Albanese distances himself from expenses scandal

By Elle Hardy • December 12, 2025

A terse prime minister faced more questions about MPs entitlements as it was revealed his government has twice delayed a review into the scheme.

What we know:

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “I’m not the finance minister” as he refused to commit to changing rules that allow parliamentarians to take relatives to premium events on the public purse (SMH).
It comes as it was revealed his government has twice delayed a major review of travel rules, most recently in March, pushing it back to late 2027 (AFR).
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley called on Communications Minister Anika Wells to step aside while the parliamentary expenses authority conducts a review into her spending (ABC).
Wells may be compelled to hand over her metadata and submit to interviews with the watchdog, as her travel expenses eclipsed the roll-out of the teen social media ban this week (The Age).
The PM also rejected calls to tighten business class travel restrictions for bureaucrats, instead urging them to seek “value for money at all times” (The Guardian).
The entitlements saga comes ahead of next week’s budget update, which will include a tightening of government spending (The Conversation).