Rule-breaking AG to repay taxpayers for family holiday
Tess Ikonomou |
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland will pay taxpayers back after some expenses claimed for a family holiday were found to be a breach of the rules.
Ms Rowland used family reunion entitlements to take her children on a trip to Perth in 2023, which cost more than $21,600 including about $16,000 for business class flights.
The 15-year MP for Greenway, in Sydney’s northwest, undertook the holiday on the side of a ministerial visit to WA.
The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), which reviews politicians’ spending, found some of the costs should not have been charged to taxpayers.
“During the trip to Perth, the attorney-general had at least 10 official engagements,” a spokesperson for Ms Rowland said.
“IPEA finalised its advice … and conveyed a portion of the family reunion travel expenses were outside the guidelines.
“The attorney-general has formally accepted that advice on Friday and commenced steps to make a repayment.”
Ms Rowland’s decision – first reported by Sky News – followed a self-referral of her travel expenses for an independent audit, the same process undertaken by another embattled cabinet minister, Anika Wells.
However, the government’s deepening entitlements concerns run deeper than the pair, with fresh revelations made by the Daily Telegraph on Sunday.
The newspaper revealed Health Minister Mark Butler claimed $5500 for family members to join him at the Australian Open and an SCG Test match.
Those claims, which appear within the rules, are the latest example of family travel which fall short of community expectations.
As more ministers have become embroiled, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has asked the expenses watchdog to look at changes to entitlements.
Mr Albanese batted away questions last week when pressed why the federal government won’t overhaul entitlements, which wouldn’t require parliament to reconvene.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers rejected calls for Ms Rowland to resign.
“Michelle has done the right thing in asking the IPEA to take another look, as has Anika … to make sure that everything that’s happened here is within the rules,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“I think that’s appropriate. I also think it’s appropriate that the PM has sought advice.
“We’ll get that advice in due course, and we’ll consider it.”
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley previously resigned in 2017 as the then health minister after using a taxpayer-funded trip to buy property on the Gold Coast.
Ms Ley has offered bipartisan support to reform the rules for politicians.
The scrutiny began over flights for Ms Wells and two staff that cost almost $100,000.
The communications minister flew to New York to promote Australia’s looming social media ban for under 16s at the United Nations, with last minute bookings bumping the fares to eye-watering amounts.
It later emerged Ms Wells charged taxpayers $1000 for a dinner in Paris, as well as several thousand dollars for her husband to attend AFL grand finals with her.
As sport minister, there is an understood need to be at many of Australia’s biggest – and most desirable – events.
However, her decision to ask a chauffeur to wait for seven hours while she attended the Australian Open in 2023 – costing almost $1000 – has raised eyebrows.
Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh said there had to be changes.
“It’s this excessive use of taxpayer money for big events, and that started with the trip to New York and the $1000 dinner,” she told Sky News.
“People don’t think that attending sporting events with your husband coming down just for that event is work … there’s an expectation that’s been broken with the Australian people.”
Ms McIntosh again defended her decision to fly herself and her son to Queensland, where he was taking part in the Australian National Judo Championships on the Gold Coast.
She said she had work engagements every single day she was in the Sunshine state.
AAP
