So why are all these pollies getting away with what they are doing.
They can delegate the error to office staff.
"I didn't do it. I'm too busy to worry about minor details like that. Blame it on the staff."
What is the ‘Minchin protocol’?
The Minchin protocol was introduced in 1998 to handle complaints of alleged misuse of expenses by federal parliamentarians. It is named after the then special minister of state, senator Nick Minchin, because he tabled the legislation. The protocol was established to avoid accusations of partisanship when handling claims of misuse from both sides of parliament, by having them handled by the Finance Department instead of at a ministerial level.
Under the protocol it is not uncommon for politicians to repay expenses which have been wrongly claimed, but the department will investigate the claims and ask for an explanation to ensure expenses were not claimed incorrectly on purpose.
As part of the protocol, the exchanges between the office and the member being investigated are kept private, as is the result of any investigation. However, documents relating to travel expense repayments can be accessed through freedom of information (FOI) laws.
