MPs claiming thousands on taxpayer-funded trips for official parliamentary duties that coincide with sporting events
MPs and senators are claiming thousands of taxpayer dollars on interstate trips for official parliamentary duties that coincide with major sporting events they’ve been invited to, raising questions about whether the rules need to be further tightened.
Guardian Australia has found a number of examples in the latest batch of parliamentary expenses for the period between October and December 2022 where federal politicians travelled to attend sporting events in addition to their usual parliamentary duties.
MPs from across the political spectrum defended these trips as being within the official guidelines and have claimed the sporting events help them connect with stakeholders in their role as public officials.
But independent ACT senator, David Pocock, and Transparency International Australia chief executive, Clancy Moore, both say sending the bill to taxpayers failed to meet community expectations.
“Public funding shouldn’t be used for attending a footy match, the cricket or a horse race. Most people would think you earn enough, put your hand in your own pocket and pay for that,” Pocock said.
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In one example, opposition whip Bert van Manen flew to Melbourne from Brisbane for the day to attend a Melbourne Cup luncheon with the Australian Hotels Association. The return flights cost more than $2,200 while his transport to and from airports was $570.
A spokesperson for Van Manen said the commitments were parliamentary-related and the industry lobby group’s lunch involved “many businesses within his electorate”.
In another example, Western Australian Greens senator Dorinda Cox spent more than $6,000 for a two-day trip to Melbourne and Canberra in October 2022, where she attended an AFL semi-final game between Collingwood and Fremantle.
A spokesperson for Cox explained the senator had been invited by the AFL’s Diversity and Inclusion team to discuss racism in sports in relation to events at Collingwood at the time. She also attended a Senate estimates training session conducted by the finance department. All travel was within the guidelines, the spokesperson said.
New South Wales Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi also visited Melbourne in November 2022 and attended the final for the International Cricket Council’s men’s Twenty20 World Cup. The one-night trip cost about $2,000, including accommodation, a flight and transport between venues.
A spokesperson for Faruqi said the NSW senator did attend the T20 in a personal capacity but insisted she claimed no expenses relating to this. The spokesperson said her official duties in Melbourne included speaking at the annual Islamic Council of Victoria dinner, meeting with union members at the University of Melbourne and door-knocking for the Greens in the state electorate of Richmond.
Other examples include trips by the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, and sports minister, Anika Wells, to the AFL and NRL grand finals.
Spokespeople for both senior MPs say they attended the matches in their official capacities.
Parliamentarians are entitled to claim allowances for official parliamentary business, according to the finance department’s advice. This can include commercial and charter flights, hotel accommodation, as well as the government’s chauffeur services to and from official events.
The advice says the dominant purpose of these claims must be for parliamentary business and that politicians should be prepared to publicly justify the use of public resources.
The body who oversees politicians’ expenses, the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, was established after the then health minister, Sussan Ley, came under fire for buying a $795,000 apartment from a Liberal party donor while on a taxpayer-funded trip to the Gold Coast in 2017.
Seven years since the rules were first created, questions remain over whether they are fit for purpose.
Moore said the expenses tool was an “important tool for transparency” but suggested the reporting could include further details, such as the information included on the politicians’ registers of interests.
“Hospitality, wining and dining do pose a corruption risk for our elected representatives so it’s important for the public to have as much information as possible,” he said.
Pocock, who was elected on prointegrity promises, said it was important that politicians considered community expectations when claiming expenses.
“People want politicians to behave with integrity and spend their taxpayer dollars carefully,” he said.
“Elected representatives obviously have legitimate reasons to travel on the public purse but getting taxpayers to foot the bill for travel that is unnecessary or for recreational purposes, even if technically permissible, doesn’t meet community expectations.”
Last week, four federal politicians defended taxpayer-funded trips that allowed them to attend the 2022 Melbourne Cup, costing more than $5,000 in accommodation and transport.
A Guardian Australia analysis of Ipea’s October to December 2022 data revealed the four billed the public purses $5,316 across four days with costs associated with travelling to Melbourne, accommodation and the use of official government cars.
All four politicians said they had been in the Victorian capital for official or parliamentary duties.