It鈥檚 bad enough that our MLAs are only sitting in the legislature for 36 days this year. Now we discover that taxpayers are shelling out $1.1 million for the politicians鈥� Victoria housing allowances, which is an average of $14,100 each.
As with the MLAs鈥� other expenses, which sparked outrage and led to promises of reform, the allowances look too rich and too poorly accounted for.
Linda Reid, the Speaker of the legislature, says the housing allowances will be reviewed because a 鈥渘ew day鈥� of accountability has dawned. The harsh light of day certainly needs to shine on them.
Some living allowance in Victoria is necessary for the 78 MLAs who don鈥檛 live in the capital region.
The members can choose from three methods of paying for their capital pads. They can take $1,000 a month to a maximum of $12,000 a year to cover rent or mortgage payments, and they don鈥檛 have to provide receipts; 42 of 78 have taken that route.
They can receive up to $1,583 a month to a maximum of $19,000 a year if they provide receipts; only nine MLAs selected that option.
Finally, they can stay in hotels and send the bill to the legislature, up to a maximum of $17,000 a year; 27 have gone that route.
Public servants and those in the private sector who must provide receipts for every dime find it hard to imagine collecting $12,000 a year without any paperwork. If nothing else, Reid鈥檚 review must take a look at that practice. The opportunities for abuse are not huge, but they are obvious, and easily closed with basic accountability.
However, the whole system needs a careful re-examination in an era when Premier Christy Clark is demonstrating her disdain for the political culture of the legislature by reducing the number of sitting days. If the legislature sat for 100 days a year, it would make sense to fund a long-term residence for an MLA who had a reason to spend a lot of time in Victoria. In a year like this one, it doesn鈥檛 make sense.
The MLAs don鈥檛 do themselves any favours by suggesting that the allowance isn鈥檛 enough.
sa国际传媒 Liberal caucus chairwoman Michelle Stilwell, from Parksville-Qualicum, said most MLAs spend more than the $1,000 out of their own pockets.
鈥淵ou鈥檇 be hard-pressed to find somebody who isn鈥檛 spending over and above that,鈥� Stilwell said.
If that鈥檚 so, she should sit down with her government鈥檚 policy-makers and have them explain why the shelter allowance for a single person on assistance is $375 a month, or why the allowance for a single parent with two children is $660 a month. Neither MLAs nor assistance recipients have to live in five-star accommodation, but the difference in amounts is striking.
sa国际传媒 politicians aren鈥檛 alone. In Alberta, MLAs get $1,930 a month, up to $23,160 a year, for a residence in Edmonton.
Critics suggest that MLAs who buy rather than rent are investing in the real estate market, with help from taxpayers, and will likely end up making money as home values continue to rise.
The argument over the amount of the allowance is secondary, however, to the fact that we are paying 12 months of housing allowance for MLAs who have sat in the house for only 36 days. Sitting days are not the only times they are required to be in Victoria, but even when committee and other business is taken into account, the numbers don鈥檛 add up.
If Clark is going to continue abbreviated legislature sessions, we should consider putting MLAs in hotel rooms for the few nights they are in Victoria.
