A senior Reserve Bank official is about to jet off on an all-expense taxpayer-funded trip to London to check that Australia’s 80 tonnes of gold bullion is still in the Bank of England’s vaults.

News of the impending departure was made during Senate estimates on Wednesday night and comes after a campaign by renegade LNP Senator Gerard Rennick who has long-held concerns that Australia is being dudded and the nation’s gold holdings are not where they should be.