Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas spends $67K of taxpayer funds on overseas trip

Tim Pallas and his staff flew business class during a three-week global junket last year — now the cost of the taxpayer funded trip has been revealed.

Victorian tax payers forked out tens of thousands of dollars to fund Treasurer Tim Pallas’ multi-continental travel junket last year.

The Treasurer flew business class to Europe and the United States in July for an official trip to meet with financial, technological and other key stakeholders.

The three-week jaunt across Germany, France, England and the United States cost more than $67,000.

A Department of Finance and Treasury report has revealed a break down of costings for Mr Pallas’ three-week trip from July 1 to 18, on which he was accompanied by his chief of staff and a department representative.

Business class airfares for Mr Pallas and his staff set tax payers back $41,771.62 while accommodation in Europe and America cost $20,969.89.

Mr Pallas spent $4,563.72 on other expenses, including travel allowances, bringing the trip’s total cost to $67,304.23.

The first leg of the trip took Mr Pallas to Frankfurt and Mainz in Germany, where he was accompanied by former innovation Minister Jaala Pulford for a meeting with immunotherapies developer BioNTech, to discuss establishing a clinical scale mRNA manufacturing facility in Melbourne.

Business class airfares for Mr Pallas and his staff set tax payers back $41,771.62.

He then visited Paris and London, before jetting to the United States, where he met with stakeholders in Washington DC, Virginia and San Francisco.

Representatives from the Treasury Corporation of Victoria and the Victorian Funds Management Corporation also joined Mr Pallas for part or all of the junket.

Business class tickets flying one way from Melbourne to Frankfurt in July range from about $7000 to $14,000, according to the Qantas website, while the cheapest economy fare for the same route costs about $950, according to flight search engine Skyscanner.

A government spokesman said the trade and investment trip enabled the Treasurer to “engage directly with key business and finance leaders, promote the state’s export offerings and highlight opportunities for foreign investments that create jobs and opportunities in Victoria”.

“We don’t sit back and wait for the world to come to us,” he said.

“A meeting with BioNTech in Germany was crucial in securing an in-principle partnership with the biotech giant to establish a clinical scale mRNA manufacturing facility in Melbourne.

“Further investments stand to flow from connections made on this mission, bolstering jobs and industry opportunity.”

Opposition spokesman for trade and investment David Southwick said while meeting with key stakeholders promoted investment opportunities for the state, it was important to ensure government expenditure represented “value for money”.

“At a time when Victorians are being slugged with rising cost of living pressures and state debt blowouts, the Andrews Labor Government must ensure taxpayers’ money is not being wasted,” he said.