The Bay of Plenty's four elected MPs racked up close to $400,000 in expenses in 2009, according to figures released by Parliamentary Services and the Department of Internal Affairs.
The expenses cover Wellington accommodation, accommodation outside of Wellington, air travel and surface travel.
Three of the Bay's four elected MPs Simon Bridges, Te Ururoa Flavell and Todd McClay.
Bay of Plenty MP Tony Ryall, who is also Minister of Health, had the highest bill with $140,332.
Tauranga MP Simon Bridges' expenses totalled $82,167, Rotorua MP Todd McClay $68,759 and Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell $104,679.
.jpg)
Tony Ryall's expenses included $21,785 for international air travel but he did not incur any accommodation costs because he lives in a government house.
But about $17,000 of the money allocated to Tony for international travel was refunded because he did not take a scheduled overseas trip.
Other list MPs working in the Bay of Plenty include Labour's Steve Chadwick, Mita Ririnui, Jacinda Ardern and Moana Mackey.
Together they racked up expenses totalling $361,454 in 2009.
Steve Chadwick had the highest bill of the four with $102,728, followed by Mita Ririnui's $99,090, Moana Mackey's $91,825 and Jacinda Ardern with $67,811.
2 comments
Winnie
Posted on 26-02-2010 20:09 | By Pat
Peters spent more then that on Lawyers a year
Fair and reasonable
Posted on 02-03-2010 11:07 | By FDenz
There are two components in the expenses discussions and it is important not to let emotion and resentment get in the way of analysing fair and reasonable claims. Personal costs are never acceptable in business or political reimbursements - that is why people are paid a salary. However I would not expect a Minister to travel to Europe cattle class. Long distance travel is very tiring and they have to be ready to hit the ground running when they get there. Tired ministers would not do us justice on the international stage.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.