Laming says $10k travel expenses were legitimate and refuses to pay despite damning watchdog report

Retiring Bowman MP Andrew Laming has refused to repay $10,000 in travel expenses claimed in 2019 after a parliamentary expenses watchdog said his claims were not for parliamentary business.

Andrew Laming has been fined and told to repay travel expenses after trips to Melbourne and Tasmania. Image Tracey Nearmy/AUSPIC

Retiring Bowman MP Andrew Laming has refused to repay $10,000 in travel expenses claimed in 2019 after a parliamentary expenses watchdog fined him, reporting his claims were not for parliamentary business.

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority examined 30 expense items incurred by Mr Laming and his family during the period from June 21, 2019 to June 27, 2019.

Of these expense items, 21 were found to be inconsistent with the relevant legislative provisions.

The report said the total value of recoverable expenses was $10,360.05 including GST and associated fees. It also included a 25 per cent penalty loading of $2,072.01.

The IPEA found the “dominant purpose” of trips to Tasmania, at a combined cost of $3867.31, was not parliamentary business.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Bowman MP Andrew Laming and Redland City Council Mayor Karen Williams, who also had a tilt at running for the seat of Bowman as an LNP candidate after Mr Laming decided not to recontest.

Mr Laming, who is not contesting his long-held bayside seat, was given the opportunity to review the draft report prior to publication.

He has maintained that the travel was related to parliamentary business and he made a 30-minute speech at an eye surgery conference in Hobart on invitation and attended a horticultural dinner.

“Plenty of quasi-judicial bodies presumed I was guilty last year,” Mr Laming said.

“Now it’s clear that I’m innocent, one has just dropped their investigation.

“Parliamentarians get three return trips a year for a family member to travel and on this occasion my family accompanied me.

“Addressing a Hobart eye surgeon’s conference and attending the latter half of the Hort Connections gala dinner is my job. Saying it isn’t ‘Parliamentary enough’ and wanting the trip re-paid three years later is bizarre.

“I reject this report and won’t be paying their invoices.”

The audit from the expenses authority said Mr Laming misled its investigators by claiming he was a registered speaker at an event in Tasmania that he attended for an hour.

He said he attended the second half of the gala dinner to network with stakeholders.

It also found all associated expenses including Mr Laming’s return travel, taxi expenses and travel allowance were not incurred in accordance with the Parliamentary Business Resources Act, with the one exception being a taxi expense for travel between Melbourne airport and Parkville on 26 June 2019.

Federal Liberal MP Andrew Laming and his wife Olesja at their home in Redland. PHOTO: Dan Peled

The audit found the dominant purpose of Mr Laming’s travel from Brisbane to Hobart on June 21, 2019 was not parliamentary business.

It also found all associated expenses, including fares for the travel of Mr Laming and his family, hire car and taxi expenses and travel allowance incurred in Tasmania over the period were not incurred in accordance with the Act.

The watchdog accused Mr Laming of giving “vague references” when the allegations were put to him.

“Mr Laming’s responses have been deficient in content and detail,” the report found.

“IPEA understands his spouse attended in her own right and for the entirety of the Hort Connections conference,” the report found.

“By his own evidence, Mr Laming was only in attendance for the final hour of the dinner that concluded the conference.”

Mr Laming decided not to recontest his bayside seat of Bowman after two women made complaints about his behaviour on a television show.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison ordered him to undergo empathy training which he did and subsequently media critics were forced to apologise to Mr Laming.