---

Parliamentary Standards Bill

The Government are right that the matter needs to be addressed urgently. Public disquiet is clearly great, and there has also been great anger. If the Bill were confined to the process of setting up, in anticipation of Kelly, a system whereby our allowances and eventually our salaries were tackled outside the House, by an independent authority, it would go through quickly and command widespread acceptance. However, the Bill contains punitive regulatory provisions, which have constitutional implications. From what has been said so far, the House clearly takes the view that there has been insufficient time to consider them.