Greens senators flew loved ones to pro-Palestine protest, music festivals at taxpayer expense
Greens senators have been thrown into an explosive expenses debacle after using entitlements to fly loved ones to protests and music festivals.
The loved ones of three Greens Senators partied at music festivals and even attended a pro-Palestine rally on taxpayer dime as heavy debate continues on whether rules around parliamentary spending should be changed while everyday Aussies struggle.
Mehreen Faruqi, David Shoebridge and Sarah Hanson-Young are the latest politicians to be exposed after billing taxpayers thousands of dollars to fly their relatives to events.
Senator Faruqi billed $471.14 for a family member’s flights from Sydney to the Gold Coast so they could join her at the 2023 Splendour in the Grass music festival in Byron Bay.
They were flown out the following day back to the Harbour City from Brisbane, with the airfares costing $211.31.
Other expenses accumulated during the trip included car travel that cost $268.88 and a travel allowance of $296 was used at Tweed Heads.
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The Greens deputy leader had flown to the festival after being asked to speak on a podcast panel titled “Generation F**ked”, The Australian reported.
Senator Faruqi on November that same year attended a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne. She flew in a loved one from Sydney at a cost of $1370.94.
Senator Shoebridge also took his two daughters to Splendour and claimed travel costs of $1206.16 under family reunion entitlements.
While at this year’s final Bluesfest, Senator Hanson-Young billed taxpayers $925.32 for return flights between Adelaide and the Gold Coast for a family member to accompany her.
According to The Daily Telegraph, she also spent $718 on two nights of accommodation.
The South Australian senator reportedly met stakeholders and small business owners where she promised funding for the struggling festivals sector at the event in Byron Bay.
In tow was then-Greens candidate for Richmond Mandy Nolan who was seen as a strong contender to win the seat from Labor at the federal election. It did not eventuate.
In a statement, Senator Faruqi and Senator Hanson Young said they are aware of community concern relating to policians spending of taxpayer dollars, adding that travel policies “should be open to review to ensure they are fit for purpose”.
The trio’s trips met the guidelines of the parliamentary expenses watchdog.
The spotlight on entitlements came after it was revealed last week that Sports and Communications Minister Anika Wells spent more than $200,000 in taxpayer money for work trips to Paris ahead of the Olympics and to New York City for a United Nations summit.
Records published this week showed Ms Wells also flew her husband, Nick McCarthy, from their home base in Brisbane to Melbourne for the AFL Grand Finals between 2022 and 2024.
Mr McCarthy was also in attendance in 2025, but it is not known if he used his wife’s family reunion flight entitlements to be at the major sports event.
A clip emerged of the couple on the grass of the MCG lapping up post-match celebrations after their team, the Brisbane Lions, defeated Geelong in September this year.
Ms Wells can be seen kneeling on the ground and throwing confetti in the air among a group of kids while her husband wrapped in a Lions scarf stood nearby.
While on Tuesday it was revealed Ms Wells used Commonwealth vehicles to transport her to some major sporting events. She kept one car waiting for 10 hours outside while she attended the 2022 NRL and NRLW grand finals, costing taxpayers more than $1200.
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing, and Ms Wells insisted all the spending was under family reunion entitlements set out by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority.
Late on Tuesday, the Labor MP referred herself to the parliament’s independent expenses watchdog to audit her use of taxpayer entitlements after a week of scrutiny.
Family members of politicians are entitled to three return business class airfares, in total, Australia wide, as outlined by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority.
A maximum cost of nine business class return tickets for the spouse or nominee of a parliamentarian and three economy class return airfares for each dependent child from their home base to Canberra is also allowed each year.
Originally published as Greens senators flew loved ones to pro-Palestine protest, music festivals at taxpayer expense
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