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Vic MP Shaw cleared of contempt

Victorian independent MP Geoff Shaw has been cleared of contempt of parliament for misusing his parliamentary vehicle but ordered to repay $6800.

Independent Victorian MP Geoff Shaw
Victorian MP Geoff Shaw (AAP)

Victorian independent MP Geoff Shaw has been cleared of contempt of parliament for misusing his taxpayer-funded car.

But the parliamentary privileges committee found he breached the MP code of conduct when he misused his parliamentary car and recommended he repay more than $6800.

Mr Shaw, who holds the balance of power, said he did not agree with the investigation's findings but accepted responsibility.

"I don't agree with the quantum of the report," Mr Shaw told reporters on Thursday.

"I don't agree with some of the comments that they've made.

"From the start ... I have said I take full responsibility, the buck stops with me.

"There's nothing to answer for criminally, there's nothing to answer for, for contempt of parliament.

The privileges committee investigated Mr Shaw after the ombudsman found in 2012 the Frankston MP used his parliamentary car for his own hardware business.

It found Mr Shaw let the car be used for commercial purposes.

He also enabled the use of his parliamentary fuel card for his private vehicle.

But the committee wasn't satisfied he wilfully contravened the MP code of conduct.

Mr Shaw said the matter was over for him when all dishonesty charges were dropped in December after the director of public prosecutions decided there was no reasonable prospect of criminal conviction.

"We had the ombudsman say something, we had the courts and the police say something, we had these jokers say something. They're all different," he said.

The committee recommended parliament order Mr Shaw repay a further $6838.44 for the breach.

He has already paid back $1250.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine, who said he was yet to read the report, defended the 18 months it took to produce, saying the matter was one of the most complex privileges issues in any Australian parliament.

Deputy Labor leader James Merlino said the coalition-dominated committee's report was a whitewash.

"This has been a rort of a process, to protect the rorter for Frankston," he said.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


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