MP Geoff Shaw cleared of contempt of Parliament over use of taxpayer-funded car (ABC)

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Victoria's balance-of-power independent MP Geoff Shaw has been cleared of contempt of Parliament over the misuse of his parliamentary entitlements in a report from the powerful privileges committee.

If found guilty of contempt, Mr Shaw could have been suspended, leaving the numbers in Parliament deadlocked.

The Frankston MP was also found guilty of contravening the code of conduct for MPs and will be asked to repay $6,838 on top of the $1,250 he has already repaid.

But he will not face any further penalties.

The privileges committee had been investigating claims Mr Shaw used his parliamentary car and fuel card to run deliveries for his personal hardware business.

The committee, which is made up of five government MPs and four Labor MPs, found Mr Shaw did misuse his entitlements but could not establish that the misuse was "not wilful".

"The committee is unable to be satisfied to the requisite standard that Mr Shaw was wilful in contravening the code of conduct," the report said.

"Therefore, Mr Shaw is not in contempt of Parliament."

The Labor MPs found Mr Shaw was in contempt but the committee chair had to vote with the Coalition MPs to break the deadlock.

Premier Denis Napthine refused to be drawn on the findings but said Mr Shaw should repay the money as directed by the privileges committee.

"I would certainly strongly advise Mr Shaw that if the Parliament moves a motion that he has to pay this penalty then he pays it," he said.

"In fact he may be well advised to pay it now."

Allegations against Mr Shaw first surfaced in 2012 when he was accused of using his taxpayer-funded car to run errands for his private hardware business.

Criminal charges over the matter were laid in September last year, but dropped three months later and the matter was referred to the privileges committee.

On the way into Parliament today, Mr Shaw rubbished the findings, calling them a "pathetic" waste of time and public money.

"The police have gone through it and the courts have gone through it," he said.

"I've come out clean and these nuff-nuffs in there think they can just sit there and waste public money.

"I don't care about the privileges committee.

"They mean nothing to me. They've shown themselves to break their own rules by leaking to the media constantly."

Mr Shaw called the process "tainted".

"It's a political set-up," he said.

"They're picking on me because I'm an independent and this should have been finished when the police finished their [investigation] more than six months ago."

Geoff Shaw's colourful parliamentary career

Mr Shaw entered Parliament as the Liberal member for Frankston after the 2010 election, having won the seat from the Labor Party.

Soon after being elected, Mr Shaw was criticised for comparing homosexuality to child molestation in a letter to a constituent.

In March 2013, Mr Shaw quit the Liberal Party to sit as an independent, robbing the Government of its one-seat majority in Parliament and handing the Frankston MP the balance of power.

The move was seen as a key factor in the resignation of former premier Ted Baillieu later that day, after Mr Shaw refused to guarantee his support for the Mr Baillieu's government.

Mr Shaw gave the new Premier, Denis Napthine, a guarantee he would support his government on matters of supply and confidence.

In September 2013, Mr Shaw was charged with misconduct in public office and obtaining financial benefit by deception.

The charges were dropped in December and the matter was referred to the privileges committee.

The committee is supposed to be highly-secretive, but the investigation into Mr Shaw has been marred by a series of leaks to the media.

The committee conceded it had been unable to find the source of the leaks.

Mr Shaw vowed to recontest the seat of Frankston in the November state election but gave very little chance of retaining the seat as an independent.

Mr Shaw is also drafting a private members bill that would seek to wind back parts of the state's abortion laws.

The prospect of the bill has caused a headache for the Premier, who says his Government will not support any change to the current laws.

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