Health Minister Sussan Ley bought an investment property while on a taxpayer funded trip. Credit:Andrew Meares Her statement stresses the importance of transparency, but does not address this most basic of questions. Is this what Malcolm Turnbull had in mind when he expressed the hope that politicians would "speak more plainly and with more candour to the Australian people" in 2017? It's also inadequate because she apologises for her error of judgment in this case, saying her leader agrees with her that the claim does not meet the high standards he expects of ministers. Yet there is no explicit apology for three other claims that will now be repaid after her weekend examination of her travel records.

They, too, blurred the distinction between public and private business – a distinction she concedes "should be as clear as possible when dealing with taxpayers' money". The inconsistency is that Ms Ley describes herself as one who applies higher standards to herself than her parliamentary colleagues when it comes to using taxpayer funds, yet she offers the most basic reparation: paying back the money and accepting the required financial penalty. It won't be the end of the matter because Ms Ley has now asked the Department of Finance "in the interests of total transparency", to review all her ministerial travel to the Gold Coast. The ABC has already identified 20 trips where there are unanswered questions, including two that took her to the Gold Coast on New Year's Eve in 2013 and 2014. In response to questions from the public broadcaster, her office is reported as saying: "In her portfolio, she is required to undertake extensive meetings with doctors, patients and other organisations that are not media or public events."

Is this speaking "more plainly and with more candour to the Australian people"? Turnbull's statement of ministerial standards was signed in September 2015 and begins with the declaration that ministers and assistant ministers "are entrusted with the conduct of public business and must act in a manner that is consistent with the highest standards of integrity and propriety". "Ministers are expected to conduct all official business on the basis that they may be expected to demonstrate publicly that their actions and decisions in conducting public business were taken with the sole objective of advancing the public interest." That should have been the signal for all to check their affairs were totally in order. The Prime Minister returns to work today and says the focus will be on ensuring "Australians are able to weather the economic challenges the world presents and seize the opportunities that technology and the rapid growth in our region offer".

Instead, he is in damage control, dealing with another surprise distraction. One upside is that, should Ley's position become untenable, there are two former health ministers in the wings. One, Peter Dutton, is overdue for transfer from the immigration portfolio. Loading Better to have a fresh pair of eyes oversee the deal to resettle those on Manus Island and Nauru in the United States.

The other, Tony Abbott, is chafing at the bit to come off the bench.