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Turnbulls pay $130K for Lodge renovation

Getty

Getty

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy shelled out $130,000 from their own pockets to pay for the renovation of The Lodge in Canberra.

The couple, which eschewed the other prime ministerial residence Kirribilli House in Sydney for their own harbour-side mansion upon Mr Turnbull’s appointment, was apparently horrified at the cost blowout of the renovations and decided to curb any further hits to tax payers.

According to The Australian, Mr Turnbull demanded an audit of the renovation spending, after it blew out to $11.6 million – or four times the original quote.

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A closer look into the finances apparently unearthed a number of discrepancies between the prices of contracts for the renovation.

Mrs Turnbull is said to have taken the renovation into her own hands, ensuring the proper restoration of historic furniture such as Enid Lyon’s sofa, and directing much of the Turnbulls’ own funds to the Lodge’s interior furnishings.

The newspaper also revealed former prime minister Kevin Rudd had intended to build a new lodge, funded by philanthropy and a design competition rather than taxpayer money.

Unfortunately, the plan was cut short when Mr Rudd was ousted by Julia Gillard.

It is believed Ms Gillard made the call to renovate The Lodge when a foreign visitor was greeted with possum urine dripping down the wall during one visit to the house. The urine apparently got close to ruining a National Gallery painting.

Upon inspection, it was found that the 80-year-old plumbing and electricity posed risks to residences and the house was filled with asbestos.

While most of the problems have been fixed, The Australian claimed the air conditioning still posed a problem during meal times, and had to be turned off so people could hear the conversation.

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