Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017. I welcome the measures included in this bill. The Nick Xenophon team has campaigned on the issue of transparency since the day it began as a party and it is certainly something that Senator Nick Xenophon has campaigned on for many years. Transparency is one of our three core principles and one that is raised with me constantly by our community. This bill seeks to provide better transparency regarding parliamentarians' entitlements and for that it has my support.

It is clear that the public has completely lost trust in politicians and with that lost trust comes a lack of respect. We have all heard from the previous government the rhetoric that the age of entitlement is over. But ordinary Australians do not understand how a government or indeed a parliament should be taken seriously when it makes statements such as those and then allows its elected members to hire helicopters to party fundraisers, to have their debts paid by foreign entities. They look at their own lives and the rules that they operate under and stare incredulously at the television screens when elected leaders lecture them for being too entitled and then use taxpayer funds in that manner. This bill begins to address these issues and it is not a moment too soon.

Australians' perceptions of politicians are at an all-time low and we are responsible for that. Constant issues that may have been within the rules by definition but do not pass the logic test—the 'pub test' as we all refer to it—have eroded the respect held for us as elected members. Unfortunately, I must remind members here today that this is an issue that has been raised before. Senator Nick Xenophon, the leader of the Nick Xenophon Team, introduced a bill in 2015 which called for an independent watchdog to administer entitlements claims, more frequent reporting procedures and the right of the public to make a complaint to the watchdog. Surprisingly, the major parties did not support this bill—not Labor, not Liberal, not the nationals—because they did not believe it was necessary. It took yet another scandal and of course another scandal and more public outrage for them to come around to the idea.

The independent watchdog known as the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority has recently been established and is yet another example of the government taking Nick Xenophon Team policies and adopting them as their own. This bill is a step in the right direction but it should have been done long before now. We must all remember that we are here to serve the public of Australia and there is no doubt that we should be afforded the resources necessary to perform that duty. I support the clearer definition of 'parliamentary business' that exists in this bill. This definition leaves no excuse to any parliamentarian who breaches the rules in the future. I support the dominant person test included in this bill. As part of our accountability to Australians, we must ensure that every time we claim an expense or a resource, it is for the purpose of serving the taxpayer. As my Nick Xenophon Team colleague Senator Nick Xenophon said, in the past, it should not be a case of a MP claiming a travel expense for a short meeting over coffee and then enjoying the sun or indeed buying a house.

The provisions in this bill require members to use public resources in a way which achieves value-for-money and that is very welcome. Really, this is a commonsense measure and it is a shame that it has to be enshrined in legislation. I would like to see more of us take responsibility for any unnecessary expenses. Would it really hurt us if we were all sitting in economy seats for flights shorter than two hours? It would save millions if we took economy seats when we were flying for less than two hours. Can you imagine if we put that money into a supplementary bucket for regional communities to assist with small-town projects? Fifty-thousand-dollar one-off funding grants for small towns would make a world of difference to those communities, and we could do that. We could help so many towns if we just elected to be a little bit more frugal.

When I came to the parliament when I became a member, the records of parliamentarians' expenditures were only published every six months. This time lapse is so long that, even though I have been in office since last July, I do not believe my expenditure for the first six months has yet been made available to the public, so I strongly welcome the new monthly reporting regime that will come into effect now that the independent parliamentary expenses bill will pass the parliament.

I also believe that the penalties included in the bill for a breach of entitlements rules are not harsh enough. Essentially, a parliamentarian can breach the rules and, once that breach has been identified, they have 28 days to pay back the money. If, for reasons beyond comprehension, they refuse to pay back the money owed within 28 days, there is a 25 per cent loading on their repayment. It is my belief that this is too low and is not a strong enough disincentive to ensure that the rules and procedures are followed. I will be moving amendments that will not only significantly increase the penalty loading for the breaches of rules but also penalise repeat offenders. I do this for all of us because this will show greater integrity in our parliament and restore integrity to us from our fellow Australians.

I support the measures in this bill. I believe that, as the elected representatives, we must remain vigilant to ensure that we do not erode public confidence in our office. I believe that we must continue to strive to use the resources provided by the public for us in the most efficient way possible. And, most importantly, I believe those of us who breach our responsibility to the public should receive significant penalties in order to deter further indiscretions. This bill is one small step in regaining the trust of the Australian public and could not happen a moment too soon. Thank you.

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