Ministers’ travel bill soars in first term

JET-SETTING Cabinet ministers spent $1.36 million on overseas trips during the Palaszczuk Government’s first term in office, new figures show.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s overseas travel bill totalled $461,487 – more than double what her predecessor Campbell Newman spent during his three years in power.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington yesterday blasted Labor’s “extravagant’’ spending and called on the Premier to “show more respect to the hardworking taxpayers who pay her travel bills’’.

“Premiers need to go overseas occasionally but Annastacia Palaszczuk’s travel bill is excessive,’’ she said yesterday. “Labor’s ‘eco-friendly’ Cabinet must have the biggest carbon footprint in Australian history.’’

But Ms Palaszczuk – who is also the Queensland Minister for Trade – defended the cost of her travel yesterday, declaring that “travel equals trade, and trade equals jobs’’.

“We cannot sell Queensland to the world if we don’t get out in the world to do it,’’ she said. “Queensland is exporting a record $73 billion worth of goods – $30 billion more than Campbell Newman’s time. That’s money in Queensland pockets.’’

An analysis of ministerial travel expense reports reveals that Labor-Palaszczuk ministers spent 70 per cent more than LNP-Newman ministers in each government’s first term.

LNP ministers spent $806,415 on overseas travel over nearly three years between March 2012 and January 2015.

Labor ministers spent $1.36 million on overseas trips from February 2015 to June 2017.

Ms Palaszczuk spent $461,487 on eight trips between February 2015, when her government won power, and June last year. She has since travelled to the US in February, and to Japan and the US again last month.

Former premier Mr Newman spent $193,666 on six trips.