Expenses row: ‘I’m damn good,’ says Burke’s partner Skye Laris

The partner of Labor frontbencher Tony Burke has hit out at a report about their extensive taxpayer-funded air travel.

Tony Burke and partner Skye Laris in Tasmania’s Florentine Valley in 2014.

Skye Laris, the partner of Labor frontbencher Tony Burke, has hit out at a report about their extensive taxpayer-funded air travel, saying she was hired and promoted by Mr Burke because she was “damn good” at her job.

She said The Australian’sreport yesterday on her joining Mr Burke on many trips while a staffer implied that she was employed and promoted because she was young and female. “We (young women) are capable and we are damn good at our jobs and sometimes someone even acknowledges that by hiring us or promoting us,” Ms Laris wrote yesterday on her Facebook page.

“Yes, I ultimately fell in love with someone who did that.”

Mr Burke announced their union in February last year.

Ms Laris was responding to yesterday’s report revealing she joined Mr Burke for the bulk of an overseas travel blitz that cost taxpayers $225,000 in 2008-09.

Ms Laris joined Mr Burke’s office in January 2008 and was promoted to chief-of-staff in February 2009. Mr Burke said it was “standard” for the chief-of-staff to travel with him.

Ms Laris accompanied him in the first-class cabin on a return trip to Barcelona for a food security forum, involving six days’ travel costing $48,951.

Yesterday, Mr Burke said two senior officials also flew first-class on this trip. The Australian has been told other departmental officials flew business- rather than first-class. Mr Burke declined to comment.

Ms Laris said the report erred in saying “my LinkedIn profile does not include that I was an adviser prior to being chief-of-staff in Tony’s office, when in fact it does, if you click on the entry”. The adviser reference is mentioned under the heading “Chief of Staff — Minister Tony Burke ... January 2008 — March 2011 (3 years 3 months)”.