Speaker of the House of Representatives

The Hon Dr Lockwood Smith

MEDIA STATEMENT

A cross-party meeting to consider matters relating to the extent to which expenses incurred by MPs should be disclosed publicly, is being convened by the Speaker, Hon Dr Lockwood Smith.

“I expect that meeting will take place as soon as practicable, probably later this week”, said Dr Smith.

He said a number of questions will need to be considered that relate to the extent of disclosure, including the need to ensure that the privacy of constituent work by Members is not compromised.

The issue of MPs expenses in Britain has raised questions about how they are managed within New Zealand. While the New Zealand system is quite different and does not provide for many of the claims that have caused concern in Britain, it is in the public interest to assure the integrity of our system.

ENDS

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