French government ministers this week published detailed lists of personal assets in a bid to restore confidence following a tax evasion scandal that forced the resignation of budget minister Jerome Cahuzac. But should the goodwill gesture, made at the behest of French President Francois Hollande, set the standard on disclosure? Do we really need to know how much our politicians are worth?

The French declarations list the contents of bank accounts as well as the value of life insurance, stocks and properties. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has the most personal wealth, at about AUD$7.8 million. Hollande is worth around $1.4 million.

Now the French government wants to enact a law to demand the same disclosure from parliamentarians, a move the centre-right Union for a Popular Movement  (UMP) opposition says would “only create tension”. MPs from both the opposition and the ruling Socialist Party have attacked the law as “voyeurism”.

The United States has similarly extensive disclosure laws, requiring candidates for president and vice-president, along with other high-ranked officials, to release their estimated income from various sources. Representatives and senators (and some of their staffers) also fall under these requirements — some even make their tax returns public. However, last week Congress voted to stop posting financial details online — they will now only be available in hard copy, a move Center for Responsive Politics, a high-profile public-interest advocate, labelled “unacceptably outdated”.

Australian politicians are not required to disclose personal finances. Instead, upper and lower house committees mandate internal rules on disclosure, which are administered by a clerk with little regulatory power. Professor John Uhr from Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy told Crikey the penalties are weak for non-compliance. But he says MPs provide details because the media was liable to check.

A separate code of conduct for ministers was established by former PM John Howard and expanded under Kevin Rudd. But dealings under the code are overseen by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and are not made public. There is no formal way to know the wealth of our politicians, although the media sometimes reports on them (especially former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd).

Parliamentarians are asked to declare gifts, including free travel, hospitality and accommodation. For example, in January 2010, Mark Arbib (then a Rudd government minister) spent a free night in Scone with James Packer. He received a Louis Vuitton tie from the European Australian Business Council and a pair of Oroton cufflinks from the Indigenous Business Council.

Western Australian Senator Mathias Cormann received two bottles of Penfolds Grange from Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy received tickets to the Australian Open from a range of different corporations. Former Greens leader Bob Brown was the recipient of a Taiwanese vase from “pro-democracy advocates”.

And as a 2012 Sydney Morning Herald investigation found, many gifts are not declared. Some, including Brown, choose to include more details than required. He included specific amounts for liabilities from potential costs arising from legal action.

Politicians have a right to privacy just like anyone else, according to OpenAustralia’s Matthew Landauer. But they are also responsible to the public in a way private citizens aren’t, he says.

But Uhr says changing to a French model is not necessary. “We’ve got a workable balance in respect to privacy and the community’s need to know what the spread of interests are,” he said. “There’s no need for anything more, that is, unless we get further critical episodes.”