Andrews government faces fresh questions over international trips

The Andrews Government continues to fork out for international travel expenses as it is revealed another minister will jet overseas on the public purse.

Daniel Andrews with Climate Action Minister Lily D’Ambrosio. Picture AAP

Another Andrews government Minister is preparing to head off on an overseas jaunt.

Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney confirmed she will be heading to New Zealand on Sunday night for a five-day business trip.

Ms Tierney’s trip comes as the Andrews government faces questions over Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio’s recent trip to Europe.

Ms Tierney on Monday said she would be heading across the Pacific with representatives of the agricultural industry.

“It’ll be a short trip. I’ll be looking at biosecurity, the dairy industry and a whole range of other agricultural industries,” she told reporters.

Ms Tierney was unable to say how much the trip would cost taxpayers, who also recently paid for Premier Daniel Andrews’ top-secret Chinese trade mission.

“I don’t have that at hand but it is considered to be a domestic trip,” she said.

“Regardless, I’m looking forward to it.”

Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney will head to New Zealand for a five-day business trip. Picture: Nicole Cleary

It comes as The Herald Sun revealed concerns have been raised about the recent European trip by the Minister for Climate Action, Energy and Resources, and the SEC.

They include that departmental officials were tasked with retrospectively creating an itinerary to justify the travel.

“It took repeated attempts by advisers to make up enough stuff to justify why she went,” one senior source said.

“There are concerns that anyone who looked at it too closely would be able to poke holes in the trip.”

Senior public servants have claimed paper trails exist of advisers amending details of the trip because original reasons provided for the travel weren’t sufficient.

“So there were things submitted that then got edited and resubmitted,” a source said.

Ms D’Ambrosio visited Britain, Spain and Denmark between March 11 and March 23. An itinerary was developed by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

A Victorian government spokeswoman said the itinerary was adjusted before to the trip as additional opportunities for extra engagements arose.

Concerns have been raised about Lily D'Ambrosio’s recent European trip. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascu

“Any suggestion the trip was in any way inappropriate is wrong,” she said.

“The Minister undertook almost 40 official engagements across the United Kingdom, Spain and Denmark in less than two weeks, meeting with industry and government leaders, investors and suppliers in offshore wind.

“As Victoria builds Australia’s first offshore wind energy industry, it’s critical we work closely with leaders in the sector – making sure the process is as competitive as possible, delivering maximum value for Victorian workers and households and supporting the creation of 59,000 jobs.”

Addressing the trip at a press conference last week Ms D’Ambrosio said it was “about advancing Victoria’s interests”.

“It was a very busy schedule. I went straight to the heart of where the offshore wind energy industry is running really hard and really fast,” she said.

“It was a really successful program. We’ve got the best, and the biggest global investors and renewable energy developers that have absolutely got their eye on Victoria. So when they think about Australia, they think about Victoria, because that’s where the action is.

“And this was about promoting our offshore wind energy targets. Unashamedly I will go up hill and down dale, to any part of the globe, to promote Victoria.”

Questions about the trip come amid concerns about Daniel Andrews’ four-day visit to China last week.

The state Opposition hopes it can establish an inquiry into the trade mission that would investigate whether the transparency and accountability of the trip was affected by the Premier’s decision to travel without media accompaniment as well as the timing of the decision to travel.

It would also look at whether Mr Andrews should have been accompanied by trade and investment officials, and whether he discussed Victoria’s infrastructure program or human rights issues with the Chinese and provincial governments.

Originally published as Andrews government faces fresh questions over international trips