Senior politicians to be stripped of uncapped family flights after expenses scandal

1 month ago 10

Senior politicians will be stripped of their uncapped entitlements to fly their partners and children around Australia, and MPs restricted to one family reunion trip outside Canberra each year, as the government moves to implement the expenses recommendations from an independent tribunal.

The review by the Remuneration Tribunal reveals the majority of MPs did not use their taxpayer-funded entitlements to fly their families around the country last year, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will still move to limit politicians’ travel perks after his senior ministers were embroiled in an expenses scandal.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended ministerial use of travel perks, insisting he does not make the rules before backing down following weeks of pressure.

Sport and Communications Minister Anika Wells came under scrutiny late last year for flying her husband business class to successive premier sporting events, while Special Minister of State Don Farrell was revealed to have spent more than $100,000 flying family members around the country since Labor was elected in 2022, including to Uluru for a complimentary dinner. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland agreed last month to repay $10,000 – part of a $22,000 trip she took to Western Australia with her family.

Albanese first commissioned advice from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority when the scandal eclipsed his government’s agenda. Based on its recommendations – which were for MPs’ taxpayer-funded family travel be limited to economy class flights, and restricted to either Canberra or their electorates – he then referred the issue to the Remuneration Tribunal.

The tribunal accepted the government’s proposal that all family travel be limited to economy class and that senior office holders, who previously had an exemption to the cap on family travel, be stripped of their unlimited perks.

But a total ban on visits outside of Canberra was rejected because not all parliamentary business happened in the capital, the tribunal said. Instead, one return economy fare per year will be allowed to an Australian location outside of Canberra.

“The value of this fare is to be deducted from the member’s annual limit for family reunion travel,” the tribunal said.

MPs can also claim three return fares per year if their spouse is asked by invitation to an “official government, parliamentary or vice-regal function”. Senior politicians can also claim an additional three return fares per year if their spouse has received an invitation to attend an official event linked to the MP’s ministerial portfolio or official duties. In both cases, the partner must fly economy class unless they are travelling alongside the politician.

The tribunal suggested that MPs should seek advice from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority to make sure their application of the rules was appropriate.

“Before booking travel for either of the above purposes, the member should seek advice from IPEA to assist the member in making their decision,” it said.

Under these rules, Wells would still be allowed to make several claims for her husband’s travel because sport is her portfolio, although he would no longer be able to fly business class unless he was accompanying her. The minister did not attend sports events such as the Boxing Day test with him this summer after the furore over her spending in December.

The review by the Remuneration Tribunal, which was released on Tuesday, revealed that most politicians did not claim the entitlement to have their families travel with them across the country.

It said just 32 of 226 MPs claimed flights for visits outside of Canberra and their electorates, which they regularly travel between, in the past financial year.

“Parliamentarians appeared to generally make appropriate and modest use of reunion travel provisions, with only 11 per cent of both Australia-wide fares and the budget for travel to Canberra and the local area used in 2024-25,” the tribunal said in a statement.

The tribunal said it had considered the fact that parliamentary careers were not family-friendly, and that most MPs based outside Canberra would spend a quarter of each year in the national capital. It said the rules should make it possible for people from “all walks and stages of life” to represent their communities.

Special Minister of State Don Farrell oversees the MP entitlement legislation despite coming under scrutiny for his own travel claims

But at the same time, it noted there was community concern about the frequency, travel class and cost of family reunion travel, including over whether MPs use of perks aligned with the “spirit” of the rules.

A government spokesperson said Labor accepted the recommendations in principle.

“The government, through the Special Minister of State [Don Farrell] and the Minister for Finance [Katy Gallagher], will now seek drafting and amendment of relevant regulations and determinations, in consultation with the opposition and other parliamentary parties,” they said.

“Expenses ... are vital for the functioning of our parliamentary democracy, and we expect all members and senators to ensure their appropriate use.”

The tribunal said the special minister of state, currently Farrell, would retain the power to make “exceptional circumstances determinations” that could give MPs extra allowance.

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