Coalition accuses PM of lying over travel expenses

2 hours ago 1

The Coalition has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of lying about his capacity to tighten politicians’ travel perks as he attempted to stem scrutiny of MP entitlements.

Opposition finance spokesman James Paterson on Saturday claimed Albanese was choosing not to change the rules after it was revealed Special Minister of State Don Farrell had already done so this year, making it easier for politicians to claim taxpayer-funded travel and accommodation.

Opposition finance spokesman James Paterson has accused the Labor leader of lying and choosing not to change the rules.

“The prime minister lied when he said that it was difficult, or at arm’s length, to change these rules,” Paterson said.

“He is not some powerless bystander … he’s the prime minister of Australia, and these things can be changed by regulation. They don’t even require legislation or the parliament to sit.”

The prime minister’s office declined to comment.

Albanese has ducked responsibly for the saga, which began with revelations Sport and Communications Minister Anika Wells flew her husband to successive premiere sporting events and her children to Thredbo for a ski trip.

After more than a week of scrutiny, at a testy press conference on Friday, Albanese claimed he was not in charge of the rules. He said he had asked the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) for advice.

But the outcry over politicians’ travel perks has only swelled since the Wells revelations, engulfing a number of other MPs, including Farrell who has spent more than any other politician on family travel – $116,000 since the 2022 election – despite not having young children.

Farrell, who oversees the travel entitlement legislation, expanded what could be considered “official duties” – which permit MPs to claim travel expenses – to include policy promotion six weeks before May’s federal election was called, The Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday.

Paterson said the “politically convenient” amendment “blew apart any excuses the prime minister might have had about how it was difficult to make changes to this framework.

“If he’s not fixing it, if he’s waiting for advice, it’s because he doesn’t want to fix it. And therefore, I think he has to take responsibility for every cent of expenditure from his ministers,” he said.

Coalition criticism of the government on the issue has largely been left to Paterson. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who offered to hash out bipartisan travel perks reform with Albanese on Friday, was forced to resign as a minister in 2017 after buying a Gold Coast property on a taxpayer-funded trip.

Independent senator David Pocock said too many politicians have taken advantage of a system set up to make parliament more family-friendly.

“We need a change in the rules to bring more integrity into how parliamentary expenses are claimed, not loosen them further as the government did ahead of the last election,” he said.

“From the spike in staff travel costs during the election, to using ministry meetings as a cover for billing the taxpayer to travel to fundraisers, it’s evident the rules as they stand are being abused and need tightening.”

Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who hasn’t made a single family travel claim since IPEA’s digital records begin in 2021, told reporters in Sydney on Saturday that the claims were a “personal choice”.

Asked about Farrell’s amendments, Bowen said they were “a clarification of the rules to make them simpler.

“There was no change to what is allowed or not allowed,” he said. “Those changes, in a normal way, were made so that people are surer when they’re booking their travel as to whether it was covered.”