State politicians could be forced to pay back wrongly claimed entitlements and second residence allowances could be capped in a bid to stamp out a “culture of entitlement”.
An audit, by PricewaterhouseCoopers, has called for tougher laws and regulations to oversee MP salaries and allowances.
As part of the recommendations MPs could be forced to “certify” that the information they provide in claiming entitlements is correct.
The lower house speaker and upper house president could also be given the power to “enforce regulations and compel” MPs to refund overpayments.
The audit followed revelations that Melton MP Don Nardella and Tarneit MP Telmo Languiller wrongly claimed a second residence allowance designed for regional MPs.
Another 32 MPs who claimed the second residence allowance were investigated as part of the audit. Of those, one was “unwilling to provide relevant documentation citing privacy reasons”.
Liberal’s Benambra MP Bill Tilley told Fairfax Media he had provided redacted documents to the auditors due to privacy concerns but has since provided 74 pages of additional information, including utility bills.
The auditor’s report will be tabled in Parliament next week.
