Liberal senator Zed Seselja racked up office bills more than $120,000 larger than those of his Labor counterpart last year – even though the opposing electorate offices are only 1000 metres apart.
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The spending means Katy Gallagher incurred about half the office costs of her fellow first-term senator in each of their first three months in the job.
But Mr Seselja said he had been tied to the long-term lease of the Canberra Centre office used by his predecessor, Gary Humphries, and its impending expiry would allow him to move his office to the suburbs.
"The lease in my current electorate office was signed before I became a senator and therefore all costs associated with the building lease are completely outside of my control," he said.
The former ACT opposition leader's expenses for his Bunda Street office facilities were $207,263 last year. Only $5642 was for an office fit-out, with the rest for tenant-related costs including rent, cleaning, repairs and maintenance, security, a car parking space, and water, sewerage and fire charges.
Then incumbent Labor senator Kate Lundy spent about $85,000 on facilities and fit-out in the same year for her London Circuit office in the Members' Equity building, across the road from the city police station.
Mr Seselja said the Bunda Street lease would soon expire - in May next year - and "there will be an intention" to move out of the city.
"This will hopefully keep costs down as suburban leases are generally cheaper than those in the CBD," he said.
"Additionally, the move outside of Canberra's CBD would ensure my electorate office is more accessible for constituents."
A spokesman for Senator Gallagher said the former chief minister, sworn in as a senator on March 31 and inheriting Ms Lundy's office, had incurred costs of $25,046 for office facilities and fit-out in the three months to the end of June. This excluded a quoted $8184 for signage costs also paid for by the Department of Finance.
In comparison, Senator Seselja reported spending of $48,823 on office facilities (and nothing on office fit-outs) in his first reporting period for the second half of 2013. The ACT Senate election results were formally announced on October 1 that year.
The Liberal's electorate office facility and fit-out costs were about $42,000 more than Andrew Leigh, whose office is 600 metres away on Torrens Street, during the second half of 2014. During the same period they were $14,000 more than Gai Brodtmann, whose office is in central Tuggeranong.
A move from the Canberra Centre office was not guaranteed, with Finance required to give approval. Andrew Leigh had his request to move his office from Braddon rejected after he was elected in 2010.
