Politicians punished for misusing printing allowance

Audit revealing politicians breaking rules of their print allowance prompts Rudd government to slash entitlements by 25 per cent.

The release of a report by the federal Auditor-General caused furore when it revealed that 75 per cent of print used by politicians broke rules and regulations, and was used for printing material such as voting cards and campaigning collateral. A $4000 allowance for the purchase of newspapers and periodicals was also misused by some, who had on occasion used the finds to buy confectionery items.

In response, Joe Ludwig, Special Minister of State, reduced the annual print allowance for MPs from $100,000 to $75,000 while senators suffered a reduction from $16,667 to $12,500.

Angered by Ludwig’s actions, Printing Industries wants politicians to instead undergo print awareness communication training to learn how to better communicate with their constituencies and with each other and to harness the power of print.

According to Printing Industries CEO, Philip Andersen, it is ridiculous of the government to cut the allowances when the Auditor-General’s report also found that the misuse was due more to the ambiguity of guidelines and poor administration by the Finance Department rather than intentional misuse.

“If the process if wrong, fix the process, don’t reduce the politicians’ ability to communicate effectively with their constituents,” he said.

Andersen said government at all levels had a duty to keep the public informed and to be held accountable for its actions.

“You need to know how to use it and the best way of doing this is to talk to the printing industry; we would be more than willing to help. In fact we can customise a print awareness course just for politicians,” he said.