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Greedy little piggy caught in the trough

by Whaleoil on February 21, 2011

Ruth Dyson is crying crocodile tears about her troughing trip to Ethiopia. One week there would be bad enough but what on earth can you do for two weeks?

Ruth Dyson is a greedy little piggyLabour MP Ruth Dyson is to pay back $16,000 of taxpayers’ money used for a recent private trip to Ethiopia for herself and her husband.

She said in a statement it was no longer appropriate for taxpayers to subsidise such trips “when so many Kiwis are struggling to make ends meet”.

She said when she applied for the trip last July it was before the rules had changed and the subsidy was perfectly within the rules.

“However, I felt uncomfortable about the subsidy all the while I was overseas, and when I got back yesterday I informed Labour Leader Phil Goff I would be repaying the subsidy of just under $16,000, and making a statement about it. Phil said he believed my decision was the right one.”

“Over the past month or so, there have been more and more stories about Kiwis struggling to pay their weekly bills and put food on the table,” Dyson said.

Such trite tosh. She is only sorry she got caught. Is Phil Goff even in control of his caucus anymore?

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  • buffalobob

    What was she doing there in the first place? I guess no business would have taken place, its Ethiopia

  • thor42

    I agree, WO. She’s only “sorry” because she got caught. For F**K’S sake – these bastards in Parliament earn enough dosh to ***pay for their own*** f**king junkets overseas. ***Bastards…***

  • pharmachick

    My biggest problem is the $16K price tag …. I cannot fathom it.

    I’ve visited several African and middle eastern countries in the last 5 years, for up to 2 weeks at a time. Given where my flights are booked from, I have only a slightly cheaper airfare price than booking from NZ. But my hotel etc costs are the same once I get there…

    My total costs have amounted to between ~$5K and ~7K U.S. This being said, my costs included airfare, airport/hotel/airport transfers, ~10 nights in a 4 star hotel in Cairo, ALL meals and ALL place-to-place transportation for one person. Notably, I fly Economy (unless I get [complimentarily] upgraded). Further, it is absolutely true that two people on the same trip DO NOT cost 2X the $$ particularly since if they are husband and wife, room costs are the same, meal costs are generally +25% (but def not 2X) etc. Having traveled extensively for work, sometimes with my spouse, I estimate that the cost for two travelers that are spouses/partners is 1.2 – 1.4 X the cost for one person.

    Wherefore then, 16,000. Particularly, what the heck were Mr & Mrs. Dyson doing in Ethiopa, using Govt. funds? Unless I am completely off target, NZ does not have significant trade, cultural, tourism nor any other business with Ethiopia.

    “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark..”

  • giblet

    pharmachick – excellent detailed post you have made, thanks for taking the time to do the figures for us.

    I wonder if Miz Clarke was in the vicinity of Ethiopia at the time?

  • http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/ inventory2

    To be fair, having visited Ethiopia to see family a couple of years ago, it’s not really what you’d call a “holiday”; more of an “intrepid journey”! But one positive; the beer was cheap and surprisingly good.

  • pharmachick

    Thanks Giblet,
    I’d like to note further that the $$ estimates I gave are for developed countries … I guess that was pretty obvious since I used a Cairo 4-star hotel as the example of the region. Hence my $5-7K U.S. stands for such places as Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Cameroon, UAE, Bahrain etc …
    However, for any travelers that know the region … costs in Ethiopia are **considerably** lower … so it lends even more credence to my point, which was:

    “Ethiopia, $16K … huh?”

  • pharmachick

    @Inventory2,
    a dear friend of mine ended up in Addis Abbaba for work a couple of years ago … I’m a coffee nut and he sent me the **most wonderful coffee** . I am serious when I say that: the bag of roasted beans he sent has ruined me for ever! He ALSO told me the most “intrepid” stories about Ethiopia – it sounds beautiful, but …. hard to navigate/visit.

    • http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/ inventory2

      The coffee is great, and I’m not normally a coffee drinker! Ethiopia is a fascinating country, and where we toured, up north, has huge religious significance. The rock-hewn churches at Lalibela which date back to the 1200′s were mind-blowing. But make no mistake; it is third world, with appalling infrastructure, corruption is endemic, and the government controls everything; the power or the internet are just turned off at some official’s whim, and you may be without power for days. Despite all of that, we’re returning next year.

      As for the cost; I doubt that Ms Dyson would have travelled at the arse end of the plane, so I think that you can base the costs on business class fares, partially subsidised.

      • pharmachick

        I2: yes, I know how you feel … I’ve never been further South (directly) than Abu Simbel (up above the high dam at Aswan). Nor have I been further East than Cameroon (directly).

        The beauty and power of Africa is are hard to resist aren’t they?

        This year, I may not make my annual Cairo trip due to the recent Revolution, and another [scheduled] visit to the middle east is currently in jeopardy due to unrest. I am just happy to know that my friends have hope for the future.

        تحرر من
        حرية
        الروح الديموقراطي
        سلام

        is a good refrain.
        Hope you enjoy yourselves next year!