Far-right figurehead Fraser Anning a real Senate high-flyer

Fraser Anning has quickly become the senate crossbench’s highest flyer, billing taxpayers for attending far-right events.

A social media post of Senator Fraser Anning, centre, at the St Kilda rally.

Fraser Anning has quickly become the Senate crossbench’s highest flyer, with his domestic airline expenses ballooning by more than $16,000 around the time of his widely condemned “final solution” speech.

The Queensland senator claimed $31,287.80 in domestic flights in the July-September quarter last year, some $11,000 more than his nearest crossbench colleague and a huge increase from the $14,905 he claimed in the April-June reporting period.

As demand grows for him to pay back about $3000 in taxpayers’ funds he used to fly to attend a Melbourne rally alongside neo-Nazis, it appears the growth in his domestic flights has coincided with his rising profile as a far-right figurehead.

 

Senator Anning has attended far-right events in recent months including the St Kilda rally, organised by Nazi sympathiser Blair Cottrell, and a rally in Brisbane in September held by Nazi-linked group True Blue Crew. He also billed taxpayers $1888 for a trip to Sydney in July, where he spoke at a rally for white South African farmers attended by Canadian provocateur Lauren Southern.

Senator Anning’s office says his travel, business class on his recent trip to Melbourne, was focused on meeting conservative Christians, Jewish leaders and farmers. “Senator Anning’s travel falls within parliamentary requirements,” his spokesman said.

“He does not sit idle, and through a combination of travel within Queensland and interstate, he represents the interests of his constituents.”

Labor Senate leader Penny Wong called on the independent MP to reconsider charging taxpayers for his trip to the rally.

“All of us are responsible for making any claims that we make and he ought to see from the re­action that this is not something the majority of Australians think he had any place at,” she said.