Former Melton MP Don Nardella, other retiring politicians enjoy final overseas junkets
Disgraced former MP Don Nardella spent thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money on a junket to France just months before retiring from state parliament — and he wasn’t the only retiring MP who enjoyed an overseas swan song this year.
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Exclusive: Disgraced former MP Don Nardella spent thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money on a junket to France just months before he retired from state parliament.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal the ex-Melton MP escaped Melbourne’s winter and cashed in his travel allowance to fly to Paris and attend a conference on freedom for Iran.
NARDELLA FINALLY PAYS BACK ALMOST $100,000
FOUL-MOUTHED MELTON MP REFUSES TO SAY SORRY
The week-long jaunt at the end of June came shortly after an unapologetic Mr Nardella finally repaid almost $100,000 he had rorted from taxpayers.
Mr Nardella was forced to stand down as deputy speaker and quit the Labor Party last year when he was caught milking up to $38,000 a year in allowances by saying he lived in a seaside caravan park instead of his western suburbs electorate.
Travel reports obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun show Mr Nardella was one of a string backbench MPs who took overseas trips before they retired at last month’s state election.
But the cost of the junkets remains secret because the Andrews Government failed to pass its comprehensive plan to “clean up” the allowances system.
The reforms were first put forward in April last year after Mr Nardella and former speaker Telmo Languiller were caught rorting the second residence allowance meant for country MPs.
Mr Nardella left parliament last month after 26 years, walking away with a taxpayer-funded annual pension of more than $118,000.
In his travel report, he justified the trip by saying he had a longstanding interest in human rights, particularly in the Middle East.
Mr Nardella said he took the opportunity to attend the conference after meeting Iranians in Melbourne and learning about their fight for democratic freedoms.
His notes show he delivered a speech criticising the Iranian government for supporting terrorism, as he talked up the need for sanctions and told Iranians pushing for democracy: “All strength to your arm.”
Mr Nardella also submitted other documents about the conference which showed it was attended by leading Middle Eastern and European politicians, as well as high-profile Donald Trump supporters Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich.
A copy of a meeting agenda included a handwritten note which said “Don went up on stage” with a delegation from Romania, Switzerland and Norway, ahead of a rap song performance.
Mr Nardella refused to comment on Saturday.
Greens leader Samantha Ratnam blasted the “lack of transparency and accountability” in the parliamentary allowances system.
“Victorians must be assured their money is being spent wisely,” she told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“As a matter of urgency, a parliamentary standards commissioner must be established to ensure the next Parliament is not riddled with the scandals that punctuated the last one.”
It is understood the Andrews Government will reintroduce its allowances overhaul in Parliament next year.
A spokesman said: “Under our reforms, MPs will be penalised if they do the wrong thing with their allowances.”
Mr Nardella eventually succumbed to community outrage and paid back the $98,254 he claimed for a second residence allowance, but maintained he had done nothing wrong.
The reforms would also mean all allowances claimed by MPs would be published online every quarter, and a parliamentary integrity adviser would be set up to advise and educate MPs about their use of taxpayer-funded perks.
RETIRING MPS HIT THE ROAD
A series of Victorian MPs enjoyed an overseas swan song after announcing their retirement from politics.
Travel reports lodged with state parliament show at least six MPs took taxpayer-funded trips this year before giving up their seats at last month’s state election.
Upper House Liberal MP Richard Dalla-Riva spent almost a month in Greece on a study trip to investigate the state of the country’s struggling economy, while also learning about Greece’s links to Australia’s involvement at Gallipoli in World War I.
He visited the islands of Lemnos and Corfu, picturesque seaside towns including Galaxidi, Parga and Nafpaktos, as well as Athens and the historic town of Delphi. Mr Dalla-Riva was joined for part of the trip by fellow Liberal Kim Wells.
Retiring Labor MP Geoff Howard also jetted overseas in April, learning about programs to help disengaged youths and seeing “parliaments in action” in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Liberal veterans Louise Asher and Martin Dixon enjoyed a final overseas trip when they joined the electoral matters committee on a Canadian study tour as part of an inquiry into civics and participation in Victorian state elections.
Former Upper House MP Rachel Carling-Jenkins — who unsuccessfully tried to shift to the Lower House seat of Werribee — charged taxpayers for part of her airfare to the United States for a summit on sexual exploitation.
Her report said she had medical clearance to travel, having missed a crucial parliamentary vote on the government’s planned CFA restructure due to illness several days before the trip.
Several MPs, including retiring Liberal Christine Fyffe, joined a cross-party trip to Turkey for the Anzac Day dawn service in Gallipoli.
Other travel reports lodged this year show Liberal frontbencher Ryan Smith spent five days in Las Vegas and Nevada to “follow up” on previous meetings he held in 2016 about law and order and security.
He met a former police chief, visited a data security centre and went to the Consumer Electronics Show, a massive trade show where tech giants spruik their latest products and inventions.
Thomastown MP Bronwyn Halfpenny travelled to the Middle East in her capacity as co-convener of the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, while Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams visited India in her role as chair of the Dandenong Indian Cultural Precinct Taskforce.
HOW TRAVEL ALLOWANCES WORK
• All MPs can spend up to $10,000 on interstate and overseas travel every year, with any unused money rolling over for one year only
• They have to submit diaries before they travel, detailing the purpose of their trips
• There are virtually no restrictions on what sorts of taxpayer-funded trips MPs can take
• They have to submit travel reports when they return home, but do not have to disclose how much they spent or what they claimed
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