Ten MPs pocketed $26,000 pay rises to run inquiries. Only three have

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Seven Labor MPs handed a $26,000 pay bump to run house committees on public policy have not launched inquiries since being appointed in July.

Liberal MP and manager of opposition business in the house Alex Hawke said that committees played a vital role in Australia’s democracy as a way to test ideas and get feedback, and more progress should have been made in three months.

McEwen MP Rob Mitchell, chair of the standing committee for industry, innovation and science, with Anthony Albanese.

“It’s through the committee system that we’ve seen important policy proposals put forward, such as the late Peta Murphy’s report into online gambling, which the government has still not responded to,” Hawke said.

“In my almost 20 years as an MP, I have never seen such mismanagement of the inquiry process.”

Standing house committees investigate any matter referred to them by the relevant minister but often also propose their own topics of inquiry, hearing submissions from experts and the public to help inform policy development and make recommendations to the government.

Committee chairs are appointed by the prime minister and receive an 11 per cent salary increase. On an MP’s $239,270 annual income, the pay increase is more than $26,000 a year.

Since the election, three of the 10 house standing committees have launched inquiries, compared with nine of 11 committees launching inquiries in the same time frame in the Morrison government.

Manager of opposition business Alex Hawke said committees were an essential part of Australia’s democracy.

Unfinished inquiries into the electric vehicle transition and local government sustainability, which lapsed when committees were dissolved before May’s election, have not been restarted this term. Those committees’ respective chairs, Anne Urquhart and Fiona Phillips, did not respond to requests for comment.

Standing committee on industry, innovation and science chair Rob Mitchell said he wanted to develop an inquiry that would deliver results and was satisfied with the time it was taking.

“It’s nothing that worries me. We’ve all bounced about a few ideas,” the member for McEwen said. “We go through, we look at different topics ... we have our discussions, we check different ideas.”

Mitchell said the industry committee had received briefings from departments for a coming inquiry launch.

“What would you reckon [constituents] want, quicker progress or better outcomes?” he said. “Committees have done work that’s just been absolutely a waste of space. Our committee has been really good in that we all work closely together, all throw the ideas around, and we get really good bipartisan things. The beer excise was one of them.”

Chair of the standing committee on communications, the arts and sport, Susan Templeman, said it had been important to receive private briefings from relevant departments as preparation for developing an inquiry.

“The committee is considering options for inquiries, and we expect those inquiries to kick-off in the near term,” she said in the statement.

MPs Carina Garland, Louise Miller-Frost and Meryl Swanson are all also yet to launch an inquiry, but declined interviews. In similar statements, they noted the value of the cross-party committee, their commitment to the role, and inquiries completed in the previous term.

A spokesperson for leader of the House, Tony Burke, said: “House committees work across party lines and are an important part of the parliament’s work. These committees have been working through options, and we would expect to see more inquiries launch soon.”