It's only a lazy half a bil.

See - look at this - back again this week...

I want to begin this by saying that I'm not really the best person when it comes to finance. Sure I get it but I don't much like it. I'm the kind of guy who holds on to petty cash receipts for a year then throws them out cause I can't shut my wallet. And sure, I've been known, sorry AM known for leaving bank statements unopened for...well...ever. However, not even I would be comfortable fronting the media as Premier of NSW and dismiss in as blithe a manner as Kristina Keneally the misuse of oh...sorry how much was that Kristina? Sorry, I'm not sure I heard that correctly - did you say $500 million dollars? (Laughs)...Oh (stops laughing). You did.

That's right, $500 million dollars. Gone in a puff of smoke with the now abandoned city metro plan. Sorry if I'm repeating myself but $500 million dollars???!!! Really?

I'm not sure what is worse, the blase attitude with which this kind of waste is explained away as being somehow necessary or the fact that there is absolutely no personal accountability for such financial mismanagement. Let's just pause for a second and think about what good could have actually been done with that money... you pausing...it hurts the brain and the heart to think about it doesn't it?

I would bet, let's say a lazy 1/2 bil, that in any other walk of life Kristina would have left that press conference and been met at her desk by two burly security staff ready to offer a helping hand to the footpath. Now I know what you're going to say - we are the security staff and can escort them all out come the next election. But I guarantee you by then everyone would have forgotten this and besides there'll more than likely be some sort of sex scandal between now and then anyway.

The issue as far as I see it is that this kind of waste has gone on and will continue to go on primarily due to the fact that there is very little personal pain that goes along with wasting other people's money. I know for a fact that I'd be more comfortable putting 100 bucks of a stranger's money in the pokies than I would my own. Why? Cause I did nothing to earn it, it's not mine and therefore I don't care if I lose it.

In business, people's financial remuneration is directly linked to performance. I'm talking about the big end of town here. Be it stock options, cash bonuses, salary increases there is a direct financial correlation to how well that person does for the business. So why can't we institute something similar for politicians?

You still with me? Good. Now don't get me wrong, for the most part I think that most pollies are trying to do the right thing, I'm willing to give them that. I'll also grant that, although they are paid well, they're not paid exorbitantly well so I'll leave their salaries alone. But how about their super?

Here's what I propose (remember I ain't no financial wizz). Parliament sets up a super scheme into which 9% of each pollie's salary is tipped each year in line with current super obligations. The fund then issues, lets call them "shares", to members of the fund in this case the politicians. Now these shares could equate to say 50% of the value of their contribution with the remaining shares only issued based on performance. In addition to this if the fund does well then further shares above and beyond the contribution can be issued for outstanding performance. The flip side being that shares can be withheld for poor performance with the board of the fund (made up of successful business people in their own right) responsible for determining which outcome is applicable.

Look, in reality it might only be 10-15k on the line each year but surely some personal financial repercussions for pissing $500 million bucks into a non-existent hole is better than nothing?

Rant. Over.