FOI documents show how Peter Ryan's office spends taxpayer money on flowers, flights and ... a 24 cent thimble

DEPUTY Premier Peter Ryan has splashed more than $210,000 of taxpayer cash on everything from a 24 cent thimble to expensive charter flights. 

 
Documents obtained through Freedom of Information reveal Mr Ryan's ministerial office expenditure in its first 18 months in power.
Mr Ryan and his staff have spent more than $5200 on floral arrangements between December 23, 2010, and the end of June this year.
Mr Ryan routinely approved "weekly flowers for the office" at a cost of $223.73, from Fitzroy florist Flowers Vasette.
In a single day in January last year, the office submitted invoices for $668.19 from the florist.
Documents also reveal $166,077 was spent on air travel and charter flights including more than $27,000 billed in June for travel to Bairnsdale and $3950 for "air charter" on January 3 last year.

 

In June, Mr Ryan's office also spent $170.50 on "milk for tea room" from Treasury Cafe.

It was one of several claims from the cafe near his Treasury Place headquarters, including a $132.50 sum last October for "tea room supplies" and two separate bills of more than $120 last July.
Other expenses revealed include:
A $271.82 vase in March;
TRAYS and bowls for $247.18 in March last year;
A CERTIFICATE frame for $124 in August last year;
MORE than $700 on Sale accommodation for his ministerial driver in August last year; and,
A $77.50 bill at city cafe Mamma's Boy for a "pre- community safety committee meeting" last year.
A spokeswoman for Mr Ryan, Clare Siddins, said it was his responsibility to visit regional Victoria.
But Opposition government scrutiny spokesman Martin Pakula said Mr Ryan was on a "spendathon". "Clearly, public service belt tightening doesn't extend to the Deputy Premier's office," he said.
The 24 cent thimble was put on the public purse in January last year in a single expense claim alongside three others costing no more than 29 cents each.
Mr Ryan's office ordered Scarborough Fair green teabags, Lipton Sir Thomas peppermint breeze herbal teabags, Dilmah teacup bags, and Moccona coffee.

theaustralian.com.au 25 Nov 2012

Whether it be money laundering, bribes, misuse of public funds, credit card fraud, theft of public funds, obtaining property by deception, the police does not charge politicians as the police is not going to go against the very hand that feeds it.

Corruption in government costs taxpayers staggering amounts that the mass media is reluctant to report on.

The best criminals in the country are politicians and law makers.