MPs Perks

Introduction 

MPs are paid well to represent New Zealanders, but salaries are only part of the story. Taxpayers also fund accommodation, travel, allowances and a range of other parliamentary entitlements, so the Taxpayers’ Union works to ensure MPs’ pay and perks are transparent, reasonable and tied to the realities facing the people who pay for them. 

Actions taken 

We have consistently challenged excessive increases in MPs’ pay and taxpayer-funded perks, called for greater transparency around parliamentary spending, and opposed special treatment that ordinary New Zealanders would never receive. That has included scrutinising salary increases set by the Remuneration Authority, exposing the true cost of MPs’ allowances and entitlements, campaigning against unjustified travel and accommodation perks, and using media pressure and public campaigning to keep politicians accountable for how they spend taxpayers’ money.