Greens Mayor charged ratepayers for house nanny during lockdowns

A City of Yarra councillor has defended slugging ratepayers thousands of dollars for an in-house nanny, sparking criticism she is “out of touch”.

Yarra Greens councillor and former mayor Gabrielle de Vietri charged ratepayers for an in-house nanny during Melbourne’s lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

Cr de Vietri, who is contesting the state seat of Richmond, claimed $6961 for 56 days of child care, including four weekend days.

The charges include fees of up to $200 a day for childcare.

On social media, Cr de Vietri defended asking ratepayers to cover her bills.

Gabrielle de Vietri claimed $6961 for 56 days of childcare. Picture: Facebook. Picture: Facebook

“My kid is school age so during lockdowns I couldn’t send them to childcare which is subsidised.

“But I couldn’t send them to school either because I was not an ‘authorised worker’ and was able to work from home. So yes, it was pretty expensive.’’

Cr de Vietri is on leave from Yarra Council while in campaign mode to try to win Richmond from Labor.

The expenses were part of the Yarra councillor’s “other costs” and were only discovered through a Freedom of Information application from a resident.

Brendan Lonergan, who is treasurer of a not-for-profit organisation, said he was concerned about Yarra’s spending priorities.

“But this childcare during lockdown stinks. I would have loved to have a nanny during the lockdowns.’’

In a statement, Cr de Vietri said the Federal Government should make childcare free for everyone.

“I was lucky that while I was a home-schooling Mayor, I was able to claim for approximately one day a week childcare under the Local Government Act.

“It’s an important step to redress gender disparity in elected roles and recognise the demands of the job.”

Lucas Moon, the Liberal candidate for Richmond, said families did it tough during pandemic restrictions and were unable to be helped by Yarra ratepayers.

“This doesn’t pass the pub test even at a time when the pubs were shut,’’ he said.

While mayor, Cr de Vietri received an annual allowance of almost $90,000, and also claimed for communication and travel expenses as well as $1786 for professional development.

Councillors can claim for carer expenses if considered reasonable under the Local Government Act.

Yarra Residents Collective spokesman Adam Promnitz said while the allowance might be legal, it did not align with community expectations.

“This is just out of touch with the average struggling family,’’ he said.

The revelation comes as the Greens launched a policy to cap rents to “make renting fair and affordable”.

Further comment was being sought from Cr de Vietri.

Cr de Vietri was under fire last month when she called for alternatives to air travel while raising concerns about the proposed third runway at Melbourne Airport.