Federal politicians are calling for public spending rules to be tightened as it is revealed Anthony Albanese also used the family reunion travel allowance after being invited to major sporting events around Australia.
The prime minister charged taxpayers about $2,800 for three instances of family travel costs on weekends when he also declared being given tickets to the AFL grand final, the rugby league State of Origin and the Australian Open tennis, Guardian Australia can reveal.
A government spokesperson said all of Albanese’s disclosures were “made appropriately and in accordance with the rules”. On Tuesday, the communications and sports minister, Anika Wells, referred herself to the parliament’s expenses watchdog for her spending to be audited, but said she remained “confident all my travel and expenses is within the Framework”.
But there are growing calls for parliamentarians’ expenses rules to be reviewed. The shadow minister Melissa McIntosh – who herself came under fire after revelations she took family to the Bathurst 1000 car race – said family travel entitlements should not be “to have a date night or attend an event with your spouse”.
The Greens senator Steph Hodgins-May also backed a fresh look.
“The travel policies for politicians should be open to review to make sure they meet community expectations in a cost-of-living crisis,” Hodgins-May said.
Wells has come under criticism from the Coalition for her spending on family reunion travel, but scrutiny is now widening to other members of the government and Coalition.
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The deputy Liberal leader, Ted O’Brien, defended using the family travel allowance to bring his wife and children with him on a 2022 trip to Newcastle, arguing he rarely used the entitlement, and did not use it for a trip to a sporting event or a capital city. The then shadow energy minister said it came after a long stint away from home, during a “listening tour” in regional communities.
“It was in a regional area where I was working … in a period of time I was rarely at home. And the children flew economy down, flew economy home, so we could spend time together,” O’Brien told the ABC.
Guardian Australia also reported that the trade minister, Don Farrell, charged taxpayers $9,000 over three years for his family’s travel costs after being invited to football matches and tennis tournaments.
Politicians in Australia can claim nine business class airfares for their spouse to travel from their home city to Canberra each year, according to the parliamentary expense authority, the IPEA. Politicians can also claim three economy fares per child.
For places outside of Canberra, however, politicians can claim three return business class airfares for family members in total.
IPEA's website says: “Family reunion travel can be accessed where: the parliamentarian is travelling for the dominant purpose of conducting parliamentary business, and; the family member/s travels to accompany or join the parliamentarian, and; travel is for the dominant purpose of facilitating the family life of the parliamentarian"
Albanese declared on his register of interests in August that he was given tickets to the State of Origin in Brisbane on 28 May. His IPEA report shows he claimed family travel between Brisbane and Sydney the day after the match, costing $1,048.84. A separate expense, also charged to family travel on 29 May, came to $70.76.
In 2023, Albanese declared receiving tickets to the Australian Open in Melbourne on 27-29 January. IPEA reports show Albanese claimed $224.06 in family travel from Canberra to Melbourne on 28 January, and another $128.70 in such expenses in Melbourne that same day – $352.76 in total.
In 2022, Albanese declared receiving AFL grand final tickets, held on 24 September. On 23 September he declared $500.34 in family travel between Canberra and Melbourne, and another $805.30 between Melbourne and Sydney on 24 September.
The three instances totalled $2,778.
Albanese travels nearly constantly for work, appearing regularly at official engagements, and representing Australia on overseas trips and at international summits. IPEA’s website says there are “additional family travel expenses available for family of senior office holders” on top of entitlements accessible by all MPs.
There is no suggestion any MPs have contravened these rules.
Stuart Hamilton, a former deputy secretary in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the secretary of the advocacy group Accountability Roundtable, said rules needed to balance “fair recompense” for parliamentarians spending time away from home against public expectations.
“We shouldn’t confuse breaching rules, which have penalties, with using the rules ‘too much’,” he said.
“There’s no magic number. It’s not a matter of wrong or right, it’s a matter of public acceptability.
“You could argue that the rules could be tightened … but a minister within the rules shouldn’t be punished.”
McIntosh, the shadow communications minister, has strongly criticised her counterpart Wells for her travel. She called for the rules to be reviewed “because clearly, there’s ministers, members of parliament, who are stretching the boundaries”.
“It is actually about reconnecting with your family while you’re working,” she told a press conference. “If that’s not happening, I think there would be an expectation by the Australian people that these guidelines are reviewed and come in line with expectations.”
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten strongly defended Wells’ use of travel entitlements on Monday night, saying her role as sports minister meant she was “between a rock and a hard place” in choosing whether to attend major events.
