MP claims Melbourne property allowance despite attendance concerns
A Geelong-region state MP claims almost $60,000 in taxpayer-funded allowances for a second home in Melbourne, despite appearing to have missed 88 of a possible 127 Parliamentary sitting days.
Geelong MP Darren Cheeseman has received over $60,000 in taxpayer-funded allowances for a Melbourne home, even though he is believed to have missed most parliamentary sessions. Former premiers and the Greens have advocated for a parliamentary attendance record to be established. The Geelong-area MP has claimed more than $60,000 in PASA (Parliamentary Accommodation Sitting Allowance) since early 2024, despite missing approximately 70% of parliamentary sitting days.
Initially a Labor MP, Cheeseman became an independent after being expelled in April 2024 due to allegations of inappropriate behavior towards staff. Since then, he has consistently missed parliamentary sessions, appearing in Hansard records only 8 times out of 39 sitting days in 2026 and 13 out of 42 sitting days in 2025-26. Cheeseman has not responded to questions from the ABC.
Critics argue that his lack of attendance and refusal to engage with the media demonstrate a lack of commitment to his role as a representative. Some former premiers support the introduction of publicly available attendance records to address the transparency gap in the Victorian parliament.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
