Butler flags potential travel expense reform pending Wells investigation

2 months ago 18

The government has given its clearest signal yet that reform to politician travel entitlements could be on the table after the prime minister publicly ducked responsibility for handling the saga and refused to commit to any changes.

Health Minister Mark Butler said on Friday the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority’s investigation into Communication and Sport Minister Anika Wells’ spending could herald legislative reform.

Anthony Albanese and Anika Wells wanted to speak about the social media ban on Thursday, but questions quickly turned to MPs’ expenses.

The review, which could take months, was launched after Wells referred her spending to the independent watchdog on Tuesday following days of revelations about her use of entitlements, including flying her husband to successive grand final events and her children to Thredbo for a ski trip. Wells maintains her claims were within the rules.

“I think we should wait for the independent authority to provide some advice,” Butler told Sunrise when asked whether the rules needed to be changed.

“As the prime minister said yesterday, we would welcome that advice and recommendations. If they then have to be enacted through legislation, I’m sure, that’s what we would do.

“I for one, will welcome the authority not just looking at the claims that Anika Wells has referred to them … but looking at whether their system is meeting those two standards: that it’s a reasonable balance, the use of taxpayer funds with the need to reflect the unusual nature of these jobs, and they’re being used in a sensible way.”

The IPEA has the power to interview ministers and others about events for which they claimed travel entitlements, check calendars, and inspect metadata to determine if work events were scheduled around social events already locked into the calendar.

The government has been under persistent pressure over the saga, which has proved a significant distraction from Labor’s landmark teen social media ban, with the Coalition escalating its rhetoric as the ordeal has dragged on.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley on Thursday opened the door to a bipartisan overhaul of family travel perks while opposition finance spokesperson James Paterson said Albanese was “full of excuses”.

Crossbenchers are joining the fray, with independent MP Andrew Wilkie threatening to introduce a bill that would slash family travel to just a few visits per year, and only to Canberra, if the government didn’t tighten the rules.

“So many federal parliamentarians are, frankly, rorting the system,” he told Seven News.

Independent MP Allegra Spender said on Friday the government should bring forward its own review into parliamentary travel entitlements which it has repeatedly pushed back.