Troy Buswell for Treasurer !

There are calls to sack the state treasurer. Agamedes points out that -- bad as he is -- there may be no-one better.

Do you need new -- lateral -- thinking for your own problems? email nick leth at gmail dot com. Need solutions? No worries. Now.

Okay, so current state treasurer Troy Buswell has had an affair with greens politician Adele Carles. The calls to sack the treasurer are mixed with cries that, historically, political sexual affairs were deemed to be of no consequence to the public. Deemed, I must point out, by journalists -- whose favourite catch-cry is, But the public has a right to know! A right to know... but only when the journalists decide that we have a right to know...

Today, we have two-faced moralising journalists deciding that -- this time -- the public does indeed have a right to know.

What has changed? According to Paul Murray, the "new media" has changed the rules. Non-traditional journalists writing on the cheap for quick-response websites have bypassed the traditional media outlets. News of the Buswell/Carles affair was reported online -- which "changed the rules" -- so news of the affair was deemed to now be ready for publication. "The public now has a right to know," presumably.

In other words: newspapers and tv were scooped by an internet reporter; the old-boys-club of newspaper and tv journalists has lost control of what is publishable news; they make the most of the lost monopoly and follow the lead of internet reporters. If we can't cover up for our political mates, at least we can dig some more dirt.

What are the reported problems?

Sex is not the problem. Cheating on husbands and wives is not the problem. Below-average moral standards is certainly not the problem.

Buswell spent taxpayer money to support his affair. That is a problem. Carles may have voted with the enemy, due to influence from sleeping with the enemy. That is a problem, at least for her own party. The definite problem -- for the taxpaying public -- is, that the treasurer has been ripping off taxpayer money.

Rorts and the treasurer

A treasurer with criminal tendencies is not a good thing. On the other hand...

Buswell is reported to be a "good" treasurer. He has a university degree in economics -- which almost makes Buswell qualified to be treasurer! As I explained earlier, under Why are Government Ministers Incompetent?, the only enforceable qualification to be a government minister is, that you are a politician.

Yet he steals public money.

In the lead-up to the state budget, Buswell was attacked, following leaks that actual spending would exceed budget. The over-spend was in the millions, perhaps billions, of dollars -- which is less than half a percent of the total budget amount! Any business which was that close to budget would be pleased. Government agencies must spend "to" their budget -- neither over nor under; getting within a percent of such a narrow target is to be commended!

The treasurer runs a tight ship. Yet he provides false data in order to gain extra personal perks.

Oh my! this is a toughie! Buswell is a good treasurer. There is not likely to be a better treasurer. His personal standards are questionable, at best. What to do?

Make the punishment fit the crime

Buswell is (we are told) a good treasurer. So let him be treasurer -- in all except name and perks.

• Name any other politician -- Politician X -- as treasurer. Give X the title, the power, the staff, the office, the perks. And give treasurer X an assistant...
  
• Name Buswell as Special Assistant to the Treasurer. With no perks, no staff, no extra salary, no power. The role of S.A. Buswell is to ensure that treasurer X produces a good budget. Nothing unusual here, good managers always delegate actual work to their specialist staff.
  
• Treasurer X has two roles: to present the final budget and to control... sorry, manage... SA Buswell. Hmmm... better make sure that X is male...
  

Buswell is demoted -- but the government still benefits from his claimed expertise with budgets. Politician X gets rewarded for whatever boot-licking he has done in the past, in exchange for the serious responsibility of keeping Buswell in line. The government keeps its treasury expertise but is seen to be stern and strict with dodgy dealers.

Everyone is happy. Except, perhaps, for Buswell, Carles, their families, friends and supporters.

The government -- and greens -- keep the people who may have a modicum of talent. At least until the next election.

If voters are really upset by the news that journalists have been forced to release, then voters can remove Buswell and Carles from parliament. If the voters really care. Now that they know a little bit more of the truth. Now that journalists have been forced to extend their definition of what the public "has a right to know."

Independent thinking & independent analysis of your problems by Agamedes Consulting. Support for your thought: email nick leth at gmail dot com