A politician stuffing his face with chocolate while ogling porn. A former minister treating his partner to flowers and massages... all on the taxpayer.

You can see why New Zealand's media has gone wild for the credit card expenses scandal sweeping Parliament. Salicious details make great reading and the chance to embarrass those errant MPs is too good for the media to miss.   

The drip feeding of the inappropriate and sometime bizarre spending - gleaned from over 7000 pages of Official Information Act documents - has our columnists and journalists whipped up into a frenzy. And scandals of course sell newspapers.

But is there a grassroots outrage - and why should we care how our Ministers choose to unwind?

In the UK and in Canada, similar expenses scandals have been lapped up by the public . British MPs were contrite, some resigned and it certainly coloured the outcome of the recent general election.  

In New Zealand, the public appears to be not as incensed - Kiwis like to think themselves as less judgemental than those uptight Brits. But the nitty-gritty of Shane Jones'  hotel room antics is not what's important here. 

At the most basic level, last week's expenses blow up - and the swift demotion of Jones and Carter - shows that our politicians answer to the electorate. This is the sign of a healthy democracy. 

It also showcases just how accountable our Parliament and our public service are.  The OIA makes life in Government very transparent.  And openess prevents corruption. It's unlikely the next generation of ministers are going to be racking up new wardrobes and blue movies on our tab.

In Sweden, all written documents from government and public agencies - and the financial and tax details of all civil servants - are available to the public. Corruption and bribery is rare.  

In February, details of MP and Ministers accommodation and travel expenses were released - only the third time this had happened - and the numbers suggested scrutiny had prompted a change in behaviour.

Prime Minister John Key has moved to make quarterly releases of credit card details. In the wake of the furore over Bill English's living arrangements, he made the rules over accomodation expenses more stringent. While the latest scandal might have confirmed our worst suspicions about politicians, and made life a little uncomfortable for those with lavish tastes, we should give a pat on the back to our campaigning media (who lodged the OIA request) and the checks and balances of our parliamentary system.