Mr Nardella has refused to apologise or pay back more than $110,000 he claimed for living in Ocean Grove while representing the outer suburban electorate of Melton.

His critics on Monday pointed out that despite serving in Parliament for 25 years, Mr Nardella has never been a minister.

His role as deputy speaker in the Parliament gave him a salary of more than $177,000.

The allowances saga has angered Mr Nardella's colleagues, some of whom have questioned his achievements and effort while holding a safe seat with a margin of 11.2 per cent.

Mr Nardella and former speaker Telmo Languiller have quit their positions after it was revealed by Fairfax Media they had both inappropriately claimed an allowance for a second home. The allowance is intended for country MPs who are required to travel to Melbourne.

Mr Languiller apologised immediately in the face of community outrage and promised to repay about $40,000 he had claimed for living in Queenscliff while representing Tarneit in the western suburbs.

Some Labor MPs say Mr Nardella is warmly regarded, but others in the party hold a dimmer view.

One Labor figure said Mr Nardella had betrayed Labor values by claiming the allowance when many people in his electorate feared for their jobs and financial security.

"What has he done for the countless thousands of jobs that have gone out the window in his area?" the figure said. "We're trying to talk to those people and in the meantime we have our own MPs acting like they're completely out of touch."

Mr Nardella did not respond to calls from The Age on Monday. But last week he remained defiant, saying: "It is my home; I'm claiming it."

Mr Nardella refused to admit wrongdoing, despite in 2014 calling for disgraced former Frankston MP Geoff Shaw to apologise for rorting petrol allowances.

"We should not allow any member of Parliament on either side of the house – whether they are Labor, Liberal, Nationals or independent – to rort their entitlements," he told Parliament at the time. "This is about decency. This is about not having one of our own let off the hook."

Mr Languiller served as a parliamentary secretary when Labor was previously in power in Victoria.