The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has repaid travel expenses he claimed after leaving parliament early to travel to the Gold Coast in February.
In a statement Littleproud said he had “mistakenly sought the wrong advice” and “incorrectly” re-entered Queensland in between sitting weeks via the Gold Coast.
He said he has now decided to pay for the trip himself.
In February Guardian Australia revealed that Littleproud took leave shortly before parliament had finished for the week, departing Canberra on taxpayer-funded business class flights for a family commitment on Thursday 9 February.
Littleproud’s trip was three days after settling on a $1.375m beachfront apartment in Surfers Paradise. The Nationals leader was pictured on the Gold Coast over that weekend in photographs posted by his partner to social media, before returning to Canberra on the evening of 12 February.
Littleproud’s primary residence is in Ryeford in his south-west Queensland electorate of Maranoa.
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) guidelines allow MPs to return to anywhere in their home state from a parliamentary sitting, to be with their families. Guardian Australia does not suggest Littleproud was in breach of the rules.
At the time, he told Guardian Australia that his “return to family in Queensland was within both the spirit and intent of IPEA rules”.
The Nationals leader labelled “attempts to make this appear unethical” as “pathetic and misleading”, also rejecting the suggestion the trip was undertaken “to take possession of a property”.
In March the Australian reported that IPEA had launched an investigation into Littleproud’s use of expenses.
On Wednesday Littleproud told Guardian Australia: “I became aware that I had mistakenly sought the wrong advice from IPEA before travelling home to Queensland to see my family between sitting weeks in Canberra, incorrectly re-entering Queensland via Gold Coast airport rather than Brisbane airport.
“To remove doubt on any part of that trip I made the decision to pay for all of my return travel to Queensland for that weekend.”
Littleproud also clarified that a separate “personal visit to family in Western Australia in January was privately funded and no travel claims were made”.
“I am therefore unaware of any interest IPEA has in this private trip.”
In 2017, then health minister and now deputy Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, purchased a Gold Coast apartment on a taxpayer-funded trip, prompting a major overhaul of parliamentary expenses, despite the trip being deemed within the rules.
The new rules contain obligations to “act ethically and in good faith” and require MPs to be “personally responsible and accountable for their use of public resources” and that they “must consider how the public would perceive their use of those resources”.
In reference to Littleproud’s travel, barrister Geoffrey Watson SC told Guardian Australia the rules are “purposive … we don’t want our parliamentarians to be unfairly separated from their families”.
“That’s got to be the purpose of the trip … If the purpose of the trip is to settle in to a new holiday property or to enjoy your first long weekend at a holiday property, well you’ve just failed at the first hurdle.
“Just by saying ‘I’m going to Queensland’ – it’s a big place, about the size of western Europe.”
