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Senior Labor ministers urge Premier to take on disgraced MP Don Nardella

SENIOR ministers are urging Premier Daniel Andrews to take on disgraced MP Don Nardella to try to either force him to repay money claimed from taxpayers or leave parliament.

Senior ministers are urging Premier Daniel Andrews to take on disgraced MP Don Nardella to try to either force him to repay money claimed from taxpayers or leave parliament. Digitally altered image.
Senior ministers are urging Premier Daniel Andrews to take on disgraced MP Don Nardella to try to either force him to repay money claimed from taxpayers or leave parliament. Digitally altered image.

SENIOR ministers are urging Premier Daniel Andrews to take on disgraced MP Don Nardella to try to either force him to repay money claimed from taxpayers or leave parliament.

Pressure on the Premier to act is growing within the Labor Party, as public anger over the Melton MP’s abuse of a country residence allowance — which saw him pocket almost $175,000 — reaches boiling point.

Mr Nardella has already been forced to quit the parliamentary party and sit as an independent. Now, ALP branches in Melbourne’s northwest are considering ousting him altogether.

Ministers have raised their concerns in Cabinet. One told the Herald Sun that if the matter were not dealt with “we are going to bleed”.

But another said the Premier was “damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t”, because if Mr Nardella did not “see sense” he would look weak.

“I don’t think anyone’s got a way through,” the minister said.

Senior ministers are urging Premier Daniel Andrews to take on disgraced MP Don Nardella. Picture: Sarah Matray
Senior ministers are urging Premier Daniel Andrews to take on disgraced MP Don Nardella. Picture: Sarah Matray
Public anger over Melton MP Don Nardella’s abuse of a country residence allowance is reaching boiling point. Picture: Nicole Garmston
Public anger over Melton MP Don Nardella’s abuse of a country residence allowance is reaching boiling point. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Other ministers and MPs say Mr Andrews is, rightly, awaiting another parliamentary report on Mr Nardella’s use of the second residence allowance, designed for rural MPs who need to travel to Melbourne for parliament.

On Tuesday, the Herald Sun revealed that the Ocean Grove caravan park where Mr Nardella claimed to have lived for almost three years, in a cabin rented from family for $200 a month, had a “no residents” policy.

The arrangement allowed him to collect an allowance of $37,678 a year, because the cabin was farther than 80km from the Melbourne CBD and Mr Nardella maintained a second residence in Melbourne.

DISGRACED MELTON MP’S SECRET COAST ‘HOME’ REVEALED

The property at the Ocean Grove caravan park where Mr Nardella claimed to have lived for almost three years. Picture: Mark Dadswell
The property at the Ocean Grove caravan park where Mr Nardella claimed to have lived for almost three years. Picture: Mark Dadswell

The farthest edge of Mr Nardella’s electorate is within 80km of the CBD, making him ineligible for the payment had he been living in his seat.

The Opposition will try to force Mr Nardella to repay about $174,000 he has claimed since 2010 for living in Ballarat and then in Ocean Grove.

This is likely to be debated in the Legislative Assembly before the Budget is handed down on May 2, further derailing the government’s agenda.

Mr Andrews said on Tuesday: “Neither you nor I can make him resign.

“Neither you nor I can make him pay the money.

“What I’m going to consider in the first instance is the full report of the audit committee and that, I think, is due to us in a couple of weeks,” he said.

But Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said that Mr Andrews was “lying to Victorians” about this.

“The Parliament has an ability to make one of its Members repay money that is owed back to the Parliament,” Mr Guy said.

When Denis Napthine was premier in 2014, he moved a motion to force then-Frankston MP Geoff Shaw to repay $6838.44 for rorting his parliamentary vehicle entitlements.

The motion threatened to hold Mr Shaw in “contempt of the Parliament” if he failed to comply.

Mr Shaw repaid the money.

Greens MP Sam Hibbins said an Assembly privileges committee would be best suited to investigate Mr Nardella’s entitlements, and “Dan Andrews and his government should stop delaying this investigation”.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Sergeant Anita Brens said that the matter had been allocated to an investigator “and is currently undergoing assessment”.

Mr Nardella did not respond to the Herald Sun.

matthew.johnston@news.com.au

@Media_Matt

Read related topics:Daniel Andrews

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/senior-labor-ministers-urge-premier-to-take-on-disgraced-mp-don-nardella/news-story/9227f0e0d1f8908651328472f98a253d