Upper House deputy president Khalil Eideh resigns after Opposition move to replace him

LABOR MP Khalil Eideh has resigned from his coveted role as parliamentary upper house deputy president, after a threat from the Opposition to have him “dispatched” over investigations into an alleged printing rort.

LABOR MP Khalil Eideh has resigned from his coveted role as parliamentary upper house deputy president as investigations into an alleged printing rort continue.

The Western Metro MP today resigned from the post, after the Opposition flagged it would move a motion to have him “dispatched”.

Mr Eideh stood aside as Legislative Council deputy speaker in October while the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission investigated the allegations.

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Western Metropolitan MP and deputy president of Victorian parliament’s Upper House Khalil Eideh. Picture: AAP

Whistleblowers alleged that money had been siphoned from taxpayer-funded printing budgets to pay for ALP members for several Labor MPs’ electoral offices.

It is understood up to $200,000 worth of invoices from Mr Eideh’s Cairnlea ­office have raised concerns.

Parliament took control of Mr Eideh’s office after the Herald Sun revealed the allegations.

The role of upper house deputy speaker is a coveted position and includes an allowance worth thousands of dollars per week on top of the annual member’s wage.

Labor holds 3 of the 4 Presiding Officer roles in the Parliament and Labor Members in each of those roles have had to resign under a cloud of allegations of rortiong and corruption #springst #ThisisLabor

— Mary Wooldridge MP (@Mary_Wooldridge) July 24, 2018

Labor MP Nazih Elasmar, who has filled in as the deputy president during the past nine months, was elected to the role after Mr Eideh formally resigned.

He will also retire from parliament at November’s election.

Mr Eideh has become the third Labor MP to resign from a presiding officer role this parliamentary term.

Legislative Assembly speaker Telmo Languiller and deputy speaker Don Nardella resigned last year after an allowances scandal.

Liberal Leader in the Upper House Mary Wooldridge tweeted yesterday, after flagging the motion, that it had come “time to fix” the issue and have a permanent deputy speaker.

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@moniquehore