Taxpayer-funded family junkets are a step too far in tough times

The expenses crisis engulfing Canberra is a microcosm of the disconnect that exists within government between where money comes from and who should be entitled to get it. Parliamentary expenses rorts are nothing new but the latest scandal is notable for the way in which the family members of MPs and senators have found their way on to the gravy train. Australian Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, Senate leader Sarah Hanson-Young and defence spokesman David Shoebridge have all made good use of the taxpayer-funded perk. So has Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell, who has claimed at least 136 flights under family reunion rules since 2022. The 71-year-old Labor powerbroker said the system was there to make it easier for single parents, young mothers and carers to more easily serve in parliament. This clearly does not cover Senator Farrell but it has not stopped him making more than $123,000 in family travel claims across almost four years.

Destinations give a clue as to what is going on. Taxpayers footed the bill for Senator Farrell to take family members to the AFL grand final, the Australian Open and a performance of La Boheme at the Sydney Opera House, among other events. At the other end of the spectrum, Senator Faruqi took a family member to the Splendour in the Grass music festival at Byron Bay. Taxpayers also paid $1370.94 to fly a Faruqi family member to a pro-Palestine protest in Melbourne.

The best thing Communications Minister Anika Wells – whose behaviour started what has become a long-overdue stocktake of parliamentary excess – can do is stop digging. The embattled MP told reporters on Wednesday that she took taxpayers’ money “really seriously”. She understood the “gut reaction” of people to her expenses claims for her and her family. But heavens, she is a busy minister with “three portfolios” (she has two, sport and communications) and “countless requests to be in all different towns and cities to do all different things”.

“I could probably live every day three times over and still not get through all of the requests for people and my time,” she said.

A stocktake of what Ms Wells chose to prioritise is instructive. It includes flying her husband to three AFL grand finals, Boxing Day Test matches, the Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne and a Thredbo ski resort for a spot of family skiing. Ms Wells has referred herself to the parliamentary expenses watchdog and is confident she will get a clean bill of health.

As well as lavish lunches in Paris, Ms Wells billed taxpayers almost $190,000 for a week-long trip to New York for her and two staff members. Anthony Albanese said it was “not fun”. The minister did meet executives from Microsoft, Meta and Amazon during the New York trip but was also pictured enjoying a glass of wine at the Old Mates pub while the Prime Minister poured the beers. A fish rots from the head. For parliamentarians, the Christmas Grinch has found a stocking stuffed with perks, and not before time. The entitled Canberra class has no one to blame but itself.