Labor asks watchdog to advise on overhauling travel perks for politicians as backlash grows | Australian politics
Anthony Albanese said he had asked the independent spending watchdog to make recommendations on an overhaul of travel privileges for MPs, opening the door to changes following a backlash over politicians’ powers.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has confirmed she is following cabinet colleague Anika Wells in referring travel costs to an independent audit.
Rowland faces scrutiny this week after reports $21,685 for flights and travel allowance for a 2023 family trip to Perth.
After more than a week of headlines revealing the extent of MPs’ generosity, Albanese said he had asked the chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Expenditure Authority (IPEA) to examine possible changes to parliamentary powers.
While the Prime Minister insisted he was clear about seeking advice from IPEA, including at a tense press conference on Thursday, his remarks on Friday were the first time he had made clear that advice would be taken.
IPEA reviews parliamentarians’ travel expenses and finds whether certain expenses comply with the rules. However, these reviews do not make recommendations about the overall system.
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When asked for advice, Albanese said: “I’ve done this publicly in many press conferences; if you look back.”
Guardian Australia asked the Prime Minister’s office whether Albanese had formally requested this advice in a phone call or letter to IPEA.
Albanese also said “at least two” MPs had referred themselves to the watchdog for investigation, although he did not name Rowland, the country’s first legal officer.
“I asked IPEA for advice. At least two members of Parliament referred them to details of their audit. But in addition I said to IPEA, ‘Please give us some advice and we will take it into consideration,'” Albanese said.
“And when that advice is received we will make a decision as usual.”
A spokesman for Rowland confirmed to Guardian Australia that he was the second MP to ask for spending claims to be reviewed.
“The Attorney-General has referred a trip to the Independent Parliamentary Expenditure Authority from 2023 to seek advice,” the statement said.
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Politicians in Australia can claim up to nine business class airline tickets for their spouses to travel from their home city to Canberra each year, according to parliamentary expenditure authority IPEA. Politicians may also demand three economy fees per child.
However, for destinations outside Canberra, politicians can request a total of three round-trip business class airline tickets for their family members.
IPEA’s website states: “Family reunion travel is available where: the parliamentarian is traveling primarily for the purpose of conducting parliamentary business and; the family member(s) is traveling to accompany or join the parliamentarian and; the travel is for the dominant purpose of facilitating the parliamentarian’s family life.”
Earlier, opposition leader Sussan Ley said she was ready to work with Albanese to reform the system, offering a truce in a row that has spread to politicians from both the major parties and the Greens.
“I can sit down with the Prime Minister at any time and discuss the measures he wants to put in place to restore public confidence.”
Ley said Wells’ spending was “scandalous” and questioned whether the minister should stand aside while the IPEA audit continues.
The opposition leader also called for Wells to be investigated for breaches of the Ministerial Code of Conduct.
“If it [Albanese] If you can’t stand there and tell the Australian people that this minister has not breached the code of conduct, he should resign, he should step aside. “He should stand there and say clearly to the Australian people: ‘No, he didn’t break my rules,'” he told Sky News.
Earlier, health minister Mark Butler said the government would “welcome” the Independent Parliamentary Expenditures Authority (IPEA) expanding its investigation into Anika Wells’ travel allegations to include recommendations on the wider system.
If IPEA proposed legislative changes, Butler told Sunrise on Friday: “I’m sure we would do that too.”
Comments from one of Albanian’s closest political confidants confirmed that the government is open to changes in the authority system, bowing to public pressure following the outcry over parliamentarians’ travel expenses.
Politicians embroiled in the soaring expenses scandal – including Wells, Albanese, business secretary Don Farrell and others – have defended their use of family travel rules to bring their wives and children to events such as the Australian Open and major NRL and AFL matches, saying it was compliant.
Guardian Australia this week revealed there is no cap on the amount of peer flights senior ministers and other office holders can request under the rules. Regulations governing politicians’ spending describe these rights as “unlimited in terms of the total expenses that may be claimed each year.”
But politicians have been widely criticized for the spending, including criticism that attending sporting events and even charging taxpayers to attend social events or take family members on interstate trips is too contrary to society’s expectations.
