LEAVING Parliament just got less lucrative.
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The Queensland Independent Remuneration Tribunal has handed down its pay determinations for former MPs.
Once entitled to a resettlement allowance of either three or six months of base salary - depending on the number of terms an MP had served - an exiting member of Parliament will now only receive 12 weeks of their base salary as a ‘‘transition allowance’’ - unless they have been kicked out.
Travel allowances have also been cut.
Travel arrangements have included commercial air and rail travel benefits.
Former MPs who had been elected three times and served a minimum of seven years were entitled to one return flight each financial year within Australia, New Zealand or Papua New Guinea.
Spouses received the same benefit.
If the flight was longer than three hours, eligible MPs received an upgrade.
Railways of Australia Gold Passes were made available to premiers, ministers and the speaker who had served at least one term, the leader of the opposition after six years, and MPs who had spent 20 years in Parliament.
Those who didn’t get the Australia-wide gold pass, received a Queensland Rail gold pass.
But come 2018, that will all change.
All commercial air travel and rail travel entitlements must be claimed by December 31 of that year, with no further entitlements provided or claimable after that date.