude is that if there are contacts the republicans can use to avoid fees that ordinary people have to pay, they will do so. Just imagine what it will be like if we have a republican president? There are so many incidences of presidents around the world openly bludging millions off the taxpayer at large? Would an Australian republican president be any different? The example given by the Australian Republic Movement indicates that it would not.

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