Change will let the Prime Minister live in Premier House

Premier House in Wellington. Photograph / Mark Mitchell

Bill English or any other future prime ministers who live in Wellington will soon be able to live in Premier House.

Ministers can claim up to $41,000 a year for accommodation but that allowance is not available to those already living in Wellington.

Because Premier House counts as taxpayer-funded accommodation English, whose family home is in Karori, is unable to live there.

Labour leader Andrew Little lives in Island Bay and would also be blocked from taking up residence in Premier House should he become PM after September's election.

However, that will no longer be the case after changes to a regulation covering MPs' accommodation and travel, and outlined in a legislative instrument published in the New Zealand Gazette.

An explanatory note states that allowing all prime ministers to live at Premier House, irrespective of whether they already live in Wellington, will be more cost-effective than other alternatives, and is appropriate given Premier House is the recognised official residence of the Prime Minister.

Another new clause relates to Prime Ministers who are based outside Wellington and do not take up residence in Premier House or continuous accommodation such as a rental property. In such cases, the Prime Minister will be able to claim hotel expenses of up to $41,000 a year or $240 a night.

The changes will come into force from September 24 - the day after the election.

Asked if English planned to move into Premier House, his spokeswoman said that hadn't been considered.

"Given the changes do not come into effect until after the election, if National is re-elected it is something the Prime Minister will consider then."

Another change will affect ministers who need to claim expenses as a result of hosting a guest who is granted "guest of government" status by the Prime Minister.

Such high-ranking guests can stay in hotels with a rate higher than the maximum ministers can currently claim for themselves.

The change will allow ministers to claim the total cost of their accommodation in such circumstances, with the explanatory note stating because a minister usually accompanies a guest of government it is essential the minister concerned is able to stay at the same hotel.

These expenses will be paid for by The Department of Internal Affairs.

Premier House is located on Tinakori Rd and was restored in the late 1980s. Sir Geoffrey Palmer and his wife, Margaret, were its first official residents after the restoration.

It is frequently used to host events and VIPs, including the recent visit of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

In 2009 English, then Deputy Prime Minister, paid back $32,000 and vowed to stop claiming a housing allowance, after controversy over his claiming of allowances of $900 a week for his Karori home.