Aussie MPs to be forced to repay wrongfully-claimed taxpayer funds
Source: Xinhua   2017-04-20 08:53:44

SYDNEY, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Victorian members of parliament (MPs) could be forced to repay wrongfully-claimed taxpayer-funded benefits under an overhaul of the state's benefits scheme.

An audit of the parliamentary benefits system by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) published on Thursday recommended 12 sweeping reforms including giving Victoria's Parliament the power to compel MPs to refund any overpayment of allowances.

The report by PwC was triggered by the revelation that government MPs Don Nardella and Telmo Languiller had claimed residence allowances intended for MPs representing electorates in remote areas.

Languiller has repaid the taxpayer funds he wrongfully claimed and quit parliament while Nardella has repeatedly refused to pay back the 130,000 U.S. dollars he claimed and remains in parliament as an independent MP.

The report also recommended that an independent tribunal be established to determine the salaries and allowances of MPs as well as publishing every MP's salaries and allowances online to guarantee transparency.

Four recommendations were made for changes to the second residence allowance that landed Nardella and Languiller in hot water including clearly defining the electorates for which MPs were eligible for the payment.

Nardella, who represents Melton which is 50 kilometers from Victoria's Parliament House, claimed the allowance for seven years by claiming he lived in Ballarat, 120 kilometers from Melbourne, then Ocean Grove, 100 kilometers away, despite having no evidence he ever lived there.

PwC requested information from three other MPs who claimed the allowance, with all but opposition MP Bill Tilley supplying "sufficient information" to support eligibility for the claim.

Tilley, the member for Benembra which is 430 kilometers from Melbourne, said he did not disclose the information for "privacy reasons."

Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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Aussie MPs to be forced to repay wrongfully-claimed taxpayer funds

Source: Xinhua 2017-04-20 08:53:44
[Editor: huaxia]

SYDNEY, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Victorian members of parliament (MPs) could be forced to repay wrongfully-claimed taxpayer-funded benefits under an overhaul of the state's benefits scheme.

An audit of the parliamentary benefits system by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) published on Thursday recommended 12 sweeping reforms including giving Victoria's Parliament the power to compel MPs to refund any overpayment of allowances.

The report by PwC was triggered by the revelation that government MPs Don Nardella and Telmo Languiller had claimed residence allowances intended for MPs representing electorates in remote areas.

Languiller has repaid the taxpayer funds he wrongfully claimed and quit parliament while Nardella has repeatedly refused to pay back the 130,000 U.S. dollars he claimed and remains in parliament as an independent MP.

The report also recommended that an independent tribunal be established to determine the salaries and allowances of MPs as well as publishing every MP's salaries and allowances online to guarantee transparency.

Four recommendations were made for changes to the second residence allowance that landed Nardella and Languiller in hot water including clearly defining the electorates for which MPs were eligible for the payment.

Nardella, who represents Melton which is 50 kilometers from Victoria's Parliament House, claimed the allowance for seven years by claiming he lived in Ballarat, 120 kilometers from Melbourne, then Ocean Grove, 100 kilometers away, despite having no evidence he ever lived there.

PwC requested information from three other MPs who claimed the allowance, with all but opposition MP Bill Tilley supplying "sufficient information" to support eligibility for the claim.

Tilley, the member for Benembra which is 430 kilometers from Melbourne, said he did not disclose the information for "privacy reasons."

[Editor: huaxia]
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