Senate vote, pollie perks on Brough agenda

The new minister in charge of electoral matters and parliamentary entitlements, Mal Brough, is keen to get to work on reform.

Changes to the way senators are elected will be given "urgent" attention by the Turnbull government.

"It's in the nation's interest to have a change to the voting system that is more transparent - people do not like the fact that they are not choosing their own preference flow," Mal Brough, the new Special Minister of State said.

"We need to have a good look at it urgently."

Mr Brough has responsibility for electoral reform as part of his new portfolio.

He told AAP on Monday, shortly after his swearing-in, that he would be talking to the parliament's bipartisan electoral matters committee as well as Labor, independents and minor parties about the reform.

Any decision on the timing and nature of the changes would be up to the cabinet, he said.

The Queensland Liberal-National Party MP said crossbench senators did not have anything to fear from this reform.

"If they've done a good job they've had six years to entrench themselves in their state and a change to the system could be to their advantage," he said.

In 2014, the bipartisan committee recommended voters be allowed to mark preferences above the line on Senate ballot papers or not to have to number all the boxes below the line.

Mr Brough also said he expected to be briefed on the review of MP entitlements on Monday.

This review was triggered by the scandal over former speaker Bronwyn Bishop's use of a chartered helicopter to attend a Liberal fundraiser.

"I'm all for people having confidence in the system, for politicians having clarity in what they should do but I also don't think you can replace common sense," he said.

"If I'm successful in stopping it from being an issue in the future, then that's a great outcome."


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world