Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

The largest single-member electorate in the world—and I accept Senator Sterle’s correction in that regard. So it stands to reason that I could do the maths that Senator Evans did in relation to the Labor member for Lyons, Dick Adams, who also has a charter allowance and who now has the capacity to decide whether he wants to meet people in the flesh and be chartered around or to send out more direct mail.

Can I indicate that the Remuneration Tribunal agreed with the suggestion of the extension to aggregate and included the new clauses in determination 2006/18. This disallowance, if successful, would be a slap in the face to the Remuneration Tribunal. Unfortunately, we have seen on a number of occasions in recent times that, when people agree with the Remuneration Tribunal, they say nothing and let it slide through; when they disagree, they try to pretend to be the champions of the taxpayer and say that this is a rort, and on and on they go. But I would have thought that the importance of having these decisions made by people at arm’s length from government is accepted by the vast majority of people. We then of course have the slurs provided by those from the other side, suggesting that the Remuneration Tribunal simply does the bidding of the government. There is no evidence for that, and to make such a suggestion is very disrespectful—