Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on behalf of the opposition in support of the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority Bill 2017. This bill seeks to establish an independent authority to monitor and manage travel and work expenses of parliamentarians. In 2015, the former Prime Minister, the member for Warringah, announced a review into the expenses of parliamentarians following the impromptu helicopter ride from Melbourne to Geelong taken by former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop. The understandable public outrage following that incident prompted the former Prime Minister to act, and he promised the review would fix the system. The government received the recommendations of that review and formally accepted them in February 2016. There were 36 individual recommendations and many related to the travel undertaken by parliamentarians. We are aware, based on the comments of the Prime Minister and the Special Minister of State, that further legislation is on its way to implement the recommendations of the Conde review.

In addition to supporting the recommendations, the Prime Minister has announced an independent authority, similar to that which currently exists in the United Kingdom, to monitor, manage and audit parliamentarians' work and travel expenses. This announcement was again prompted by scandal, following the member for Farrer's failure to appropriately manage her travel expenses. The authority established by this bill would assume many of the responsibilities of the Department of Finance and would require the resources to process claims by parliamentarians and staff. The authority, managed by a chief executive officer, would be led by a chair, the President of the Remuneration Tribunal and members including a former judicial officer, a former parliamentarian and people with experience in corporate governance and auditing.

Labor supports the establishment of such an independent authority to oversee the system, but the coalition's dithering on these important reforms—I remind members that the review was brought down a full year ago—has contributed to further undermining Australians' confidence in those they elect to serve them. Australian families should not have to wake up to the news of another Bronwyn Bishop. They should not wake up with another reason to be fed up with what is going on in Canberra. These scandals and misuses of work expenses damage not only the individual or party but all of us in this place. From day one, the opposition has supported the recommendations of the independent review into parliamentary entitlements and the creation of an independent tribunal. The government has been sitting on the recommendations of the independent review of the expenses system for almost a year. It has been shamed into action only because of the revelations of the actions of the member for Farrer.

Today's legislation is an important step. The Labor Party has and will always stand for increased transparency and accountability in the political system. We know and respect the importance of this place, and the importance of the public's faith in those of us who are fortunate enough to have been elected to work in this place. A lot of luck goes into being elected into parliament, and those of us who are here feel lucky every day that we have the privilege to work in this place. But we have to work together on reforms to address the community's lack of faith in the existing system. It is absolutely critical that we restore that faith because, as we have seen, the numbers of rusted-on supporters and the deep tribal loyalties are not what they once were. People have become more disconnected from community life. We see this not just in the waning public membership of our mass membership organisations, declining church and union membership and declining engagement with friends and neighbours but also in disengagement from politics. The problem of us becoming disconnected is reflected in declining party membership, declining rates at which Australians cast a valid vote and declining support for major political parties. We see this not just in Australia but around the world, where the vote for centrist parties has declined and the support for populist parties has risen.

Too many Australians believe the political system is broken, and all of us in this place have a duty to fix it. We must ensure that we debate what matters and focus on the issues affecting millions of Australian families—families who have felt at times that some in this place have been acting out of self-interest, instead of for the interests of those whom we serve. These scandals make it easy for Australians to think that politicians are in it for themselves. When you look at the surveys that have been conducted by the Australian National University through the Australian Election Studies, you see a rise in disenchantment in politics. It is a problem which I wrote about back in 2002 in a book I coedited with David Burchell called The Prince's New Clothes, which was about why Australians do not trust their politicians. But since that book came out we have seen further decline in the degree to which Australians have trust and confidence in politicians. We do, collectively, need to lift our game.

Of course, the vast majority of parliamentarians respect taxpayer money, respect their duty to represent the voters, and do the right thing. But the exceptions are those that hit the front page and tarnish us all. Labor wants to see these recommendations implemented without further delay, and I commend this bill to the House.

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