Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the members for Melbourne, Dennison, Indi and Mayo. The government does not propose to immediately introduce criminal penalties to this legislation. There are already provisions in place for members and senators, like any citizen, who genuinely defrauds the Commonwealth, but to suggest that a member or senator who genuinely makes an incorrect claim based on very ambiguous rules should face criminal penalties is nothing more than a stunt, in my view. One strong reason for introducing the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority is to provide clarity and certainty for parliamentarians about whether something is within or outside the rules. The government believes this is a better way of approaching things, along with other measures including increased transparency, than continuing to have the system we now have, with vague guidelines, and simply adding criminal penalties to help some on the crossbench get a headline.

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