The Finance Minister Bill English has defended his right to receive $700 a week to pay for his family home in Wellington.
Mr English says he is not claiming anything he is not entitled to as a minister.
The figures were made public on Thursday as part of a wider release of travel and accommodation allowances paid to MPs and ministers.
In Mr English's case, as a minister representing an electorate outside Wellington he is eligible for substantial accommodation assistance.
While he has been calling for restraint in the Public Service he says he believes ministers have also exercised restraint, and that Prime Minister John Key put a cap on how much they could get.
Speaking at the National Party's annual conference in Christchurch, Mr English says he tried to make a decision that was best for his family, within the rules and at the lowest cost to taxpayers.
He says he believes he achieved that.
