The Parliament Bill – an omnibus bill making a series of reforms aiming to modernise Parliament’s operations – has passed it’s first reading.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“If the Government’s talking about dragging New Zealand’s Parliament into the modern age, then why aren’t we seriously discussing making the Parliamentary Service subject to the same transparency rules as the rest of the public sector?

“For too long, MPs and their staff have been able to live it large on taxpayer dollars thanks to their secret expense accounts. Despite being the people paying for all their champagne and caviar, there’s nothing Kiwis can do to find out how MPs are wasting their money.

“It took leaked stories of MPs putting duck houses and moat cleaning on the expenses tab to blow the lid on the UK’s Parliamentary expenses scandal. New Zealanders shouldn’t just have to sit around waiting for leaks from disgruntled ex-staffers before they can demand some accountability from their MPs.”

NOTES:

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is an independent and membership-driven activist group, dedicated to being the voice for Kiwi taxpayers in the corridors of power. Its mission, lower taxes, less waste, more accountability, is supported by 200,000 subscribed members and supporters.

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