Data Analytics expert launches Entitlement Watch to highlight the $100 mln spent on parliamentarians

SYDNEY - Aug. 10, 2015 - PRLog -- Recent revelations around the expenses of Australian parliamentarians has left many in the country angry and indignant. Most Australian tax payers would be surprised to know that over $95million were spent on entitlements in 2014 by the 225+ federal MPs and senators.While part of these expenses, no doubt, may have been legitimate, what has particularly started troubling the average tax-payer is that there’s no service available that detail these public expenditures. Voters are now of the sentiment that they have a right to know of such spending in order to spot potentially abuse of the claims system.

Encouraged by these sentiments, and in the community interest, Sydney-based data analytics expert Raj Dalal has set up EntitlementWatch.org.au. Using data collected from the Australian Government Department of Finance, the website provides Australians easy access to details of the near $100M spent in 2014 by their MPs and senators.

Information is presented via an interactive dashboard that allows users to explore expenses by top spending politicians under: office expenses, domestic & overseas travel, charter and other such categories. The site will be expanded to include historical data and ability to deep dive on any particular parliamentarian.

Raj has used his decades of experience in data analytics and data mining to set up the interactive dashboard at EntitlementWatch for all Australians to discover these expenses.

Those interested can explore the Parliamentarians Expenditure Scorecard at EntitlementWatch.org.au

“EntitlementWatch provides data to stimulate a meaningful public debate on the entitlement issue and opportunity for the Australian community to provide input into the reform process.” says Raj Dalal, Principal of Big Data Analytics firm, BigInsights.

He added “Apart from looking at the scope of the entitlement, the Prime Ministerial Review needs to address the issue of access to expense data for the Australian public. While technology and processes exists to create a more transparent and data rich solution, the key question, of course, remains - can politicians handle this kind of transparency?”

Heading forward, Raj feels like-minded people should join Entitlement Watch to expand the scope of this public initiative to provide a voice for the “community expectation” around entitlements. Raj has also made it clear that he did not have affinity for any particular political party but has only community interests at heart.