Key orders review of ministerial housing rules

John Key

Prime Minister John Key has ordered a review of the rules that cover ministerial housing, saying they are arcane and don't deliver the best results.

He is, however, still backing members of his cabinet who have been under scrutiny for their accommodation claims and says he doesn't believe any have taken advantage of their circumstances.

Questions have been raised since details of MPs' travel and accommodation expenses were released last week, particularly about the taxpayer contribution of nearly $1000 a week for Deputy Prime Minister Bill English to live in his million-dollar Wellington home.

"We can go out there and persecute cabinet ministers but I'm sorry, they're actually doing a very important function and you expect them to do that at a good level," Mr Key said at his post-cabinet press conference today.

"And I expect them to be able to keep their marriages and families intact."

He said if Mr English wasn't an MP he would be living in Dipton.

"He has a house in Wellington and a family in Wellington because that's where his job is.

"He is staying in a property that is cheaper for the taxpayer than if he went out and rented something else."

Mr Key said problems with the rules weren't new.

"Ministerial Services' rules look arcane to me. They don't necessarily drive the best outcomes for either the taxpayer or the minister," he said.

"I think the rules drive perverse outcomes ... I want to make sure the taxpayer gets as fair a deal as possible which genuinely reflects the increased demand (placed on ministers)."

Mr Key said his ministers often worked 18-hour days for six or seven days a week.

"Most New Zealanders, I believe, would support me in my desire to see the marriages of my cabinet ministers and the happiness of their families remain intact," he said.

"I don't expect them to take advantage of the goodwill of the taxpayers and I don't believe they are, but I'm quite happy to have new rules out there that reflect that."

The PM gave other examples as well.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley couldn't have been expected to move his family of five into a two bedroom home when he shifted them to Wellington, Mr Key said.

Mr Heatley, who controls the state houses that low income people live in, claims more than $1000 a week for his ministerial accommodation and rents out the apartment he owns.

Mr Key defended the minister at his post-cabinet press conference today.

"He owns a property in Wellington, a two bedroom home, and has moved his family with three children to Wellington," Mr Key said.

"You can't expect Phil Heatley to move three children into a two bedroom house."

Mr Key also said it was legitimate for Foreign Minister Murray McCully, who also owns a Wellington apartment and rents it out, to claim more than $700 a week for a ministerial house.

Mr McCully spends a lot of time overseas but Mr Key said while he was in Wellington the minister had to regularly entertain foreign visitors.

"Mr McCully has to entertain, that's legitimate," he said.

TV One News reported tonight its inquiries showed three ministers owned homes in Wellington and did not claim any accommodation allowances - Attorney-General Chris Finlayson, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne and Consumer Affairs Minister Heather Roy.

Mr Key said terms of reference for the review would be made public, probably later this week, and he expected changes to result from the review.

- NZPA