Jail MPs for dodgy expense claims: Greens

Federal politicians who submit false expense claims could be jailed under changes proposed by the Greens.

The minor party is pushing for amendments to an expenses bill being debated in parliament on Wednesday. It wants MPs who intentionally submit false claims jailed for 12 months or fined more than $10,000, and electoral allowances worth up to $46,000 paid into a dedicated bank account overseen by a compliance officer.

Greens senator Lee Rhiannon told the Huffington Post MPs entitlements had "grey areas" that must be addressed or politicians would be seen as being "more interested in making money than in serving the public".

Government MP Jane Prentice said the punishments sounded a little extreme.

"I don't know that anyone - I hope no one does it deliberately," she told reporters in Canberra.

"I think some people may get caught up in some of the forms and other problems, but I would've thought that was a tad extreme."