Liberal MP Andrew Laming will refuse to repay travel expenses after audit finds $8,000 in invalid claims

A ruling by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority found Liberal MP Andrew Laming ‘obfuscated, provided inconsistent answers or ignored [questions]’ during an investigation into travel expenses that he billed to taxpayers. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Liberal MP Andrew Laming said he would refuse to pay back travel expenses after a scathing report from the independent parliamentary watchdog found he wrongly billed taxpayers more than $8,000 and at times “obfuscated, provided inconsistent answers or ignored [questions]” during its investigation.

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority began investigating Laming’s claims for travel expenses in 2020 after a Guardian Australia series on MPs’ expense claims.