BREAKING: Sussan Ley Resigns as Health Minister
Sussan Ley has resigned as Federal Health Minister which was just announced during a press conference by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos will take over her ministerial responsibilities until a new minister is appointed. It was clear to anyone that her use of taxpayer funds for trips to the Gold Coast including when she bought an $800,000 apartment did not meet public expectations and offering her resignation as well as paying back the expenses was the only appropriate response. Despite resigning she still claims that her actions were within the parliamentary rules, the response of most people would be if those are the rules then the rules are wrong.
During the press conference the Prime Minister announced he would create an independent body to review MPs expense allowances to make sure parliamentary rules were being followed and that there would be monthly reporting and disclosure of MPs expenses to allow for public scrutiny as well. He was asked by a journalist why he had not acted on the recommendations of the inquiry to MPs expenses that were tabled a year ago after Bronwyn Bishop’s choppergate scandal. His excuse was that the parliamentary year had been interrupted by an election so they hadn’t got around to implementing them yet.
Thought it would appear that it took another expenses scandal to hopefully get our politicians to introduce some meaningful entitlement reform. We will be watching closely what reforms are introduced and will make it clear to our politicians will we not forget about this problem and want action.