Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor has strongly endorsed proposed laws to cut back travel entitlements for MPs and Senators.

Speaking in Parliament this week on the Parliamentary Entitlements Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 Mr Taylor listed the top three complaints from his constituents on MP benefits:

• MPs’ pensions are too generous
• Politicians should not vote themselves a pay rise
• Politicians shouldn’t be entitled to a Gold Pass for travel

“In my own electorate of Hume, I often receive correspondence, calls and personal approaches from constituents on these issues. Many believe that current parliamentary entitlements are out of step with what the community thinks is reasonable. I accept that some of this commentary and feedback is driven by a level of cynicism in the community in relation to politicians and political life. But for me, as the Federal Member for Hume, I never forget that it is the taxpayers of Australia that pay my salary. I know that the majority of my constituents work hard each day to meet their commitments and to pay their bills at the end of every week and every month. As their local representative, I know they want me to work hard and act with integrity to ensure that their lives and burdens get easier, not harder.

“I think that some of the cynicism about politicians stems from the lack of transparency about how we spend our time - and that is something which I seek to address with, amongst other things, very regular Facebook posts.

“Travel entitlements beyond the life of a job are unusual in this day and age. Community standards and expectations are changing dramatically, and it is unreasonable to expect taxpayers to pay for something that they cannot expect from their own employment relationships. It is crucially important that the remuneration and benefits we receive are in line with community expectations and are in line with changing employment patterns outside of this parliament.”

Mr Taylor said the legislation was aimed at reforming and reducing travel entitlements for parliamentarians, including removal of the Life Gold Pass for former politicians.