New data show that the prime minister, the opposition leader, and frontbencher Tony Burke were the three biggest spenders in the months following Anthony Albanese’s victory in the 2022 federal election.
Key points:
- In the first few months of his government, Anthony Albanese charged taxpayers the most of any MP.
- Corrected data shows Richard Marles spent $2.4 million on RAAF flights.
- Following Mr Albanese and Mr Marles, Darren Chester, Tim Ayres, and Tony Burke rounded out the top five international flyers.
The government has published expense data for politicians for the first full quarter of the Albanese government, after the reporting process was bogged down by technical issues and was delayed.
The prime minister’s bill was the largest of any individual member of parliament, totaling $684,665, with House Leader Tony Burke spending $398,410 and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton spending $363,003.
The prime minister also spent the most on international travel, claiming $82,729 in international flight expenses, as well as $500,000 in employee travel costs.
Defence Minister Richard Marles, backbencher Darren Chester, and Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres were the next highest flyers, all with international flight expenses exceeding $25,000, with Mr Burke spending the fifth most at $23,420.
Alongside the expense data, Defence also published corrected records for “special purpose” RAAF flight expenses, which it admitted had been wrongly recorded after revelations Mr Marles had seemingly charged taxpayers $3 million for himself and associates to fly on RAAF planes since winning government.
According to the corrected data, Mr Marles spent closer to $2.4 million on RAAF flights for himself and officials between becoming a minister and June of this year, which is still significantly more than other recent defence ministers, whose travel was hampered in part by COVID restrictions.
The government temporarily halted reporting on special-purpose flights due to security concerns, but later agreed to continue publishing the expenses with less detail on specific flights.
Marles defends a $3 million taxpayer-funded RAAF flight.
The defence minister says he wants to clear the air over $3 million worth of taxpayer funded flights charged by his office since April last year, but can’t for security reasons.
The data demonstrates the travel toll that politics exacts on rural MPs and politicians in the west, who typically face higher charges for overnight stays and domestic travel.
First-term MP Colin Boyce claimed more travel allowance than any other MP at $29,623 in his first months in parliament, which is paid for every night stayed in accommodation away from home — the Nationals MP represents the federal electorate of Flynn, which covers an area twice the size of Tasmania.
Shadow Climate Change and Energy Minister Ted O’Brien and Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston also claimed more than $15,000 in travel allowance.
Tania Lawrence, Fatima Payman, and Zaneta Mascarenhas, all first-time MPs in Western Australia, claimed the highest family travel expenses.
Queenslander Bob Katter spent the most of any independent MP, including more than $40,000 on scheduled and unscheduled travel, while teal MP Kylea Tink spent the least, at $185,264, almost entirely on office facility expenses.
Meanwhile the largest spend by a government backbencher was Peter Khalil, whose expenses amounted to $202,470, more than several ministers — half of that cost was in office administration which includes stationery, printing costs, courier services and subscription services.
Fourteen MPs claimed more than $100,000 in office facility costs, which included furniture, security, bills, repairs, and other expenses.
Former Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard also spent more than $100,000 on office space.
