Senator charges public for travel timed with legal case
Dominic Giannini |
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price slugged taxpayers thousands of dollars to travel to Darwin during a private legal matter and attend coalition election campaigns when she was the spokeswoman for government efficiency.
The Northern Territory senator repeatedly claimed flights to Darwin and overnight travel allowances during dates that coincided with her defamation trial and key legal developments in her case, as politicians’ expenses go under the microscope.
Senator Nampijinpa Price is being sued by the head of an Indigenous land council for an allegedly defamatory media release in July 2024.
The senator claimed a return flight from her hometown of Alice Springs to Darwin worth almost $1300 on December 3 and December 5 in 2024, and claimed travel allowance for both nights worth a total of $328.
The trip coincided with a December 4 hearing.
Senator Price also claimed a return flight from Alice Springs to Darwin on October 1 and October 3 the same year, also worth just short of $1300, and travel allowance for both nights worth $328.
A defendant usually has 28 days to file a defence after a lawsuit is filed, which puts Senator Nampijinpa Price’s initial deadline at October 3.
She was slugged with a $1500 fine by the court at the end of the month for failing to reach this deadline.
Senator Price’s office was contacted for comment about her travel, including whether her trip to Darwin was scheduled before or after she knew dates for legal proceedings and whether she met with legal representatives during the trip.
Her case went to trial in October 2025, but the parliamentary expenses for this period won’t be disclosed until 2026.
Trips need to be for the dominant purpose of parliamentary business and in good faith, meaning personal travel isn’t disguised as business, according to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Senator Price.
Other trips to a political shindig and coalition campaign launches, and travel for her husband to accompany her, have also come under scrutiny as the government points the finger back at the opposition following sustained pressure on minister Anika Wells’ travel.
Senator Price claimed a $420 flight from Canberra to Adelaide on July 31, 2025 and her husband claimed $328 to fly the same route.
She claimed travel allowance worth a total of $1171 for two nights in Adelaide and one night in Mount Gambier during this time.
The pair attended an event with Liberal MP Tony Pasin in Mouth Gambier on August 1.
Adelaide to Mount Gambier is about four-and-a-half hours away, and more than $760 was claimed for a leased car from July 31.
Senator Price and her husband claimed a total of $2000 to fly back to Alice Springs from Adelaide on August 3.
Her husband, Colin Lillie, was also flown on the taxpayer tab to join her at Liberal Party election campaign events in Brisbane, Newcastle, Bathurst and Perth in April 2025, worth thousands of dollars.
She was the opposition spokeswoman for government efficiency at the time.
AAP
