IN this day and age, politicians desperately need to be as transparent as possible, with even the slightest indiscretion getting picked up by the media.
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Senator Bridget McKenzie recently failed to declare free flights she received to travel to Tamworth while campaigning for Nats leader Barnaby Joyce with in the required 35 days.
While the flights were only valued at $500, it’s an oversight that just shouldn’t happen. And it’s a slippery slope, with every indiscretion eroding voter confidence.
Often there are no consequences for politicians who fail to update their register of interests. While failing to do so could be seen as a breaking a harmless rule, it is a rule none the less, and it is a rule for a very good reason.
For example, the public should know if a politician owns four investment properties, because their personal situation could influence their decision making on housing reform or negative gearing.
Late last year, it came to light that Liberal MP John Alexander was caught out not declaring rental income from his $1400 per day country estate, while it took former PM Tony Abbott two years to declare he had taken out a $710,000 mortgage on his house.
In May 2017, fellow Liberal politician Michaelia Cash was also caught out failing to properly declare a $1.4 million investment property, while in 2016, former Labor MP David Feeney didn’t declare a $2.3 million house.
In fact, Mr Feeney is among a small group of politicians who have been punished for failing to do their due diligence. He recently resigned due to his dual citizenship status.
The citizenship saga has shown how brutal the consequences of not dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s can (and should) be.
New England has witness it first hand, when former and current MP Barnaby Joyce was forced to stand down for holding New Zealand dual citizenship. While he was subsequently elected in a landslide victory, it costs taxpayers millions of dollars.
Often the blame is passed on the politicians staff, as was the case with Senator McKenzie’s hiccup. Her spokeswoman said the failure to disclose it had been an oversight within the senator’s office.
But the Westminster convention stipulates members of parliament bear the ultimate responsibility for the actions of their staff.
If we can’t trust politicians to do their due diligence when it comes to the basic paperwork, how can we trust them to make decisions that will change the course of our nation?