Photo GettyAustralian Health Minister Sussan Ley said today she had resigned from her Cabinet position amid an expenses scandal that has proved to be an embarrassing start to the year for embattled Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Her resignation will force a reshuffle on Turnbull, the first since he took power in 2015. Ley is a high-profile casualty of a scandal that is engulfing Turnbull's conservative government amid growing revelations that several Cabinet ministers had claimed expenses for trips that had coincided with personal activities. The expenses scandal has since drawn in another Cabinet member, innovation minister Greg Hunt, who has claimed A$20,000 in expenses for trips to luxury resorts with his family over the past 10 years. Australia's political expense system allows ministers to claim the cost of travel for their spouse if it is in Australia and for official purposes, although critics question the legitimacy of the trips.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 13, 2017 07:11 UTC