MP expenses scandal: Don Nardella must vacate his seat

IT’S time for Melton MP Don Nardella to take his big fat parliamentary pension and trundle back to Ocean Grove, writes Matt Johnston.

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IT’S time for Melton MP Don Nardella to take his big fat parliamentary pension and trundle back to Ocean Grove.

Or wherever he actually lives these days.

Today it has been revealed that the Labor veteran, who has long talked up the need for strict parliamentary standards, has claimed a lucrative second residence allowance for living in the country since March, 2010.

He has only been “eligible” for this ridiculous perk because he was living OUTSIDE of his electorate.

That’s right, he gets your money by moving away from his constituents.

If he lived in any part of his outer suburban seat of Melton, he would not have qualified to claim the allowance, which is worth about $25,000 for a backbencher and $37,678 for an office-holder such as deputy speaker.

Don Nardella sitting in the House of Representatives. Picture: Jason Edwards

This is because parliamentary rules only say MPs have to live 80km or more from the Melbourne GPO, and maintain a secondary residence in Melbourne, to claim this taxpayer-funded gift.

There is no caveat on the fact members have to live in their seats, probably because the people who wrote the rules didn’t consider any MP bold enough to claim the money if they didn’t live in a country seat.

A conservative estimate of the amount of money Nardella has creamed from taxpayers for living outside of his seat is now about $200,000, based on the fact he was only eligible for the higher allowance between December 2014 and March this year.

Telmo Languiller has paid back the money he claimed. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Telmo Languiller is also under the pump now that the report by PwC shows he never really lived in Queenscliff — although his get out of jail was that he “intended” to live there.

Languiller had a succession of family crises that auditors say caused him to change his circumstances and living arrangements.

He later alerted parliament to the change, on February 13 — 10 days before it was revealed in the media that he “lived” in Queenscliff.
Languiller has also already paid back the money to State Parliament he had claimed.

Nardella has refused to repay any money.

This report found he lived in Lake Wendouree between March 2010, and April, 2014.

In April, 2014, he moved to Ocean Grove after a breakdown of a personal relationship.

Auditors say this was to a family member’s property, and he paid that person $200 a fortnight.
I’d be feeling pretty ripped off if I was that person, given Nardella was making about $1400 a fortnight for using that person’s address as his “primary residence”.

This address had “no long term connection with the Member and it is difficult to argue convincingly that he intended this to be a long term/permanent principle residence”, the report says.

The Audit Committee says “a position can be taken that the arrangement in this period with the Member’s family may have been entered into to ensure that the Member would continue to receive the second residence allowance”.

The committee also says that Nardella has recently moved out of his “home base”.
There’s now no financial loss for him to do that, given he’s stopped claiming the second residence allowance.

He needs to pack up and move out of parliament, too.

It’s no longer feasible for him to remain in his seat.

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