Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Gallagher. I am sure nobody in this chamber needs convincing as to the value that staff bring to each of our offices. It is not a secret that this place would fall to ruin without them. Personal staffing allocations are determined entirely by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister decides how many staff he or she gets along with how many staff the opposition gets and how many any crossbencher gets. The Prime Minister of the day can also decide to give staff to individual parliamentarians or take staff away. The Prime Minister may provide additional staff for valid reasons or for invalid reasons They might also threaten to cut a parliamentarian's staff allocation for any reason they may choose. Does the minister agree that this discretionary power, which is not subject to disallowance and is not required to be published anywhere, represents a possible corruption risk?