A welcome move

Stuff reports:

Decisions over MPs’ and ministers’ entitlements will be handed over to the independent Remuneration Authority, the Government has announced. …

* Most travel and accommodation entitlements for MPs and ministers would be set by the authority rather than Parliament’s Speaker or the minister responsible for Ministerial Services.

*MPs would be required by law to disclose their travel and accommodation expenses – they do so voluntarily at the moment.

* MPs will be docked 0.2 per cent of their salary – currently $270 a day – for non-attendance.

We’ve seen a massive change in transparency and accountability over MPs expenses in the last three years. This is another step in the right direction.

I still think that it would be very sensible to change the salary reviews from annually to tri-annually, so that the salary for an MP and Minister is set just before an election and remains in place for the three year term.