Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Slipper's case is now before the courts and, if found guilty of three counts of ''dishonestly'' causing a risk of loss to the Commonwealth, the man who left the Liberal Party to take on the lucrative job of Speaker could face prison time. Normally a politician would be able to repay any misused entitlements as long as it is ''relatively minor''. Past experience shows that claims of more than $10,000 have been judged minor. Big spender: Liberal MP Don Randall. Credit:Andrew Meares Hundreds of dubious claims have been repaid by MPs on the quiet. Data is incomplete but the only comprehensive figures show the payback provision was used 136 times by 56 politicians between 2005 and 2010, totalling $93,044.06.

No MP has been referred by the Department of Finance to the federal police, as is allowed. The reason Slipper is before the courts is that a former staff member took the matter straight to the federal police last year and circumvented Finance. Slipper alleges James Ashby was part of a conspiracy by Liberal Party operatives seeking to discredit him after he left the party. Slipper's alleged rorting of Cabcharge expenses for three separate tours of wineries amounted to just $1194, less than a quarter of the cost of the trip by Randall and a family member (believed to be his wife) to Cairns. But the key word when it comes to any criminal investigation leading to court proceedings is ''dishonesty''. Slipper is facing three charges because he allegedly urged his drivers to break up the journeys into separate Cabcharge dockets to avoid any adverse scrutiny from Finance, which monitors and pays entitlements. Yet it appears Randall, too, has been dishonest. He claimed the $5259 cost of his return flight from Perth to Cairns should be drawn from the public purse because he was on ''electorate business''.

The evidence suggests his main, if not only, order of business on the rapid turnaround trip was to secure the investment property. While electorate business does not have to be confined to a member's seat, it does involve representing your constituents' interests, rather than your own. Loading Randall may have a legitimate explanation for his claims for the trips but he has failed to provide one for more than 24 hours since Fairfax Media's Jonathan Swan and Lisa Visentin first raised the matter with his office. Randall's jaunts highlight - once again - the desperate need for reform of the entitlements system, which is infuriating voters and undermining their faith in politicians. The system is highly complex, essentially self-regulated by politicians and wide open to abuse. And, as evidenced by Slipper's unique ordeal before the courts, riddled with inconsistency.