The federal energy minister has labelled his counterpart the "biggest hypocrite in parliament", as he snapped back at criticisms of his taxpayer-funded travel for a major climate conference.
Chris Bowen is due to spend more than $150 million on the United Nations' 31st Conference of the Parties meeting, known as COP31, in his role as president of negotiations.
While Australia is not hosting the annual summit, it is chairing the talks with Pacific nations as part of a diplomatic compromise with Turkey struck in 2025.
But opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan said there were issues with the cost of chairing the talks, labelling it a vanity project, and that there were concerns with international travel expenses racked up during a cost-of-living crisis.
