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Articles on Parliamentary integrity

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Bronwyn Bishop resigned as Speaker following a controversy that brought the public’s trust in her office into question. AAP/Daniel Munoz

New Speaker must lead the way in restoring parliamentary ethics and trust

What can the new Speaker do to restore the Australian public’s faith in the office – and in MPs more broadly – after Bronwyn Bishop’s resignation due to a series of lavish entitlement claims?
Tony Abbott opens the campaign office for Liberal candidate Ken Wyatt in 2010. Now he and all incumbent MPs enjoy a $300,000 advantage over their challengers at the next election. AAP/Dean Lewins

Budget’s $45m slush fund for MPs is an unethical use of public money

‘Better Communities’ funding is supposedly non-partisan: every electorate gets $300,000 for local projects. But only incumbent MPs have a say in this spending and 60% of them are government members.
What are we voting for? Certainly not decisions made in MPs’ own interest or that of political parties or business cronies, but the present system lets that happen. AAP/Andrew Brownbill

It’s hard for voters to trust leaders who won’t promise true integrity

The Accountability Round Table (ART), a non-partisan organisation, wrote to the three major political parties two months ago seeking their position on three important arms of Victoria’s integrity system…
Geoff Shaw’s potential expulsion from Victorian parliament raises serious questions about the scope of the Legislative Assembly’s powers and the way they are exercised. AAP/David Crosling

Explainer: Geoff Shaw and contempt of parliament in Victoria

Independent MP Geoff Shaw should be grateful the opposition is only proposing to expel him from Victorian state parliament. It could be worse. Victoria’s Legislative Assembly still has the power to lock…
Parliament provides allowances to assist members and senators carry out their duties but should it include going to the football? AAP Image/David Crosling

Allowances or open entitlements? When politicians play and taxpayers pay

Federal politicians can rack up relatively large bills in going about their day-to-day duties. In the last six months of 2012, Julia Gillard had allowances totalling A$647,000 – that’s nearly three times…
Tony Abbott has faced hard questions in recent days over his travel expenses, but does this reflect a wider integrity problem for our politicians? AAP/Adam Gartrell

Entitlements scandal highlights need to enhance parliamentary integrity

The recent revelations around the inappropriate use of travel entitlements by federal MPs reflect a broader problem of the lack of accountability in parliamentarians’ public life. But this scandal is nothing…

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