MPs' sense of entitlement needs to be reined in

It is an oft-repeated maxim, said with great earnestness by politicians, that there is no such thing as a free lunch - that is of course unless you are an MP - in which case such rules do not apply. Apparently it is common practice for MPs to attend lunch or dinner meetings and walk away without paying. This is not only bad manners and freeloading but raises the question of whether this could be construed as attempting to buy influence by those who are paying.

If someone pays for your meal and drinks there may be an assumption that something is expected in return. This has to stop. The issue is well understood, despite MPs murmuring to the contrary because when it is official government business they are very quick to charge that to the taxpayer - so either way they get a free lunch.

The petri dish of power seems to a breed a particular culture of entitlement. Take an ordinary person, give them a title and a mandate and suddenly they believe they have a right to certain privileges and the ability to refuse them to others. Once this gets mixed in with hubris then the delusion is complete.

In a classic case of entitlement blindness in our southern neighbourhood, the Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, felt it was OK for taxpayers to pay for his trip to a friend's wedding. When this became public knowledge he then paid most of the money back.

Here in NZ, Judith Collins is the most recent example. She attended a business dinner with a corporate that does business in China. The director of this company is her husband. The meeting was attended by senior company staff and Chinese government officials.

Collins was quoted praising the company's products and the dinner was paid for by the company. She reportedly did not offer to pay her part of the bill and accepted the corporate hospitality as an entitlement of office. From her point of view this was not about influence - it was a free meal at someone else's expense.

The potential for such situations to take on a hint of corruption seems to have escaped her completely. It is hard for the average punter to understand. It seems blindingly obvious that MPs should not be accepting free gifts from those who may want to exert influence.

Is there a way to restrain the influence of entitlement on our politicians? One obvious way is for parliamentary rules to reflect those that govern the rest of us. We buy our own lunch, paid for out of our salary. We do not get paid just for showing up at our place of work. If we are absent for no reason from our workplace we run the risk of losing our jobs.

The other way to curb entitlement is for Parliament to provide an open book on MPs' attendance in Parliament and electorate, the register of interests (including spouses) and MP spending.

The huge sums of taxpayer spending by MPs and never paying for their own lunch is currently regarded by them with a shrug as the cloak of entitlement settles comfortably on their shoulders while departing on another overseas junket.

Terry Sarten is a musician, social worker and writer at large. Feedback: tgs@inspire.net.nz or www.telsarten.com/