K-K-Keneally gets the snake eye

This ABC News piece is probably the kindest comment on NSW Premier Kristina K. Keneally's management style:

New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally has defended her level of spending on privately chartered jets, entertainment and staff redundancies since taking the top job.

The Opposition has obtained documents detailing $4 million in spending within the Premier's office since December.

It includes $120,000 on flights around Australia, many of them privately chartered, as well as $1,200 on entertainment and $1.2 million on staff redundancies.

New South Wales Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell says it is an exorbitant figure.

"Well it's not justified to take two chartered aircraft at a cost of $40,000 to Armidale when there are scheduled services to those areas," he said.

But Ms Keneally maintains the spending is justified, especially the travel spending.

"I make no apology whatsoever for getting out across the length and breadth of this state," she said.

She has rejected suggestions the spending was designed to boost her public profile.

While The Herald Sun added some meat to the tale:

"The figures show Ms Keneally has spent over $120,000 flying around Australia, including on privately chartered jets and helicopters. By contrast, Mr Rees spent about $80,000 on flights, including less than $70,000 for chartered planes.

Other expenses have included more than $100,000 in rent for private car-parking in the Sydney CBD, $32,000 on mobile phones and $222 on books.

There was also a $72.50 laundry bill for towels in Ms Keneally's personal bathroom in Governor Macquarie Tower.

Another $1200 was spent on "entertainment" - mainly food at restaurants and in-house catering.

The bill also includes a $1.2 million payout to around 26 staff made redundant after Ms Keneally took the top job.

The staff, who worked for Mr Rees, included senior Labor media advisers Tim Gleason and Aaron Ross, policy hound Davina Langton and Labor political strategist Graeme Wedderburn.

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Mr Wedderburn's payout, estimated to be $160,000, triggered an investigation by the Auditor General's Office into ministerial payouts, and Government sources say the yet-to-be released report recommends future payouts be subject to greater tax."

By 2 June there was another hiccup for Ms. Keneally's hard-pressed PR team:

"NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has admitted she failed to declare free airline upgrades for her children during a trip to the US in 2008.
But Ms Keneally said she made no apology for failing to declare the upgrades, given by Qantas, saying the issue of free upgrades for politicians was a "grey area".

Photo from The Sydney Morning Herald