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Certain members of parliament have received intense media scrutiny regarding their taxpayer-funded expenses recently, with a number of them making claims that they really shouldn’t have. So, who is on the naughty step this week, and what can be done about this seemingly growing problem?
Mr Randall goes to Cairns (and Melbourne)
West Australian MP Don Randall claimed $5259 of taxpayer funds for a trip he took to Cairns in November 2012. Randall claimed the trip on the grounds of “electoral business”. With his wife. Flying Business Class.
In the week following the trip, Randall updated his pecuniary interests, saying, “My wife and I have taken possession of the house at the Cairns location. We intend to rent the house as an investment.” However, he only promised to repay the claimed expenses last week after intense media scrutiny. He said this was to “alleviate any ambiguity”.
And what important “electoral business” moved the MP to travel 3000km to Cairns? That would be “very important discussions” with the then Coalition whip, Warren Entsch. When questioned by The Australian Financial Review, Entsch would not say what was discussed during the few short hours spent with Randall, but admitted he did not know if it constituted “electoral business”.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott defended Randall on a radio interview on Wednesday. When asked why Randall could not have picked up the telephone to speak to Entsch, Abbott said some discussions were “best done face-to-face”. Later, Abbott was asked why Randall would take his wife, given the purpose of the trip was business. The Prime Minister ignored the question.
Randall also made a $5000 claim for a trip to Melbourne with a family member last September. The trip was claimed under “sittings of parliament”. Parliament has not sat in Melbourne since 1927. Randall has yet to explain that one.
Who else has been in the spotlight?
- Former Attorney General Mark Dreyfus claimed $466 for a skiing trip to Perisher in August 2011. He was forced to repay the claim, and stated it was “an administrative error”.
- As acting PM in 2010, Wayne Swan took his two children to both the AFL grand final replay and NRL grand final by VIP aircraft, costing taxpayers more than $17,000 in one weekend. Swan defended the claims, saying they were within the guidelines.
- Labor MPs allegedly spent almost $7000 on travel to Sydney for Bob Hawke’s 80th birthday in 2009.
- Attorney General George Brandis and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce have repaid $3000 claimed to attend the wedding of former radio personality Michael Smith in 2011.
- Former Speaker Peter Slipper could be jailed if found guilty of a taxpayer-funded tour of wineries using his government Cabcharge card.
Abbott under scrutiny
But they’re not the only ones under the spotlight for expense scandals. Abbott himself was in the news earlier this month alongside Brandis for claims they made to attend the 2006 weddings of former Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella and ex-MP Peter Slipper.
While Abbott has paid back $1700 of the claimed wedding expenses, he still has an extensive list of claims the public has had to cover.
- A Derby Day with the family in November 2012 ($2271.61)
- AFL Grand Final with the family in September 2012 ($2150.89)
- Coffs Coast Cycle Challenge in August 2012 ($1002.24)
- Hervey Bay surf life saving pier to pub swim in April 2012 ($2372.81)
- Charter jet to Tamworth Country Music Festival with his daughter in January 2012 ($8800)
- Australian Open Men’s tennis final in January 2012 ($1639.82)
- Tour Down Under in Adelaide in January 2012 ($2174.82)
- Pier to Pub swim in Lorne in January 2012 ($1444.24)
- Port Macquarie Ironman in November 2011 ($1290.10)
- AFL Grand Final with the family in September 2011 ($5663.58)
- Melbourne Cup in November 2010 ($2154.40)
Abbott defended these claims, saying they were all within his entitlement, and attending community events was part of the job. His spokesman also defending the claims, saying, “Mr Abbott receives a large number of invitations for attendance at – and involvement in – community, charity, business and sporting events.”
Hockey’s Solution
In response to the recent media spotlight on MP expenses, Treasurer Joe Hockey said, “Everyone should comply with the rules… Whenever I’ve had any associated private activity, I pay for that activity myself.”
“Whether it’s a journalist’s wedding or a journalist’s funeral, the question really for everyone, is, is it appropriate?… And frankly, would you be going to that place, if not for the work involved?”
While Hockey wants to cut down on “government waste”, he said he was not in charge of an overhaul of the rules required to guide MPs’ expenses. “Seriously, if the guidelines are wrong then the guidelines are for another minister to change.”
Abbott said he was “not ruling out improvements” to the entitlements system, but he had yet to come across an idea that he believed would work. “I’m not saying that we are never going to change the system. I am always vigilant for ways to improve,” he said.
Some Transparency?
Perhaps it’s time for transparency then? Abbott could introduce a system similar to that of the Liberal Party in Canada, where every Liberal MP must post all travel and hospitality expenses on the party’s website. In that way, the system would police itself. If an MP is worried about posting a certain claim, then perhaps it shouldn’t be claimed in the first place.
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