SA Country members accommodation allowance: Advertiser analysis reveals how much MPs have claimed since 2010

Analysis of a decade’s worth of expenses data has revealed the country MPs who have claimed the most taxpayer dollars – including one who claimed over $300,000.

Artwork Steve Grice. The Advertiser.

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Country MPs have claimed up to $300,000 worth of a controversial travel allowance in the past ten years, analysis shows.

The data dump of country member accommodation allowance claims from 2010 to 2020 shows 24 MPs received the allowance over that period.

More than 16,000 nights and $3.5m was claimed from the scheme which is currently subject to an investigation by independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bruce Lander.

The claims were tabled in both Houses of state parliament last week as 1628 non-searchable PDFs.

Analysis by The Advertiser shows one MP - Liberal MP Adrian Pederick, who resigned on Thursday as Government whip in the lower house - claimed more than $300,000 in the past ten years.

A further seven MPs have claimed more than $200,000, including former Primary Industries Minister Tim Whetstone ($297, 664), Kangaroo Island-based former Liberal MP Michael Pengilly ($208,636) and current Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan ($291,100).

A survey of the majority of MPs who have claimed the allowance over the past 10 years found they were confident they had done nothing wrong.

Former independent Don Pegler, who represented the seat of Mt Gambier from 2010-14 suggested the allowance was considered a top up income by some members.

USE THE TABLE TO EXPLORE CLAIMS FOR EVERY COUNTRY MP

Mr Pegler told The Advertiser he remembered arriving in Parliament and it being suggested that he buy a unit in Adelaide and pay for it with the allowance.

When asked if using the allowance as an income supplement was a tip handed down through the generations he said:“That’s the way I saw it… If anybody did anything wrong they should be paying that money back. If somebody found that I had the wrong date or something like that there I would have no problem paying it back because it would’ve been an honest mistake.”

“If anybody has particularly rorted the system they should be held to account.”

Past and present MPs that have accessed the scheme told The Advertiser that although they were confident of their claims, they are still checking.

Former Labor MP Lyn Breuer, who served the seat of Giles from 1997-2014, told The Advertiser her claims during that period “were certainly legitimate.”

“But I’m not sure it can be substantiated now because it was so long ago,” she said.

“I always maintained two households. If you’re genuine about it it’s impossible to stay in motels and so on. You have to have another household so you can come and go when you feel like.

“Some years I claimed the lot, some years I didn’t. You run out of allowance. I’m appalled at some of the stuff that’s come out recently.

“I think that it’s really wrong. I hope that they don’t make it too difficult for country members. They’ll struggle to find people if it’s too difficult.”

Current Frome independent Geoff Brock said despite being confident his claims were correct he was triple checking.

“What I’m also doing is printing (the claim forms) off. I’ve got all my claims and all my diaries and just double checking and triple checking that it all lines up…just to double check in my own mind that I haven’t put a wrong date in or something like that,” he said.

“I’m very confident... but at the end of the day if there’s been an oversight or something like that…I just need to double check it so that in my own mind (I know) that I haven’t made any mistakes.

“It’s a tedious job to go through it I can tell you that now. It’s taking a long time, but I’m very, very confident.”