Prime Minister Christopher Luxon seeking advice on former MP's perks, but probe doesn't extend to current Parliamentarians

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is launching a probe into the perks of ex-MPs and former PMs following controversy over spending, but while the microscope will be turned on past parliamentarians, it won't extend to the spending of current MPs.

The Spinoff reported this month almost $300,000 is spent a year for mostly unused Crown limos for former PMs and and their spouses. Meanwhile, The Press reported $6 million in travel subsidies for ex MPs prior to 1999 and their spouses has been spent over the last 10 years.

"I've asked my office to get more advice on that, because it's a very complex area that has actually built up over many decades, the terms and conditions," Luxon said on Monday. 

"I've actually asked them to go out and actually seek some further advice in order to give us more clarity and understanding of how we've got to where we've got to on some of these questions."

Luxon said he was up for a conversation about it.

"I honestly think it's a very complex system and it has built up over decades."

The perks of current MPs have also been under scrutiny recently, with stories of MPs claiming accommodation subsidies on homes they have owned for years and thousands spent on airport parking.

Asked about how MPs receive $1.20 back for mileage, while a care and support receives 85 cents, Luxon said terms and conditions for MPs were decisions for the Remuneration Authority.

"If you want us to get involved in setting that, that's not good."