In the last few years, some MPs have made extravagant claims on their parliamentary entitlements. So, what are they actually allowed to use the money for?
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Articles on Parliamentary entitlements
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Malcolm Turnbull is to be congratulated on establishing an independent body to oversee politicians’ expenses, but an independent anti-corruption commission is still needed.
Malcolm Turnbull has announced major changes to the parliamentary entitlements system, modelled on the UK’s system of vetting MPs’ expenses.
A federal ICAC will not solve the sorts of problems Australian politicians have recently embroiled themselves in.
It is unclear whether stood-aside minister Sussan Ley has breached the ministerial standards over her travel expenses. And the rules on claiming entitlements are unclear and very complex.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Kon Karapanagiotidis said that what a politician can claim for a one night stay in Canberra is equivalent to an entire week on Newstart. Is that true?
Only with a robust entitlements system will a repeat of Bronwyn Bishop’s “Choppergate” scandal be avoided.
The opposition has widened its two-party lead over the Coalition in Newspoll as MPs return for a new parliamentary session rocked by voters’ anger over parliamentary entitlements.
Memo from Finance Department to minister Mathias Cormann: “Urgently needed – staff reinforcements for the Great Expense Chase”. Just joking. But only a little.
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?
It would be good if we had a transparent parliamentary entitlements system that generated less political noise. We could avoid the major distractions from serious policy debates.
Combined, the nature of the controversy, Bishop’s behaviour as Speaker, and the way she and her party dealt with the issue created the perfect storm for a damaging scandal.
One snippet sums up Bronwyn Bishop’s disconnect with the real world. Her spokesman was quoted at the weekend saying she had often preferred limousines because they could travel in bus lanes, thus getting…
Bronwyn Bishop has finally quit the speakership after weeks of revelations about her extravagant claims.
The question in the Bronwyn Bishop helicopter hire case is whether she can justify attending the party fundraiser primarily for official business as Speaker.
Speaker Bronwyn Bishop has promised to reimburse A$5227 in taxpayers’ money that she spent on a helicopter flight between Melbourne and Geelong to attend a Liberal fundraiser in November.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Professorial Fellow, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Public Policy, University of Adelaide
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Peter Whiteford is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
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Adjunct Professor, National Centre for Australian Studies, Monash University
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Associate Professor, College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University
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Adjunct Professor in Parliamentary Studies, Swinburne University of Technology
