More than 80 per cent of Australians believe there is widespread corruption in federal politics and want a new independent watchdog to stamp it out.

After another fortnight dominated by stories of political travel rorts and entitlement abuses, a new poll suggests the public is fed up.

The national ReachTEL poll of 2285 people – conducted by phone on Thursday night amid ongoing public anger sparked by an expenses controversy involving Sussan Ley – asked respondents the simple question: "Do you think there is corruption in federal politics?".

A whopping 85.3 per cent said "Yes", with 55.2 per cent saying there was "A lot" and a further 30.1 per cent saying there was "A little".