A Series of articles This week, Netavicen unveiled the widespread travel culture among politicians at the County Council in Nordland. With the financial grant they give themselves, they have gone on exploration trips to famous places.
In most districts, politicians can keep such travel a secret by denying access. This cannot be done in the Norland, where funds are used for ordinary expenses and travel expenses with the district municipality.
read more: FRP politicians gain support to pursue politics in the Northland – toured the United States
Thus Nettavisen has can tell Taxpayers have sponsored FRP politicians jumping into the United States, a trip to Venice for Labor politicians, and a trip to the Alps for Conservative politicians. All three trips cost the country’s taxpayers a total of at least 550,000 kroner. MDG in Nordland will deal with this use of money.
This is team support
This scheme is a little known financial aid which is given to selected groups every year. Sporting funds groups in Sorting, district municipalities finances committees in County Councils, and municipalities in municipal councils.
By law, there should be no restrictions on how money is used and there should be no “conditions that conflict with the independence and liberty of political parties”.
Support is distributed in proportion to the number of votes received in the previous District Council election. Some districts allocate large sums of money to a representative for the opposition, and compensate for the political gain for the position by having independent politicians.
The amount of support will vary greatly. In 2022, the Labor Party group in Western Norway received NOK 2.2 million, while the Labor Party in Nordland received NOK 203,000. The reason Nettavisen says about the use of money in the Nortland is the special organization of the county for this program, which means you can access fares through the district municipality.
Unused funds can be transferred to next year’s budget or put into funds. In some districts, unused funds cannot be brought in within the new four-year period.
– Must be creative to use support
Håkon Møller, MDG’s team leader in the Northland, was skeptical of the group’s support plan, and on several occasions proposed reducing the plan.
– At the end of 2020, we proposed to halve support. We expected there to be fewer travel activities in 2021 due to the epidemic. We then proposed a 25 percent reduction.
MDG’s party committee on the County Council, along with two of its representatives, receives NOK 120,000 a year in committee support. Group support in the Nordland is currently NOK 1.3 million a year and Møller’s colleagues on the county council have not agreed to reduce it. Both proposals were voted on.
– All parties have the opportunity to take up our proposals next year, but we see that we are the only party proposing to stir up their own interests.
It was N.R.K. He was the first to mention M முller’s desire to reduce team support.
Cases about district committees are here
– Why do they think they will not reduce support?
– I do not have the right answer. This is a project that has been in practice for some time. It is a habit to have very spacious group funds. This is seen as a good thing, Møller responds.
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At the same time, Mர்ller insists that the rules have been followed, although he believes the sums are too large.
– We have two delegates and receive about 120,000 each year. We have 300,000 books. How do we get the opportunity to spend that money? I think you need to be more creative to use team support. Groups have less money to choose from.
– It comes on top of the salaries of elected representatives and ordinary party support. In addition, there are already a lot of travel activities under the auspices of team leaders and groups, which are charged for other items in the district municipality’s budget.
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– It is difficult to protect taxpayers
With less team support, Møller believes one will be forced to prioritize.
– I think it is difficult for taxpayers and voters in the Northland to protect the use of this money. I think there is no need to spend 1.3 million a year on this project.
read more: Labor politicians threatened massive boat cuts to save money – so they went on a research trip to Venice.
At the same time, he did not want to comment on his colleagues’ choice to spend his free time traveling.
– Leisure activities are paid out of pocket and business travel wants to have a social aspect. Having a good time at work is important.
– Most working-life professionals agree that it is important to engage in community activities with co-workers to “create a team.” But here, for example, the FRP has come up with its “best parts”⁇ On the go, not district politicians. What do you think about it?
– I was shocked to see it. Such a trip should mainly have a professional plan. In that sense, I face the fact that you bring things that should not be a holiday trip. The most important thing is that it does not burden the district economy. As long as the main part of the trip is relevant to politics, it is a little special that you choose to bring partners.
read more: I traveled on a research trip to the foothills of the Alps – more relaxing than the curriculum
Mல்லller thinks this may mean that there is a lot of community on trips like this as a professional companion.
– These are politicians who set aside money for themselves. If so, the question of whether we are a little more generous to ourselves is soon being asked. I understand that it attracts attention. What is good for Nordland’s role is that we provide insight into which we can be happy.
Read more: Bjørnar Moxnes: – It’s a trick with numbers, uncomfortable and musical
– Use funds wisely
Weinstress arne Ivar Mikaelsen, for his part, believes team support is absolutely essential.
– For example, I use it to liaise with a parliamentary committee. I live in Vesterålen and I live in a completely moderate hotel when I have to meet in Oslo, says Mikaelsen in Nettavisen’s place in Weinstein Northland.
Michelson follows the same strategy when staying in a hotel abroad. He believes it would be very difficult to have a good relationship with Sporting without funding.
– So what do we do? Should we just sit there and not have the opportunity to negotiate with top politicians, or management and organizations? This will be the case if the support is removed. But I agree that one should use the funds wisely.
read more: Politicians give themselves millions – voters are not told what they are going for
The liberal politician says he always uses the funds he disposes of every year and does not save until next year.
– I see someone saving it and using it to stay longer. I usually spend my support at conferences and state administrations or on children and youth exclusion, fisheries management, industry and transportation.. I try to be as short as possible.
– I was at a meeting in Bodo recently. Michelson says the price of an air ticket is 3000 kroner, and hotels are also charged.
Ohm Michelson stays in Oslo or Bodo for an extra day, after which he pays for food and lodging himself, he insists.
To do N.R.K. Nordland Ap says it is satisfied with today’s plan.
– Do you handle study trips in the best way?
Sv politician Aase Refsnes believes it is important to look at the situation as a whole.
– I think it’s prudent to evaluate the plans we have for politicians without fail – so municipalities, county municipalities and the state get the best politicians, says county politician and mayor Stefan’s Refsness.
At the same time, Refsness insists that public funds be put to good use. Maybe want to see if there are ways to better handle overseas study trips?
– At the same time, I know that there are firm and good policy proposals based on the trip undertaken by the committees in the District Council, so a trip outside the District would also be good.
Refsness points out that Northland is a long county and traveling within it is often expensive.
– Therefore, it is important that our elected representatives in the Northland have the opportunity to attend local teams in our 41 municipalities and their annual meetings. At the same time, there are other useful purposes for utilizing these funds to enable them to function better as elected representatives. We need to look at this in the context of this discussion, concludes Refsness.
Red is for team support
Rhode did not make the expedition to Venice, the Alps or the United States, and the group’s chairman, Per-Conner Scotham, did not want to comment on how others chose to use the group’s support, but he believed it was necessary support. Politics in the Northland.
The party uses the support of 135,000 kroner a year exclusively for political work in the Norland.
– We often hold annual conventions. We talk about political issues and get to know each other. This is a weekend.
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At the same time, Scotham insists that he believes that one can learn by going on trips abroad. The online newspaper told the Red Group chairman that it wanted to reduce MDG support.
– And then I suggest they use it like we do, Scotom concludes.
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