Bring pollies perks into the daylight: Greens
Pressure is now on the government to shed light on politician’s gifts and perks, following today’s publication of an online database of MP’s interests by Sydney Morning Herald and University of Technology journalism students, said Greens Senator and democracy spokesperson Lee Rhiannon.
Senator Rhiannon has a long history of campaigning to expose and end pollies perks while an MP in NSW parliament: http://archive.leerhiannon.org.au/Campaigns/end-pollies-perks
“The disclosure of pecuniary interests for federal MPs is stuck in the dark ages, making it extremely difficult to track what gifts and perks MPs receive and who from,” said Senator Rhiannon.
“The Greens urge the government to remember the wonderful world of Web2.0 and move to publish full details of MP’s interests, entitlements and perks online rather than unsearchable formats and paper records gathering dust in Canberra.
“The Scottish Parliament publishes an easily searchable online database of MP’s interests and expenses. It beggars belief that the Australian parliament still uses hand-written declarations of interest.
“The public has a right to know the long list of free gifts, hospitality and trips that MPs receive. An online parliament database would bring this information out from behind closed doors.
“I congratulate the Sydney Morning Herald and journalism students at the University of Technology Sydney for making this information easy to track,” said Senator Rhiannon.
Link to SMH/UTS database of MP pecuniary interests: http://www.smh.com.au/national/political-interests.
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