New South Wales MP’s international travel ban secretly lifted.
A report in The Daily Telegraphs says that the ban on overseas travel for state MPs has secretly been lifted, with a flock of members now planning taxpayer-funded trips abroad for the northern summer.
The first to take flight is former racing minister Kerry Hickey, who is heading to the UK and Ireland to study the demise of mining towns. Mr Hickey was dumped from Cabinet following a reshuffle and a series of speeding offences.
Miranda MP Barry Collier will visit Europe to study recidivism and Malta to inspect desalination plants.
East Hills MP Alan Ashton is going to visit the Scottish and English Parliaments, while Labor MLC Ian West is heading to New Zealand to look at long-haul trucking issues.
The trips, banned in Victoria, cost taxpayers up to $200,000 a year.
They were reviewed in 2003 but MPs were unwilling to vote against their generous privilege.
Last year Premier Morris Iemma and then Opposition Leader Peter Debnam stopped the trips, seen by some as rorts, issuing a formal ban on their own MPs travelling.
A spokesman for Mr Iemma would not comment on the change of heart, which has come only months after the election.
“It would be safe to say, based on the above information, the ban has been lifted,” a Government source said.
Labor MPs are not the only ones taking advantage of an unprecedented three-month break.
Liberal MLA for Hornsby Judy Hopwood and Liberal MLC Don Harwin have been approved for travel in 2007/2008 under the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association scheme, but they have yet to submit a proposal on where they want to go.
Nationals MP Steve Cansdell will go to the UK to study neighbourhood watch programs. He said, while his partner would have loved to have gone, he would travel alone.
Mr Collier said his trip was invaluable because he was parliamentary secretary for justice and he would be looking at recidivism and changes to sexual assault laws.
Mr Hickey said he had a 900ha industrial park in his electorate and wanted to see how similar areas in Ireland had attracted IT businesses.
“I’ve got 30 meetings over 21 days. Don’t worry, I’ll justify it,” he said.
Mr Ashton defended the trips, saying they often gleaned valuable information for MPs.
“Reversing the position on travel will only add to growing cynicism and dissatisfaction with politicians,” Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said.
“With the election out of the way, Mr Iemma has judged he can risk loosening the reins.”
“In the Google age it is doubtful if many MPs really need to take overseas trips for research purposes, with tele and video conferencing in most cases being a cheaper alternative.”
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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