The Government has introduced the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) bill which the Prime Minister's office says will put more decisions relating to MPs' and ministers' entitlements in the hands of the independent Remuneration Authority.
The Government has introduced the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Services) Bill.
Prime Minister John Key’s office said in a release that the bill would put more decisions relating to MPs’ and ministers’ entitlements in the hands of the independent Remuneration Authority.
The bill repealed the Civil List Act 1979 and brought together more of the powers to decide travel, accommodation and communications entitlements, with key changes including most travel and accommodation entitlements to be set by the Authority, rather than the Speaker or the Minister responsible for Ministerial Services, Mr Key’s office said.
Other changes include the disclosure regime for MPs’ travel and accommodation expenses becoming a statutory requirement and an increase in the amount able to be deducted from an MP’s salary for non-attendance in Parliament, from a maximum of $10 a day to 0.2% of the MP’s salary, which was $270 a day at current rates, the prime minister’s office said.
The prime minister said the new legislation was based on changes recommended by the Law Commission in December 2010, and that it was important that the public had confidence in the setting of MPs’ and ministers’ entitlements.
“These changes, which put more power in the hands of independent decision makers, will increase that confidence.”
Mr Key said the Speaker and Government had already taken steps to improve the transparency of the system, including the regular disclosure of travel and accommodation costs, and that the Bill took this a step further.
“The current sanctions for MPs who do not attend Parliament for long periods without a good reason are grossly inadequate. This legislation modernises those provisions.”
Mr Key’s office said the Speaker would continue to make decisions on MPs’ entitlements to communications services, travel for inter-parliamentary exchanges and the allocation of part and member support funding, with the aim to have the Bill enacted and in operation in 2012.
