List shows MPs spending surpasses $2.1 million

The full list of non-ministerial MP expenses was released yesterday, showing MPs spent $2.1 million on travel and accommodation over three months.

It includes National leader Simon Bridges’ $114,000 spend on flights, hotels, and a Crown limo, leaked earlier this week.

The MP expenses are usually released alongside ministerial expenses. However, because of the Bridges leak, Parliamentary Services released the MP expenses for April to June alone, meaning it’s not clear yet what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and other ministers spent over the three-month period.

Unsurprisingly, Bridges was the biggest non-ministerial spender, with his $84,000 of spend on Crown limos on a regional roadshow. A note attached to this figure made clear, however, that some of this spend occurred outside the three-month period and was charged late, and that the National leader is charged more than regular ministers.

Speaker Trevor Mallard has announced a QC will investigate the leak of Bridges’ expenses.

The spending was well over double the next highest spender: National MP for CluthaSouthland Hamish Walker, who spent $39,387.

Walker has the largest general electorate in the country. Next up behind him is NZ First’s Mark Patterson, who is based in the same electorate.

The total spend for the threemonth period was $2,110,474, up from $1,493,715 in JanuaryMarch. During the same AprilJune period last year, MPs spent

$1,924,933.

National spent the most this period at $1,410,659.

Labour was next up with

$494,690.

Its highest-spending MP was Kiri Allan, who is based in the East Coast, and spent $31,303.