Subj : Luxon does U-turn on $52k accommodation allowance, will pay it back
To   : All
From : News Person
Date : Sat Mar 02 2024 01:24 pm

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he will pay back what he has claimed to
date on a $52,000 accommodation allowance for staying at his own
mortgage-free apartment in Wellington.


Luxon said this afternoon the issue had become "a distraction".


"It's clear that the issue of my accommodation allowance is becoming a
distraction. As such, I have decided today that I will no longer claim the
allowance and will repay anything I have received since I became prime
minister."


He said he would pay back $13,000 which had only recently been deposited into
his bank account.


It is a U-turn on his position mere hours earlier, when he told reporters he
was "well within the rules" to claim the $52,000 annual accommodation
allowance.

"It's part of an entitlement for an out of Wellington MP, whether you are an
MP or a minister, there's a series of allowances and entitlements and it's
because I don't have a primary residence in Wellington.


"Like everyone I travel in and out of Parliament each and every week from my
home in Auckland and it's an entitlement all MPs and ministers have."


A spokesperson for Luxon earlier today confirmed the prime minister was
claiming the expense, which is an annual payment and on top of his $471,000
salary for the top job.


Premier House is the official residence for the Prime Minister of New Zealand
but has been in a deteriorating state of repair for many years, most prime
ministers avoiding renovations in part due to fear of negative press about it.


The spokesperson also said the Premier House Board Report suggested Premier
House required "a significant amount of work".


"So the Prime Minister is considering that before making any decisions around
residing there."


Luxon was the first prime minister in at least 34 years to claim the expense,
with many former prime ministers residing in Premier House while in
Wellington.

Luxon, who owns seven properties at a value estimated by the New Zealand
Herald in 2023 to be more than $21 million, denied he said it was condemned
but confirmed he did not live there.


Figures released this week revealed MPs from National, ACT and Labour claimed
an accommodation supplement last year while owning property in the capital,
Newsroom said.

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