This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Nationals senator Steve Martin spent at least $531,000 to refurbish his new electorate office and more than $50,000 in temporary office costs after he quit the Jacqui Lambie Network and relocated.

But Martin has reportedly defended the cost on the basis he can better represent north-west Tasmania from his new base in Devonport and that the federal government money was spent with local businesses.

In February Martin won a Senate seat in a recount election after Jacqui Lambie resigned because she held dual citizenship. Martin quit Lambie’s party to join the Nationals and opted to set up his parliamentary office in Devonport instead of taking over Lambie’s office in Burnie, a distance of about 46km away.

Jacqui Lambie's replacement senator, Steve Martin, joins National party Read more

According to an answer to Senate estimates from the finance department, $46,800 was paid to rent Martin a temporary office on Best Street, Devonport from March to October. A further $3,500 was spent on IT, and to transfer furniture and equipment.

The answer, provided to a question on notice from the November estimates session, states an estimated $531,000 (excluding GST) was spent refurbishing Martin’s new office on southern Rooke Street, Devonport.

That office cost $23,125 to lease from June to October and will cost a total of $171,545 to lease from November to May 2021, although the commonwealth can sublet or assign the lease to recoup costs if Martin is voted out at the 2019 election.

Martin told the ABC he requested an office in Devonport for reasons of “efficiency” and “practicality”.

“Being the only Nationals senator for Tasmania, I have to cover the whole of the state,” he reportedly said.

Jacqui Lambie to quit Senate owing to dual citizenship Read more

“I am better off to access the whole of the state from Devonport rather than a 40-minute drive there and a 40-minute drive back just to go to the office.”

“This is an investment of over $500,000 of federal money coming into the state, employing local tradesmen and local businesses.”

Martin noted that the department of finance – not senators – decides the size and scope of the fit-out for electorate offices and costs are higher for parliamentarians than regular businesses due to security needs.

The Labor MP Justine Keay told the ABC she drove from Devonport to Burnie on a daily basis and it was “a shame that taxpayers have had to spend money on outfitting a new office when there was absolutely nothing wrong with the one in Burnie”.

“A 40-minute drive is no excuse for spending that amount,” she reportedly said. “I was offered to move offices but chose not to because of costs.”