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Bill English - Source: NZPA / Ross Setford -
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Finance Minister Bill English is defending taxpayers paying $1000 a week for his family home in Wellington, saying National put a cap on the accommodation allowance for ministers when it took office.
The taxpayer subsidy is double what English was able to claim last year when he was an Opposition MP, and comes as he calls for spending restraint and value for money in the public service.
The Finance Minister talked tough on spending in his key speech to the National Party conference on Saturday but his own Wellington property is costing taxpayers $50,000 a year.
It is home to him, his wife Mary and their six children.
As Deputy Prime Minister, English is paid almost $280,000 a year. Records show his family home is worth $1.2 million and the taxpayer contributes nearly a $1000 a week towards it.
A search of the title showed the Karori home was bought by English and his wife, Mary, for $800,000 in 2003.
However, in March this year the title was transferred to Mrs English alone.
English said the home, now worth an estimated $1.2 million, was always owned by a family trust.
Details of English's expenses were revealed this week in the first public disclosure of MPs' travel and accommodation costs.
They show he claimed $23,763 for Wellington accommodation costs in the first six months of the year for living in the Karori house.
The amount is almost twice the $24,000 annual cap on allowances English would have been entitled to claim as an MP from out of Wellington for living in the same house as a backbench MP.
That allowance can be used to cover rent and other costs, including interest on a mortgage.
As deputy leader of the opposition, his salary was $176,900. As deputy prime minister, it is $276,700.
But he has defended the use of using tax payers money.
"This isn't about the money. This is about the support I get which I appreciate that enables our family to be together under the pressures of politics," English said.
Anger
But those figures and the ongoing issue of politicians' expenses has upset Aucklanders who were protesting about a cut to training allowances.
"That is reprehensible...reprehensible so you can rip money out of the hands of single mother or single parents trying to better themselves but he can live it up with an extra $1000 a week that he doesn't need cause he owns his own home," said one female protester.
The outrage was stoked even further by the fact English's speech to party faithful at the National Party conference was about reinforcing the need to tighten belts in the tough economic times.
"The world is not going to lend us the money near as easily as it did to spend on houses and flat screen TVs," English said.
Within the rules
National is defending the payments though as within the rules.
The rules allow Bill English to live free in a Crown owned ministerial home or accept taxpayer funding towards rent or a mortgage on his own place.
Faced with these choices, English said the most important thing to him was to keep his family together.
"We faced the choice of moving to our fourth house in six years with a family of six children and we decided it was better not to do that if we could. The system is flexible enough to allow that. But I don't get a dollar more with a family of eight than any other minister who has no one else in their household. It is the lowest cost for the taxpayer ," says English.
If we had moved out it would have cost more and it fits within all the rules," English said.
The story about his allowances could be written about any minister, he said.
"I get paid more than I did as a backbencher. I have more staff and my allowances are a bit bigger. Early on the prime minister put a lid on what those costs should be at $700 a week which hasn't been there before to recognise the fact that in a recession you can't have ministers in places that are really expensive."
Expenses for power, insurance and other costs were on top of this.
English said the rules were flexible enough to allow families to stay together.
"It limits the amount of money so no one gets special treatment. You get the same amount whether you have a minister by themselves or with six kids and it's all transparent."
English has six children and is the MP for Clutha Southland.
