𝕃𝕦𝕩𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕙𝕖'𝕤 '𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕤' 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕞 $𝟝𝟚𝕜 𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖

𝕃𝕦𝕩𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕤 "𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕤" 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕔𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 $𝟝𝟚,𝟘𝟘𝟘 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕠𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕘𝕒𝕘𝕖-𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕒𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟 𝕕𝕦𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕦𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕥 ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕖𝕣 ℍ𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖.

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he minister-in-charge was claiming the expense — which he is entitled to do — which is an annual payment and on top of his $471,000 salary for the top job.

Premier House is the official residence for the Prime Minister of New Zealand but has been in a deteriorating state of repair for many years.

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He was asked about the issue during a news conference in Queenstown today, where he said he would like to stay at Premier House, but can't.

Watch: Prime Minister Entitlement Christopher Luxon speaks from Queenstown https://t.co/RxI1f37FDt

— Veronica Glamis Aotearoa💃💃💃💃 (@VeronicaGlamis) March 1, 2024

As for the allowance, he said: "It's part of an entitlement for an out of Wellington MP, whether you are an MP or a minister, there's a series of allowances and entitlements and it's because I don't have a primary residence in Wellington."

"Like everyone I travel in and out of Parliament each and every week from my home in Auckland and it's an entitlement all MPs and ministers have." 

He wouldn't say whether or not it was hypocritical given his government was asking for departments to find savings of up to 7.5%, repeating his line that he can't live at Premier House and was entitled to claim the allowance for staying in his apartment. 

Luxon said he intended to live at Premier House when he could. 

Christopher Luxon is treating hard-working Kiwis like his personal ATM. Premier House needs some work, but he could still live there at no additional cost to the taxpayer. He chooses not to and instead claim an extra $1,000 a week to live in his own house. It’s a rort.

— Chris Hipkins (@chrishipkins) March 1, 2024

His government had been handed a previously commissioned report into the issues at Premier House, and it would consider what options were available for fixing the property. 

Jacinda Ardern opted to live at Premier House when in Wellington, while other prime ministers such as Chris Hipkins and Bill English were already based in the city.

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Last week AAP reported Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja as saying Luxon had told him that Premier House was "condemned" and didn't live there.

The venue was hosting a function for the New Zealand and Australian cricket teams on its lawns.

Luxon, who owns seven properties at a value estimated by the New Zealand Herald in 2023 to be more than $21 million, denied he said it was condemned but confirmed he did not live there.

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