Under siege Labor MP Khalil Eideh has quit as deputy president of Victoria's upper house while corruption allegations continue to cloud his office.
Legislative Council president Bruce Atkinson announced Mr Eideh would step down on Tuesday.
Questionable invoices, discovered in a parliamentary-wide audit, were referred to the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission in September and Mr Eideh's office was subsequently shut down.
It came after allegations of government MP electorate offices misusing parliamentary allowances by claiming fake printing invoices and keeping the bulk of the cash for branch stacking.
The accusations prompted Mr Atkinson to launch the parliamentary audit, which resulted in the IBAC referral.
In a statement provided to parliament on Tuesday and published by News Corp, Mr Eideh again professed his innocence and said the allegations made his role untenable.
"Not withstanding my innocence, I am conscious that allegations about matters involving my electorate office result in unhelpful speculation about my role as deputy president, which may distract from the standing of the house," Mr Eideh wrote.
"I am keen to protect the reputation of the house, just as I am keen to protect my own reputation.
"I wish to stand aside from my duties as deputy president, commencing immediately, until the reported outcome of any IBAC process."
A government spokesman on Tuesday said the resignation was "decision taken by Mr Eideh" and his temporary replacement is a matter for the president and Legislative Council.
He is the third government MP to leave a parliamentary position, following the resignations of Legislative Assembly speaker Telmo Languiller and deputy speaker Don Nardella.
The duo left their roles following a police investigation into their parliamentary entitlements and neither will contest the 2018 election.
Mr Eideh has also announced his political retirement at the next poll.
Share
