Labor Speaker Mark Monaghan told Estimates he “certainly didn’t” seek advice from the independent statutory body that sets politicians’ entitlements when he secretly permitted two Labor MLAs to charge taxpayers for their interstate holidays, through a determination that was not circulated and which the Opposition called a “rort of the system”.

The NT Independent first revealed last month that Mr Monaghan had altered the rules around politicians’ entitlements to seemingly create a new entitlement that permitted Labor MLAs Chansey Paech and Dehran Young to use their government fuel cards for thousands of dollars of personal travel charges while travelling interstate over the Christmas period.

The Remuneration Tribunal sets the salaries and entitlements for politicians, but Mr Monaghan told Estimates the tribunal did a poor job writing the determination and that he did not seek the committee’s advice – the committee that sets the entitlements – before making his determination to allow politicians to charge taxpayers for their personal interstate holidays.

He also claimed he was not creating a new entitlement despite the RTD not stating that MLAs can charge taxpayers for personal travel interstate.

“[Those] members sought advice about whether or not their vehicles could be used interstate,” Mr Monaghan said.

“That advice was discussed internally, you know, the question was discussed internally. And the advice was provided back to the members at the time, that given the wording in the determination that the DLA [Department of Legislative Assembly] was comfortable that the entitlement existed.”

It doesn’t.

Mr Monaghan later admitted that the wording in the Remuneration Tribunal Determination, that at one time permitted politicians to use their government fuel cards interstate for personal purposes, was removed in 2007.

“It doesn’t actually state that it’s not [allowed] so therefore it’s interpreted as okay,” he said. “It used to be [in the RTD], I think they removed that stipulation but, so, I don’t know what their thinking is behind it.”

He did not contact the tribunal to seek clarification on “what their thinking” about the issue was and instead inserted his ruling into the RTD through a “Speaker’s Determination”. But he later said his office had gone to the tribunal on other matters in the past to seek clarification.

“And sometimes we would ring them, I would assume, and ask them what is meant by this,” he said.

Nobody asked specifically why he did not go to the tribunal on this matter to see if they thought it was appropriate for taxpayers to pay for an MLA’s fuel for personal holidays.

Mr Monaghan insisted repeatedly that he had not changed the RTD.

“It’s not, it’s not me making a change to anything, I’m just communicating what’s in here,” he said.

However, again, there is nothing in the RTD that states an MLA can charge taxpayers for fuel interstate on their personal holidays. Both local court judges and senior public servants are not permitted to use their government fuel cards while interstate.

‘It doesn’t pass the pub test’: CLP accuses Labor of rorting system

MLA Robyn Lambley asked why she was not made aware of the determination at any time through email, which CLP MLA Steve Edgington backed up, stating he too was not informed of the new entitlement at any time before the NT Independent reported it, despite the determination directly affecting him as the holder of a government fuel card.

Mr Monaghan said he would “have to get back to you on that”.

However, parliamentary Clerk Mathew Bates, who was sitting next to Mr Monaghan at the Estimates hearing, told the NT Independent in an email on May 19, that Mr Monaghan did not send out an email about the changes to MLAs because the department informed him that it should only be posted on the DLA intranet for members “to access” rather than sent via an email, “which is a single point in time”.

It was unclear why MLAs could not have been informed of the determination being on the intranet via email and why Mr Monaghan or Mr Bates did not provide that explanation to the Estimates committee.

Mr Monaghan made the changes to the entitlements on December 14 – four days before Mr Young charged taxpayers more than $2600 for fuel from the NT to his hometown of Wooloweyah. Six days after that, Mr Paech charged taxpayers more than $800 to travel to Adelaide and back, stopping in SA wine country.

Mr Monaghan told Estimates he felt the charges were “completely fair as an entitlement”.

CLP MLA Bill Yan, who sits on the public accounts committee, said Labor MLAs charging taxpayers for their personal travel was not acceptable to Territorians and that it was clear the MLAs had rorted the system.

“It doesn’t pass the pub test that Labor members deliberately chose to rort the system for their own personal gain,” he said.

“Territorians should look at the excuses Labor gave today and make their own decision on if they think that’s how their taxpayer money should be spent.

“Frankly one thing is abundantly clear this fortnight after estimates, the truth and integrity mean nothing to Labor.”