Fiddle-dee-dum, fiddle-dee-dee

This is Barry O'Farrell, the Premier of New South Wales. I generally don't like to ridicule people by posting odd looking pictures of them but, really, politicians just ask for it sometimes.

Mr O'Farrell led his party into Government a couple years back after decades in the wilderness of the Opposition benches. He did so with a thumping big majority. He deserves credit for that achievement which his numerous predecessors failed to achieve even if the constituency was so desperate to remove the other party from power that we may well have elected Kermit the Frog had been the only choice.

Anyway, Mr Farrell has that huge majority and he had the goodwill of the constituency to effect change and improvements but he has proved a huge disappointment. He would rather send a matter to a committee for endless consideration than make an actual decision. He seems afraid to make any decision that might not be popular. He has made the mistake of trying to be all things to all people.

At the moment he has a problem with one of his Ministers who had to be helped out of the Parliament the other evening when it appeared he was too drunk to participate. Now, this is not the first time a Member of Parliament has been found to be drunk in the house. Most have survived to continue their prosperous public careers.

This situation may prove different. The Minister has since been accused of making many interstate trips, at taxpayer expense, apparently to attend major sporting events. This may have been understandable if the minister's responsibilities were for sport or a related field but they are not. It seems the Minister has been rorting public funds. Significantly, said Minister is the Minister for Finance!

So what has this to do with Mr O'Farrell? Well, he is the Premier of the State. He is the leader of the Government of which the recalcitrant Minister is a member. Asked today, what Ministerial responsibilities apply in this situation Mr O'Farrell stated that he didn't know - an astonishing admission for the State's leader - and that a reason why did not know is that he, himself, has never been a Minister - a rather silly excuse in the circumstances.

Politicians are only human but, gee, they can be very stupid - even at the highest levels.