National backbencher Tim Costley will stop claiming a $36,000 housing allowance after minister Simeon Brown unveiled plans to build a road tunnel from Parliament direct to his home.
The unfortunately-named Mr Costley, who has a 58-kilometre drive to work – or what many Auckland commuters call ‘Tuesday’ - has previously claimed the yearly $36,000 by overnighting in the Wellington apartment he owns in addition to his Waikanae residence.
Prime Minister and former self-identifying entitlement-holder Christopher Luxon defended Mr Costley claiming the allowance, saying the MP worked long hours, was ‘juggling a lot’ and ‘there are times when that can be a bit brutal’.
The PM refused to elaborate on whether other hard-working Kiwis who work long hours and commute long distances that are ‘a bit brutal’ should be able to claim a new Suzuki Swift Sport‘s worth of housing subsidy every year, but added that in any event there was nothing he could change about the current system.
‘What can I do? These are the rules. We’re just the government, after all.’
But now Minister of Roads, Roads and Roads Simeon Brown has stepped in to resolve the issue.
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