HEALTH Minister Sussan Ley has stood down from the frontbench while the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Martin Parkinson, investigates her use of taxpayer funded entitlements.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced she was standing aside without ministerial pay, in a statement on Monday morning.
In her first press conference since the revelations about her travel to the Gold Coast emerged, Ms Ley told reporters in Albury she was confident she would be cleared of wrongdoing and would soon return to the frontbench.
Ms Ley has come under fire for buying a $795,000 apartment on a taxpayer-funded trip to the Gold Coast in May 2015.
It has also been revealed that she has taken 27 flights in and out of the Gold Coast over recent years - many more than her ministerial colleagues.
Mr Turnbull's cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinos will be the acting Minister for Health, Sport and Aged Care while Dr Parkinson completes his investigation.
On Sunday, Ms Ley admitted she made an "error of judgment" by charging taxpayers for a trip to the Gold Coast in which she bought the apartment and would repay the cost of four taxpayer-funded trips.
Ms Ley has also asked the Department of Finance to investigate her travel to the Gold Coast.
In his statement, Mr Turnbull said: "The secretary will thoroughly investigate the travel claims and the Minister has assured me that she will promptly provide all information and assistance sought by the secretary for the purpose of this investigation.
"Australians expect the government to deal with these serious matters very thoroughly and in accordance with the Statement of Ministerial Standards.
"I expect the highest standards from my Ministers in all aspects of their conduct, and especially the expenditure of public money."
Sydney Morning Herald
