Anthony Albanese must stop abuse of travel perks
Labor and Coalition MPs are privately talking about four options: imposing a cap on how many family-reunion claims parliamentarians can make; setting a fixed amount on how much can be spent; ending business-class airfares for family members; and potentially restricting family-related entitlements to Canberra.
As MPs across the political spectrum are grilled over travel expenses following revelations about Communications Minister Anika Wells’ long record of extravagant claims, it is time for the Prime Minister to update the rules.
Albanese and Sussan Ley should strike an agreement on tightening broad and generous travel entitlements rules so they align with community expectations. Albanese will want to avoid letting the unfolding expenses scandal run for too long or give the Coalition a win in the style of Mark Latham, the former Labor leader who forced John Howard into axing the generous defined-benefits superannuation scheme for parliamentarians.
Along with Tanya Plibersek, Bob Katter, Penny Wong and Catherine King, Albanese and Ley are among the last remaining MPs who benefit from the gold-plated super scheme, which was closed in 2004.
The decision by Howard to scrap the pension raised concerns, which are ongoing in the political class, about inadequate incentives for talented Australians to enter federal parliament.
Albanese, who marks his 30th year in parliament next year, is a traditionalist who believes federal politicians should not be asked to do more for less.
Ley, who was forced to quit as cabinet minister in 2017 over her own expenses scandal that triggered rule changes and the establishment of the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, said on Thursday she was “open to looking at the rules”.
While the Opposition Leader, who made her first public appearance since Friday last week, focused on Wells breaching the ministerial code of conduct, Liberal frontbenchers James Paterson and Anne Ruston were more direct in supporting rule changes.
“We’re up for a sensible conversation about changes to make sure that this scheme is actually in line with community expectations,” Paterson told Sky News.
“Because by definition, if people are doing things which they believe are within the rules but do not meet community expectations, then we’ve got a problem.
“If we need to change the rules so that people like Anika Wells can’t do this, they’re prevented from doing this, then we’re happy to look at that.”
Ruston said travel guidelines should be constantly reviewed “because we do need to meet the community expectations about how we’re spending government funding”.
The Prime Minister, who has strongly backed his Communications Minister since returning to work from his honeymoon, is railing against calls to change the rules because he says the independence of the IPEA should be respected.
But the Coalition says the government can set regulations and change the rules, including guidelines around expenses for family members to travel within Australia.
Since the IPEA was established, there have been multiple determinations made by governments to clarify guidelines pertaining to MPs and former prime ministers.
While Albanese is focused on not opening up a Pandora’s box on travel rorts that could ensnare Labor MPs or make the government look out of touch, there are some commonsense changes he can make to show Australians he understands what they expect from their elected officials.
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Anthony Albanese should accept the Coalition’s offer of bipartisan support to overhaul the guidelines covering travel expenses for MPs.