Childcare expense claim prompts call for external investigation at Port Phillip
An inner-city councillor is under fire over alleged dodgy childcare expenses after it was revealed he claimed for hours of costly private babysitting when his son was at a cheaper council-run daycare centre.
Inner South
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A Port Phillip councillor has been accused of making dodgy expenses claims for childcare which have cost ratepayers thousands of dollars.
The allegations have sparked calls to suspend any childcare allowance claims until an external investigation is held.
Councillor Ogy Simic claimed $17,582 in babysitting fees between March 2018 and June 2019, but documents obtained under Freedom of Information have revealed Cr Simic claimed $245 for seven hours of private babysitting on March 13 and 14, while his infant son was signed into a $133 per day council-run childcare centre.
Liberal MP James Newbury told state parliament on Thursday evening the claims “look rotten”.
“A superficial read of the documents is so concerning that it warrants investigation,” he said.
But Cr Simic said the allegations were false and there was simply an error with the childcare sign in.
Port Phillip councillors are paid an annual allowance of $33,491 and are eligible to be reimbursed for “reasonable” out-of-pocket expenses such as travel, training and childcare.
There is no cap on the amount a councillor can claim for childcare costs incurred in the course of their duties.
At the time the hefty bills were revealed, Mayor Dick Gross told the Leader Cr Simic’s claims had been verified and complied with the council’s expense reimbursement policy.
Cr Gross said receipts or tax invoices were required for councillors to be eligible for reimbursement and they must also keep a diary of dates and times their council-related attendances at community events, which would be matched against expense claims before they were paid.
And Cr Simic told the Leader at the time, he, and other councillors with young children, wouldn’t be able to do the job properly without reimbursement for childcare.
Port Phillip Council had tried to block the release of the documents sought under Freedom of Information in September last year, but they were ultimately handed over last month following an appeal to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner.
Cr Andrew Bond said the discrepancies in Cr Simic’s claims showed “why the City of Port Phillip went to great lengths to keep these documents from me”.
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“There are many questions that need to be asked about a number of Cr Simic’s claims, including why some of these claims were ever approved by the City of Port Phillip,” he said.
“There needs to be an external investigation into why (the council) approved Cr Simic’s private babysitter expense claims on multiple occasions where childcare centre records clearly indicate that the child was signed into a council-run childcare facility and not in need of the claimed private babysitting.”
Cr Bond called for all childcare allowance claims to be suspended pending the outcome of an investigation.
He said “adequate safeguards, controls and caps” should be put in place to ensure “all future councillor childcare claims are both reasonable, and for legitimate council purposes only”.
Cr Simic said he did not seek reimbursement for both the childcare centre and private care.
“It is disappointing that the Liberals are so determined to attack childcare support,” he said.
“Childcare is essential and if councils didn’t support councillors with childcare then they’d be restricted from access to democracy for a large number of people.”