Setting up a committee of MPs to look at how MPs report their expenses is an attempt to kick the issue into touch, leaders from the ACT and the Greens said today.
Prime Minister John Key is calling for a cross-party committee to examine ways of creating greater transparency of MPs' expenses.
The move follows an announcement by Greens co-leader Metiria Turei that their MPs would release their expenses for January 1-April 30, and a commitment to do so every year.
The decision was prompted by a scandal over MPs' expenses in Britain, where daily reports and embarrassing headlines have detailed the way MPs have used the system to claim for dog food, light bulbs, work on their houses -- including cleaning a moat -- and porn movies.
In New Zealand, details of ministerial expenses are subject to the Official Information Act (OIA) although MPs' expenses are not.
Mr Key this morning said there was a high level of transparency in New Zealand.
"That said, on reflection, it may make sense for there to be a committee formed of MPs, one from every political party to look at this issue, look if there are ways for greater transparency and on that basis I intend to write to the Speaker today and suggest to him he might like to form that group," he said.
MPs had legitimate concerns about such things as accessibility to their phone records but needed to put that into perspective as they could only claim for domestic air travel, taxis and accommodation, he said.
Ms Turei said the New Zealand system was more robust than Britain's, but there needed to be more openness.
The proposed committee was a delay tactic, she said.
"We'll engage with the committee, we think it's good that there is a systemic way of managing MPs' expenses and there should be standardised reporting," Ms Turei said.
"We also think the parliamentary services should be open to the OIA, barring of course communications between MPs and their constituents." ACT leader Rodney Hide said he was happy to have his expenses made public.
ACT would be part of the committee, but committees were a "kick to touch".
"That's what the last government always used to do -- send things to a committee -- that's why I thought we had a change of government," Mr Hide said.
"I think we should just open it up to the OIA like everything else that's to do with public money." Mr Goff said he was happy with Mr Key's suggestion that a committee of MPs look at the issues, though there were not the same problems in New Zealand as there were in Britain.
An MP in New Zealand could claim for flat expenses to a capped amount and receipts had to cover items like rent and electricity.
"I can't claim for a moat or any of the other things that extraordinarily British MPs claimed for. That is simply not possible in New Zealand," Mr Goff said.
"I am happy for the all-party committee to look at the question of transparency and whether there is any scope for people to misuse the system.
"In our view, it's the total cost that the public want to know about -- how much it costs for MPs to do their work, and we think that that's reasonable that they have that information," Ms Turei said.
"So we invite all the other political parties to follow suit and to release this information to the public." Labour whip Darren Hughes said his party would not join the Greens in releasing expenses.
Mr Key said it was up to individual MPs whether they released their expense details.
