Tony Abbott’s wine bill through the roof in final months as PM

HE was previously mocked for ordering a shandy light. But it seems no expenses were spared when it came to Tony Abbott’s taste in wine.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott was known for his enjoyment of beer and a shandy or two. Picture: Liam Kidston.

HE WAS famously mocked for ordering a shandy light during the 2013 election campaign.

But it seems no expenses were spared when it came to all things wine for former prime minister Tony Abbott and his staff.

Mr Abbott spent more than $7000 in taxpayer money on the beverage during his final months as prime minister, it has been revealed.

This comes following a more than a year-long campaign by Labor Senator Penny Wong who had demanded to know how much Mr Abbott spent and on what sort of alcohol.

This wine receipt was apparently a privacy matter.

Ms Wong was initially told by bureaucrats that the release of his wine list for drinks functions were a matter of personal privacy, Fairfax reported.

However the Australian Information Commissioner said it was not a state secret and ordered the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to release the receipts.

The heavily blacked out receipts show Mr Abbott’s staff purchased $7340 worth of wine and beer between February and April last year.

Ms Wong had been waging a 13-month battle over the release of the receipts.

Among the most popular buys included, Clonakilla, a Canberra label, with its Hilltops shiraz selling for $35 a bottle.

Other labels included Oakridge’s The Parish chardonnay and Margaret River-based Devil’s Lair.

It was also revealed the Prime Minster’s Cabinet took six months to respond to the Labor Senate leader’s request, in defiance of the statutory 30-day period.

The receipts were not a ‘state secret’.

Some of the wine enjoyed by the PMC.

It wouldn’t be the first time Mr Abbott’s staff drinking habits have come under the spotlight.

When Mr Abbott lost the Liberal leadership to now Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last year he and his staff reportedly went straight to the pub, celebrating his freedom with a wild night of partying.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Abbott even danced with his shirt off and a marble coffee table in the PM’s suite was apparently smashed.