STATEMENT IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE RT. HON.
WILLIAM McMkHON, CH MP
TRAVELLING ALLOWANCES FOR MEMBERS OF
PARLIlAMENT 26 APRIL 1972
In response to representations from both sides of the
House, the amounts of travelling allowances paid to Members of
Parliament have been reviewed.
Along with his recommendations for increased salaries,
Mr Justice Kerr in his report tabled in Parliamont on 8 December
1971 recommended that travelling allowances payable to Membors and
to ministers and office-holders be increased. The Government
subsequently decided not to proceed with any of the three hills
relating to increases in Parliamentary salaries and allowances.
That remains the position. Travelling allowances are not covered
in this legislation and can be regarded separately from salaries,
electorate allowances and Ministerial allowances.
The travelling allowance, or Canberra allowanqe, paid
to Members of Parliament for living expenses and out-of-poqket
expenses incurred in attending Parliamentary Sittings has b~ een
a day since 1968. Mr Justice Kerr recommended $ 22 a day. In several
areas of the Commonwealth Service in Canberra in the less Tenior
grades, the travelling allowance now paid is higher than th~ e
Canberra allowance paid to Members of Parliament. It has bqen put that
to meet Members' increased living costs in Canberra and the increased
costs of out-of-pocket expenses, the current rate of Canberra
allowance should be increased. It has been decided to accqpt this
view and to increase the allowance to 822 a day as recommended by
Mr Justice Kerr. M~ r Justice Kerr made recommendations about the payment
of Canberra allowance for Party and Committee meetings held when the
Parliament is not sitting. These recommendations will be accepted.
It was also recommended that the conditions of payment
of travelling allowance be clarified. With this objective, a
review of the conditions of payment will be undertaken.
As part of his general review, Mr Justice Kerr
recommended that Members of Parliament residing in the ACT should
receive half the Canberra allowance. As this matter is now being
treated in isolation, it has been decided that Members of Parliament / 2
2
residing in the ACT will not receive any increase in Canberra
allowance but will not have the allowance reduced. These Members
will continue to receive $ 15 a day.
Mr Justice Kerr recommended increased travelling
allowances for Ministers and office-holders. In general, the
amounts of these allowances have not changed since 1964. The
allowances are paid for travel away from Canberra on official or
Parliamentary business. The recommended allowances were
PRIME MINISTER $ 42 A DAY
SENIOR MINISTERS AND THE
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION $ 36 A DAY
MINISTERS, THE PRESIDING OFFICERS,
THE DEPUTY LEADER OF THE
OPPOSITION AND THE LEADER OF
THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE $ 33 A DAY
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
IN THE SENATE AND THE LEADER
OF THE SECOND NON-GOVERNMENT
PARTY IN THE SENATE $ 28 A DAY
THESE RECOMMENDED AMOUNTS OF TRAVELLING ALLOWA7NCE
WILL BE PAID. The current travelling allowance of $ 21 a day
payable to Members of some Parliamentary Copumittees for n etings
away from Canberra will be increased to $ 25 a day. Travelling
expenses will be reimbursed to Assistant Ministers to a maximum
of $ 25 a day. The new rates will be payable from tomorrow.