Former NT Senator Sam McMahon faces NTCAT for alleged travel bill breach

A federal audit body is suing former Northern Territory Senator Sam McMahon to recoup tax dollars she allegedly spent in an attempt to avoid Covid quarantine requirements.

Former CLP Senator Sam McMahon. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

A federal audit body is suing former Northern Territory Senator Sam McMahon to recoup tax dollars she allegedly spent in an attempt to avoid Covid quarantine requirements.

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) alleged Ms McMahon spent $3721 travelling to different locations in Queensland between June 29 and July 15, 2021, to avoid Covid restrictions in the NT.

The Authority alleged Ms McMahon breached the law by slugging taxpayers with the bill as avoiding quarantine was not an eligible expense and the “dominant purpose” of her travel was not parliamentary business.

Documents filed with the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal show Ms McMahon has called for the application to be dismissed.

The CLP Senator had travelled to Queensland to chair a series of Senate hearings which were cancelled last minute.

As she planned to return home, she said, Brisbane entered a lockdown and the NT declared it a hotspot, meaning Ms McMahon would be required to spend two weeks in quarantine if she returned.

“I attempted to find areas that were outside areas of outbreaks but close enough to an airport to be able to return home quickly if quarantine was lifted,” she said.

“This required constant monitoring and being prepared to move quickly if it looked like an area was likely to go in to quarantine. This is why I relocated a couple of times.”

Former NT Senator Sam McMahon. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.

Ms McMahon cited a letter she said the IPEA had sent to all parliamentarians in February 2021, advising they could “claim travel allowance for periods between sittings where they are unable to return home due to mandatory quarantine requirements and continue to undertake activities consistent with the dominant purpose of parliamentary business”.

“As I could not return home, I relied on this advice provided by IPEA, and continued on

with conducting my parliamentary business from commercial accommodation in Queensland,

with the knowledge that I would be compensated by payment of travel allowance,” Ms McMahon said.

“For the majority of my time spent in Queensland, I was accompanied by one of my staff as he was also attending (the Senate hearings). His claim for travel allowance was processed and never questioned.”

In its NTCAT application the IPEA also alleged Ms McMahon had “failed, refused, and/or neglected” to repay the $3721 despite repeated demands, prompting the legal action to be taken.

Ms McMahon served as a NT Senator from 2019 to 2022, being passed over for second term preselection in favour of Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – a decision made in June 2021 just three days before the alleged travel breach.

Ms McMahon grew up in Nanango, Queensland, and studied at the University of Queensland before moving to Katherine after her graduation.