Victorian MP Don Nardella urged by Premier Daniel Andrews to pay back living allowance

UPDATE: The Victorian Ombudsman will be asked to probe the “rorting” of a second home allowance by two embattled Labor MPs.

Premier Daniel Andrews has urged former Deputy Speaker Don Nardella to pay back the more than $100,000 he claimed as a second living allowance Picture: Jay Town

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THE Victorian Ombudsman will be asked to probe the “rorting” of allowances by two embattled Labor MPs.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said this afternoon that he would write to Ombudsman Deborah Glass to request “a full investigation” into the use of the second home allowance by outgoing Speaker Telmo Languiller and Deputy Speaker Don Nardella.

“It isn’t good enough for these Labor MPs to simply resign and sail off into the sunset. The full extent of this systematic rorting must be made public,” Mr Guy said.

“Daniel Andrews loves to say that the standard he walks by is the standard he accepts. If that is true, he will support and co-operate with a full investigation by the Ombudsman.

Although the allowances claimed were technically not in breach of Parliamentary rules, in the eyes of many they fail the ‘pub test’.

Earlier today embattled Labor MP Don Nardella has said he would retire at the next state election, amid growing calls for him to pay back the more than $100,000 he claimed in taxpayer-funded perks.

Premier Daniel Andrews said Mr Nardella should “do the right thing” by paying back the money he claimed through a second residence allowance while living outside of his electorate of Melton.

But Mr Nardella is holding firm against the premier’s advice, saying he was entitled to make the claim within the rules of parliament.

The Melton MP has told his local newspaper the Star Weekly that he will quit politics after the next election, however.

He reportedly said that the ongoing entitlements saga has influenced his decision to leave State Parliament in 2018.

Mr Nardella did not answer calls from the Herald Sun.

Don Nardella.

Don Nardella in Parliament in 2014. Picture: Jay Town

The Labor veteran was deputy speaker of the Legislative Assembly before it was revealed he had claimed an allowance of almost $38,000 for living in Ocean Grove, which is well outside his electorate of Melton.

Speaker Telmo Languiller was also found to have claimed the allowance, but has apologised for his “error of judgment” and has promised to pay the money back.

Mr Nardella’s decision to leave parliament after the election will save the government from having to fight a by-election in the outer western suburbs.

While Melton is a very safe Labor seat, recent controversies including over entitlements, a youth jail, and MPs living outside their electorate in the west could see it swing wildly at a by-election.

“The former speaker Telmo Languiller has done the right thing in paying the money back, and I think Don Nardella should do the same,” Mr Andrews said this morning.

“What I would say is that I think Telmo Languilller has done the right thing in repaying that money, I want to be clear about that.

Premier Daniel Andrews answers questions on Don Nardella at Avalon Airport this morning. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Telmo Languiller. Picture: Tim Carrafa

“This is in the first instance a matter for the audit committee and I understand they will be meeting quite soon, but I think, yes, he (Mr Nardella) should pay that money back.

“The audit committee needs to go through their process, it’s my view he should repay the money, he should do exactly the same thing as Telmo Languiller has done, which I would think most Victorians would say was the right thing.

“He (Mr Nardella) is very clear on my views.”

Mr Andrews said he expected both the former Speaker and Deputy Speaker to comply with the audit committee process.

“In the meantime … the first part of a series of reforms to entitlements and transparency, is of course making sure a regional allowance is only available to regional MPs,” he said.

“There will be a series of tests, a series of criteria, so that anyone applying for that allowance will need to satisfy.”

When asked whether Mr Languiller would have to resign if it was found that he never lived in Queenscliff, Mr Andrews said: “There’s an audit committee process and they need to be allowed to go their work.”

“There may or may not be a time to talk about those matters, but I want to let that committee to do their work first.”

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy called on Mr Andrews to kick Mr Nardella out of the Labor Party if he refused to pay the money back.

“After three days of ducking and weaving, Daniel Andrews has finally acknowledged that Don Nardella should pay back the $100,000 he rorted from Victorian taxpayers,” Mr Guy said.

“But it’s not good enough for Daniel Andrews to just begrudgingly acknowledge it. This is his Labor MP and he needs to make sure Don Nardella pays this money back urgently.

“Daniel Andrews likes to boast that he takes responsibility for everything in his government. Now is the time to see if that’s just meaningless spin or whether he’s fair dinkum.”