MP who claimed $36k housing top-up for non-Wellingtonians running in a Wellington electorate

NZ First MP Andy Foster claims to be a non-Wellington MP despite owning a house in the capital and standing as a candidate in the Upper Hutt seat of Remutaka. 

An MP who claimed a $36,400 per year accommodation allowance intended for non-Wellington MPs is now running in an electorate in the Wellington region. 

New Zealand First list MP Andy Foster, a former Wellington mayor, has claimed the taxpayer-funded allowance since 2025, when he purchased a second home in Wairarapa, which he listed as his primary residence. Foster has owned a house in the Wellington suburb of Karori since February 2000 and continues to stay there during parliamentary sitting blocks. 

Parliamentary expense disclosures show that Foster claimed a total of $39,500 towards the cost of staying in his Karori home between April 2025 and June 2026. 

When The Spinoff revealed his accommodation claims in May, Foster justified his status as a “non-Wellington” MP in part by saying he intended to stand as a candidate in the electorate of Wairarapa. 

However, the New Zealand First party list, revealed last week, confirmed that Foster is standing in the Upper Hutt electorate of Remutaka. Ron Mark is the party’s candidate for Wairarapa.

MPs cannot claim the accommodation allowance if they “live permanently in the Wellington commuting area” or if “the member’s constituency is predominantly within the Wellington commuting area”. The Wellington commuting area is defined as “Wellington, Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Porirua” – which includes the Remutaka electorate. 

If Foster were to win the Remutaka electorate (although he’s highly unlikely to beat the incumbent, Labour leader Chris Hipkins) he would be representing a constituency within the Wellington commuting area and would no longer be able to access the accommodation allowance. But if he loses and returns to parliament via the party list, where he is ranked 11th, he could keep claiming the allowance.

Foster initially refused to answer questions over the phone. He told The Spinoff: “Can you please follow some real news? I live where I live” and hung up the phone saying “I’ve got other things to do”. 

The Spinoff sent Foster the following questions over text:

1. Do you think it is ethically appropriate to claim a non-Wellington accommodation allowance despite owning a house in Wellington and running in an Upper Hutt seat?

2. If you win the seat of Remutaka will you continue to claim the non-Wellington accommodation allowance? 

3. Do you believe the $36,400 per year you're claiming for an accommodation allowance on a home you already own is a good use of taxpayer money? 

Several hours later, he provided the following statement: “I live in the Wairarapa. It is not tenable to get home when parliament [is sitting] and that is why for the moment, like other MPs, we retain our property in Wellington, in preference to renting or hotel accommodation.”

When asked again if he would continue to claim the allowance if he won Remutaka, Foster said: “In that happy eventuality I would need to change my accommodation arrangements”. 

The accommodation allowance has been an ongoing issue during this parliamentary term. In 2024, prime minister Christopher Luxon was found to be claiming $1,000 per week against his mortgage-free apartment rather than living in Premier House. He later vowed to pay back the money.

Social development minister Louise Upston caused a similar furore in May after revelations that she had been claiming the allowance on her Wellington apartment while simultaneously raising the threshold for low-income New Zealanders to claim an accommodation subsidy. 

Earlier this month, the Remuneration Authority issued new rules which require ministers who claim the accommodation allowances on properties they own to seek a rental appraisal for their property rather than automatically claiming the maximum possible amount. However, these changes do not apply to backbench MPs.