This is one of those times where I become acutely aware of just how much of a nerd I am when it comes to politics. I came across a Twitter account called Disclosure Bot, which essentially tells people when politicians update their interests. So one day, I looked and I had some fun (yes, fun is subjective, but I live for this kind of stuff). From there, I found the Register of Interests for both the Senate and the House of Representatives and looked through some interesting paperwork.
My impression originally was a mixture of “OOOOH, this is so cool” and “Holy crap, this is so detailed and anal-retentive” – because there is some detailed information in these documents. It’s is good that it is so detailed because you can’t say that it isn’t transparent. It’s also fascinating which members get what gifts and who keeps them.
I’ll start with the rules, thanks to the Registration of Members’ interests: Requirements of the House of Representatives document that I found on the House of Representatives page. The rules for Senators’ interests are the same, except they report to a Senate Committee rather than a Registrar, and are required to update slightly less frequently.
Within 28 days of being sworn in, a Member of Parliament must register their interests, and the interests of their spouse and dependent children. They must also register any changes to their interests within 28 days of the change.
They must report any of their, or their spouse’s and children’s, shares in private and public companies, any trusts they benefit from, real estate they own and their purpose, if they direct any companies and if they part of any partnerships. They also have to declare any liabilities or debts and the creditor involved, any bank accounts and the bank they belong to as well as any assets they own valued at more than $7,500 – that aren’t personal affects.
But there’s more.
Members have to declare gifts over $750 from official sources, and over $300 from other sources unless they are personal gifts from family and friends. They must also declare sponsored travel over $300 and any membership of organisations and any other interests that may be considered a conflict of interest.
If they knowingly fail to notify the registrar or make a false declaration, then they are considered guilty of contempt of the House of Representatives. It’s unclear what happens if you do the same if you’re a Senator.
So what did I find out? Well, lots of things.
I learned the extent of Clive Palmer’s business empire – Palmer is the director of so many companies and has so many trusts and investments, he had to supply an attachment 11 pages long to his original register form. The same goes for Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull, who have a lot of trusts and investments – they supplied a 5 page attachment to Malcolm Turnbull’s original register form.
Most politicians get membership of airline Frequent Flyer programs for free, as well as free Foxtel subscriptions for their offices. Many also get upgrades on flights. Almost every MP out of the probably thirty that I looked at has declared those freebies at one point or another. Many of them also get some offical gifts from people when they go on trips or get invited somewhere, and that’s where it gets very, very interesting.
Jenny Macklin, the Member for Jagajaga, gets lots of arts-related gifts. She generally keeps them and pays the difference if they are above the allowable limit. Tony Abbott, Member for Warringah, on the other hand, only keeps the gifts if below the limit, and even then he generally says in his declarations he only intends to keep them for the duration of his time in parliament, or for some of them, his Prime Ministership. Once that time is over, he plans to either donate the gifts to organisations or leave them with the Department of PM and Cabinet. This means a bunch of them have already made that transition or remain in the PM’s office, where Turnbull can admire them. However, when Abbott gets cycling gear, he keeps it, and if it’s over the limit he’ll pay the difference.
Bronwyn Bishop, Member for Mackellar, on the other hand, seems to keep everything she gets – or at least that’s the impression I get as she doesn’t put the section numbers on – whether it be cases of wine or tickets to the Opera. You don’t even know if they’re within the limit or not, because she doesn’t note that down. It’s quite amusing.
Last but not least, Andrew Leigh, the Member for Fraser. He declares pretty much everything even noting in parentheses at one point when declaring that the National Press Club sponsor NAB provided seating for his staff and guests, “this probably doesn’t need to be disclosed, but I’m erring on the side of caution” – which seems to be his modus operandi. He notes everything in detail, such as what class a flight was booked on when it was “involuntarily” upgraded (yes, he says that in early declarations).
So, whether you want to figure out if your local member has an investment property that they might be negatively gearing or you just want to find out their middle name – and trust me, some of them are awesome – check out the registers for the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Hopefully you’ll have just as much fun as I did.
Kara L 