Tony Burke: Taxpayers slugged $2.2 million for travel costs including charter flights on VIP jets
LABOR frontbencher Tony Burke has slugged taxpayers close to $2.2 million for travel costs, including charter planes and flying on VIP jets and another $2.4 million on phone and offices expenses.
LABOR frontbencher Tony Burke has slugged taxpayers close to $2.2 million for travel costs, including charter planes and flying on VIP jets.
On top of $2.4 million in office and phone expenses, this makes him the parliament’s $4.6 million dollar man.
An investigation by The Daily Telegraph can reveal that since mid-2008, the manager of opposition business and opposition finance spokesman has racked up almost $600,000 in overseas travel.
Mr Burke, who served as agriculture and environment minister in the Gillard and Rudd cabinets, is also a regular charter flight user, claiming more than $400,000 in domestic travel.
Mr Burke has never served as foreign minister, trade minister, treasurer or defence minister, all of which require the most overseas travel.
The Western Sydney MP — who led the attack on former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop for hiring a charter helicopter for an 80km flight to attend a Liberal fundraiser — is a prolific entitlements seeker.
Mr Burke has claimed more than $1.1 million on domestic fares, travelling allowance, car costs and family travel.
In total, the Sydney MP has claimed more than $4.6 million, or almost $60,000 a month, in taxpayer-funded expenses since July 2008.
TONY BURKE’S OWN TAXPAYER HOLIDAY
BURKE SPENT $54K ON LAVISH PARTIES
According to finance department documents, Mr Burke has claimed more than $2.4 million for office fit-outs, phone bills and subscriptions.
Earlier this month, The Daily Telegraph revealed the Watson MP splurged $16,000 of taxpayers’ money on a three-day trip aboard one of the Prime Minister’s luxury jets.
The travel included two “ghost flights”, where no passengers are on board.
The Telegraph does not suggest Mr Burke’s taxpayer- funded claims breach parliament’s generous entitlement guidelines.
Mr Burke said widespread travel was a necessity for cabinet ministers.
“My view has always been agriculture ministers should be out in the farming communities they’re responsible for and environment ministers should be out in the places they need to make decisions about,’’ Mr Burke said.
“These jobs cannot be done properly from behind a desk.”
Mr Burke was forced to pay back a $94 Comcar fare, which he had used to take him to a Robbie Williams concert, and admitted he flew his family business class to Uluru during the 2012 school holidays, under the family entitlements scheme.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has called on changes to the entitlements reporting which would see expenses released and scrutinised monthly rather than every six months.
The economy class-flying Mr Xenophon said his colleagues needed to get through their “skulls” that there would be change.
“This doesn’t just tarnish MPs — it tarnishes democracy,’’ he said. “The sooner it is fixed, the better.”
Mr Xenophon, who also wants backbenchers on flights of less than two hours to fly economy instead of business, said he had received limited response from MPs about his crusade for change.
He wants MPs to pay back double the cost, instead of the current 25 per cent, if they are found to have breached entitlements.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott expects a review into the entitlements system to be finalised early next year.
LIVING HIGH ON THE HOGG
EXCLUSIVE Geoff Chambers and Daniel Meers
RETIRED Labor Senator John Hogg — a low-profile politician who would hardly be recognised in Sydney — racked up almost $1.4 million on overseas junkets before leaving parliament.
An investigation by The Daily Telegraph revealed retiring MPs and Senators lapped up their final taxpayer funded lurks before leaving parliament.
Mr Hogg — the former Senate President — leads a group of departing senators who have stung the taxpayers to pay for farewell jaunts.
Retiring WA Senator Mark Bishop and retiring Queensland Senator Brett Mason claimed almost $500,000 combined for overseas jaunts dating back to late 2008. “Father of the house”, Sydney MP Philip Ruddock, is another frequent flyer making 12 overseas expense claims in seven years.
Disgraced former speaker Bronwyn Bishop — who was forced to resign after claiming a charter helicopter flight to a Liberal Party fundraiser — has lodged more than $386,000 in travel claims since 2008.
LARGE PHONE BILLS
Mr Hogg led the way in overseas travel claims, visiting an astonishing 40 countries in less than seven years for a combination of “official business” and study tours.
While overseas, he was stung with large phone bills and when back in Australia, regularly used charter travel to get around Queensland.
Mr Hogg, who retired in June last year, yesterday defended the travel and described the hysteria around expenses as “absurd”. “I did my job. You are holding people up who did their job,’’ he said.
“There was nothing undue, wrong or improper. All trips were recorded in the appropriate way and stood up to the scrutiny. Nothing was ever questioned.”
21 PER CENT INCREASE
In a worrying trend, more than 90 federal MPs lodged overseas travel expense claims last year, pushing the overall total of expenses paid above $6.2 million, a 21 per cent increase on the previous year.
Retiring Queensland Labor MP Bernie Ripoll claimed more than $203,000 in overseas claims, just ahead of former Tasmanian Labor MP Dick Adams ($167,168.97) and departing Queensland Nationals MP Bruce Scott ($143,936.71).
Mr Mason — a recent high-profile departing government senator — visited Europe last year to attend the annual “Tidewater” meeting and travelled extensively through the Pacific on government business.
He made a five-day trip to Nepal last November — costing taxpayers more than $24,000 — to attend a meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation.
Mr Bishop — an influential former WA Labor Senator — was a regular overseas traveller and one of his final trips involved leading a “parliamentary delegation” to the US at a cost of $54,032.39.
TIME TO STOP THE PATHETIC EXCUSES
Daniel Meers Comment
POLLIES must ditch the “it was within the entitlements” defence and accept travel entitlements are outside public expectations.
The rules are lax and Canberra’s Comcar connoisseurs have failed to realise the punters in the pub won’t drop this one.
There is one critical flaw in the scheme: A claim shouldn’t be justifiable by simply throwing in a visit to a school or a small business for a trip that has no significant purpose.
It’s common practice to add an extra public appearance while away in case there are questions about a taxpayer-funded trip.
An MP shouldn’t be able to orchestrate annual winter engagements in the tropical north to justify using the family entitlements perk without being grilled first.
MPs in their final term shouldn’t be allowed a farewell tour where they empty out what’s left of their study travel allowance.
It’s unacceptable to rearrange an official diary to coincide with a public appearance on the same day a pollie wants to travel to see an acquaintance.
A “no-name” senator, even allowing that he held the prestigious role of senate president, shouldn’t be allowed to travel to 40 countries.
Our politicians hide behind the excuse that these examples are within the rules. But that doesn’t make them acceptable.
Tony Burke is correct when he says you can’t do your job properly sitting behind a desk. Senior politicians must travel the nation to listen to the people.
But before signing off on the trip, they have to ask themselves: “Does the trip pass the pub test?”
If the trip doesn’t pass, then just don’t go.
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