Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

The government will be opposing this motion. The costs described in Senator Roberts's motion will be disclosed in the normal process through public expenditure reporting when PEMS functionality resumes. As Senator Roberts would know, during routine public expenditure reporting, parliamentarians and their officers have an opportunity to examine their expenditure to ensure all costs are true and correct. Officers have not yet had a chance to properly examine this expenditure. Accurate reporting of parliamentary expenses is a key pillar of our transparent democratic system and is essential to ensure the proper use of Commonwealth funds.