Tim Smith yet to pay for damage caused by drunken crash

Matthew Guy has been grilled on MP Tim Smith claiming a taxpayer-funded car allowance despite serving a ban for drink-driving.

Disgraced drink-drive MP Tim Smith is claiming a $400-a-week parliamentary car allowance, despite being banned from driving.

The Liberal member for Kew has so far claimed $15,300 from taxpayers since crashing his car into a Hawthorn property while drunk in October last year.

He was subsequently banned from driving for 12 months.

Before he retires at November’s election, Mr Smith, who earns $192,000 a year as an MP, will be eligible to claim a total of $22,350 under the parliament’s motor vehicle allowance. State MPs who elect not to be provided with a taxpayer-subsidised car are all eligible for the perk.

But parliamentary sources said the matter had raised a potential loophole that may need to be addressed.

“It appears he’s not actually doing anything wrong and is entitled to claim this allowance, but morally it’s not right,” a source said.

Disgraced MP Tim Smith will depart politics. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

It comes as the Herald Sun can reveal the Kew MP is yet to pay to repair the damage caused by his career-ending incident.

He crashed his Jaguar after having “too many” wines and recording a BAC of .131.

Sources close to Mr Smith said he was in a “standoff” with the family of the home over how much he owed.

It is understood Mr Smith has offered an amount substantially less than the family has claimed. Sources say there is a dispute over the amount of damage actually caused by Mr Smith.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy said on Thursday he had “zero knowledge” about whether his former friend Tim Smith has settled damages on the house he drunkenly crashed into.

Mr Guy also refused to say whether it passed the pub test for Mr Smith to still be claiming a taxpayer funded parliamentary car allowance, as exclusively revealed by the Herald Sun.

“I’ll let you make that analysis rather than me be a commentator,” he said.

“I don’t know his financial relation with the parliament.

“I don’t know if that’s the case or not, so I can’t comment on mine, on Daniel Andrews, on Tim’s, on someone else because I have no idea with their relationship financially.”

Asked if Mr Smith should settle damage to the wall of the Hawthorn home he crashed into, Mr Guy said: “That’s just got nothing to do with me.”

“I have zero knowledge on what that situation is. I have no interest in passing a comment on it,” he added.

In a statement issued shortly after the crash, Mr Smith said he had been at a dinner with friends and didn’t think he was over the limit before getting behind the wheel.

He later said he had just “a couple” of wines before admitting he had “quite a few glasses of wine”.

Smith crashed his Jaguar into a family home in Hawthorn.

The aftermath of the smash.

Despite resigning from his role as shadow attorney-general immediately after the crash, Mr Smith had hoped to remain an MP beyond the 2022 election.

But he flagged his intention to resign after losing the support of his state MP colleagues who urged him to quit.

It included Opposition Leader Matthew Guy who faced intense pressure from Victorian Liberals, including federal ministers, to let Mr Smith remain as a backbencher.

Mr Smith has since claimed Mr Guy reneged on a promise to help save his career.

Asked why he had been claiming the parliamentary motor vehicle allowance despite being unable to drive, Mr Smith did not comment. However, he said he had offered to meet the repair costs of his crash.

“Although it is not appropriate to comment in this private matter on the specifics of my communications with the property owners, I have apologised, taken full responsibility, and offered to meet all assessed repair costs caused by the accident of October 30 last year,” he said.