Ah, how sanctimonious words come back to haunt the odiously self-righteous. The Travel Rorts 2.0 scandal has taken an even funnier turn, as an old interview with the MP at the centre of the growing storm, Communication Minister Anika Wells, resurfaced.
A fiery attack Anika Wells once launched on the Morrison government – accusing it of treating taxpayer funds like ‘looting’ a ‘piggybank’ – has come back to haunt her, following revelations she spent more than $325,000 of taxpayer money on trips and personal expenses in recent years […]
the minister who once positioned herself as a crusader against waste is now under fire over her use of taxpayer funds. The latest revelations are that she spent more than $8,500 for her family to travel to Melbourne for three AFL grand final weekends.
That’s the least of her greedy troughing, though, as I’ve been reporting.
And, like the original Travel Rorts scandal back in ’99, the stain of politicians’ taxpayer-funded greed is spreading right across the political spectrum. Tourism Minister Don Farrell has been caught out stiffing the taxpayer for over 200 free flights for his family, totalling more than $120,000. The flights included business class trips to multiple Australian Open finals and AFL grand finals, as well as a luxury sunset dinner at Ayers Rock.
On the other side of the aisle, coalition MP Andrew Wilcox racked up an even bigger bill in family travel claims.
Anthony Albanese has been personally mired in the scandal for days, by staunchly defending Wells. Now, he’s even deeper in it, as it turns out he had a very personal reason for hoping the scandal would go away.
The prime minister himself has claimed thousands of dollars in so-called family reunion entitlements to fly his then-girlfriend Jodie Haydon to and from two AFL grand finals and an Australian Open, broadening the travel entitlements saga even further across cabinet.
Records from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority show taxpayers were charged $1305.64 in 2022 for Ms Haydon’s flights to and from Melbourne on September 23 and 24, where the pair attended the AFL grand final with courtesy tickets provided by the league.
Months later Mr Albanese claimed another $224.06 for Ms Haydon’s travel from Canberra to Melbourne on January 28, 2023, on the weekend of the Australian Open. The pair received free tickets to the event courtesy of Tennis Australia and Channel 9.
And taxpayers picked up the tab for another flight valued at $848.28 when Ms Haydon jetted to Sydney on September 24, 2024, hours after she had attended the AFL grand final in Melbourne with Mr Albanese.
They’re not the only piggies getting caught with their snouts in the trough, either.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland charged taxpayers $21,685 for airfares and travel allowances for a week-long family trip to Perth over the school holidays.
Naturally, the holier-than-thou Greens are all neck-deep in the trough, too.
The fallout over family reunion travel extended to the Greens on Tuesday, with relatives of the minor party’s deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, Senate leader Sarah Hanson-Young and defence spokesman David Shoebridge all benefiting from the taxpayer-funded perk.
In Senator Faruqi’s case, a family member travelled with her to the Splendour in the Grass music festival at Byron Bay on July 21, 2023, where Senator Faruqi and Labor frontbencher Anne Aly were scheduled to speak on a podcast panel titled “Generation F..ked”. Dr Aly did not claim family reunion travel entitlements for the event.
Senator Faruqi billed $471.14 for a family member’s flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast on July 21, $211.31 for Brisbane to Sydney the following day, $268.88 for car travel and a $296 travel allowance at Tweed Heads. She also attended a pro-Palestine protest in Melbourne on November 19, 2023, claiming return flights from Sydney for a family member worth $1370.94. Senator Faruqi also racked up $204.90 for COMCAR costs in Melbourne.
That would be the one where she proudly posed with a sign demanding the genocide of Jews. Nice to know that our taxes are funding these anti-Semitic joyrides.
Also attending Splendour in the Grass was Senator Shoebridge, who took his two daughters to the event and claimed travel costs of $1206.16 under family reunion rules. The group took commercial transport worth $245.25, and the senator claimed a travel allowance of $592.
The enthusiastic uptake of family travel entitlements to music festivals also was shared by Senator Hanson-Young, who attended this year’s iteration of the Byron Bay’s Bluesfest from April 18 to 20 with a relative in tow.
The family member scored return airfares between Adelaide and the Gold Coast at $925.32 courtesy of the taxpayer, while Senator Hanson-Young also claimed an additional $718 in travel allowance.
It’s a greedy little club – and you’re not in it. You’re just paying for it.
