Generous resettlement allowance rules mean disgraced MP Laming will still leave Parliament with a smile on his face.
Andrew Laming has been effectively deselected by his local party — but he will still leave Parliament as a winner.
Under Parliament’s so-called “resettlement allowance” arrangements, Laming is now in line for a golden goodbye worth $105,625 — six months of his base salary — when he is replaced as the member for Bowman at the next election.
Laming initially said he wouldn’t stand for reelection but seems to have had a sudden change of mind, forcing his local party to block him from the preselection process. He will have known, as all MPs do, that resettlement payments are only available to members who “involuntarily” lose their seat, either through party deselection or defeat at the ballot box. Retiring from Parliament gracefully gets you nothing.
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