Death knell for MPs' travel perks

Lockwood Smith. Photo / Getty Images

The Speaker has finally sounded the death knell on travel perks after almost 40 years of MPs enjoying taxpayer-subsidised flights for their private international trips and holidays.

Lockwood Smith announced last night that the perks giving MPs discounted international travel would no longer be available for them.

Although he has previously defended MPs' rights to discounted travel, he admitted he had "failed" to convince the public and said it was clear the political consensus was now for them to go.

"I think I had formed a view some days ago that change was inevitable."

However, he intended to set up a scheme to allow backbench and Opposition MPs to travel on parliamentary-related trips of their own initiative, rather than the limited opportunities for official travel.

He said the new scheme would have tight rules and was likely to require some personal contribution from MPs towards costs.

His decision followed his meeting with representative MPs from each political party last night.

Prime Minister John Key asked him to abolish the perks following a string of embarrassments for politicians misusing them.

The Remuneration Authority will decide if MPs will get an increase on their base salary to compensate.

The breaking point for Mr Key was the resignation of Pansy Wong from her ministerial portfolios after she admitted her husband had used her 90 per cent discount for a business trip to China late in 2008.

The perks had come under scrutiny since the regular release of MPs' total travel and accommodation costs began in January 2009.

The holiday perks began in 1972 and entitled MPs to discounts for unlimited international private travel ranging from 25 per cent for a second term MP up to 90 per cent for those who serve four terms or more. Since 2003, the Remuneration Authority has deducted the average value of them from MPs salaries as well as about half of the amount spent on partners' free domestic travel. Act leader Rodney Hide said the former MPs' perk should also go.

"It was never part of their contract or their pay."