The prime minister, Tony Abbott, has left open the possibility of changing the parliamentarian entitlements system, although he has ruled out adopting the Greens' proposal for an Icac-style integrity commissioner to oversee politicians and public servants.
He has also backed one of his backbenchers, the West Australian Liberal MP Don Randall, who has been the subject of public controversy over taxpayer-funded travel to Cairns.
The prime minister told 3AW on Wednesday that Randall went to Cairns to have a private discussion with the then opposition whip Warren Entsch – not to settle on an investment property he acquired in the coastal city around the same time.
Asked by radio host Neil Mitchell whether Randall could have conducted that business over the telephone rather than incurring travel costs in the thousands, Abbott replied: "Members of parliament are entitled to travel to have important meetings because teleconferencing is sometimes no substitute for a face-to-face discussion."
Randall has subsequently repaid the $5,000 worth of travel to Cairns after advice from the department of finance, but he has declined to answer specific questions about why he went on the trip beyond the fact it was "electorate business".
Labor has twice offered to support the Abbott government if it wants to pursue changes to the entitlements system.
Tony Abbott has thus far dug in behind the existing system, arguing there will always be arguments at the margins about what is acceptable to claim and what is not.
On Wednesday he said he was yet to see a concrete proposal he was attracted to. He said the ALP had already rejected the Greens proposal for an integrity commissioner when they were in government.
But he said he had an open mind on future reform. "I appreciate the public are always concerned and annoyed whenever there are stories about politicians allegedly misusing their entitlements," Abbott said.
"I'm not saying we are never going to change the system. I am always vigilant for ways to improve."
