Victorian Parliamentary speaker Telmo Languiller to repay $40k claimed for living 80km from Melbourne
Updated
Victoria's Parliamentary Speaker has promised to repay an allowance of almost $40,000 he claimed for living in the seaside town of Queenscliff, more than 80 kilometres from Melbourne.
The Labor MP for Tarneit, Telmo Languiller, said he was entitled to claim the money, but conceded it did not meet community expectations.
"While all members who live more than 80km from Parliament can claim this allowance, I fully accept that in my circumstances it doesn't meet community expectations," he said.
"To that end, I will repay the allowance I received in full."
The seat of Tarneit is about 25km west of Melbourne's CBD.
Mr Languiller charged taxpayers the allowance for a year until last November.
He had listed a home in Queenscliff — south-east of Geelong — as his primary place of residence, and maintained a second property in Footscray.
The Footscray property is now Mr Languiller's primary residence and also outside his electorate.
Under parliamentary rules, politicians are entitled to the allowance if their home base is at least 80km from Melbourne's CBD and they keep a second residence in the city.
Asked if he would stand down, Mr Languiller said he would be "discussing matters with the Premier and the leader of the Opposition" today.
"On reflection, I believe the system that allowed me or others to make a claim of that kind should be tightened and should be changed," he said.
He said he had not spoken to Premier Daniel Andrews, but believed he had his support.
Opposition calls for changes to country MP allowance
Opposition leader Matthew Guy said the rules around MPs' entitlements must be tightened.
"We can't have a situation where city MPs can claim a country members' allowance. I just can't believe that is somehow allowable under the rules," he said.
Mr Guy said the dated entitlements system needed an overhaul, so allowances were linked to an MP's electorate, rather than where they live.
During the 2015-16 financial year, Mr Languiller spent more than $50,000 on six taxpayer-funded overseas trips, including two to his native Uruguay.
Mr Languiller later provided an explanation to the Parliament, in which he said he rented the Queenscliff property as a result of "complex family matters relating to marriage, children and parents".
"I apologise for this error of judgment," he said.
In November, Steve Herbert resigned as Corrections Minister after using his taxpayer-funded driver to chauffeur his two dogs around.
Topics: states-and-territories, government-and-politics, queenscliff-3225, tarneit-3029, melbourne-3000, vic
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