Albanese continues to shirk responsibility for parliamentary expenses saga; Illicit tobacco market costing taxpayers $11.8 billion, government report finds
Federal MPs have demanded Prime Minister Anthony Albanese take responsibility for the growing saga surrounding MPs’ use of parliamentary powers.
Independent MP Allegra Harcama told Nine’s: Today This morning we showed that the government must step up scrutiny of the parliamentary authorization system.
“I think the expectations of the community are basically saying: This is not very aligned with our thinking… You need to rein this in.
“And I think the prime minister should put forward one of the assessments that he has rejected. I think it makes sense to look at these rules again,” he said.
On Spend’s side was Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, who criticized Albanese for evading responsibility for the issue.
“I think Australians are starting to see this guy for what he is. He’s a cop and he’s hiding all this stuff. So, he can fix it if he wants to and it’s becoming a huge integrity issue now… He’s trying to avoid it but he can actually fix it if he wants to.”
Bragg also said he would welcome a review of the expense system.
Asked at a press conference in Canberra yesterday about the finance minister’s regulation allowing unlimited spousal travel privileges for senior MPs, Albanese said: “I’m not the finance minister. I haven’t changed the rule.”
