Two South Australian MPs claimed taxpayer funding for trips in which they attended sporting events, including the Melbourne Cup Derby Day and the PGA President’s Cup golf tournament.
The revelations came as Prime Minister Tony Abbott said today he was open to reforming the system of MPs’ expenses.
Outgoing Labor Senator Don Farrell claimed taxpayer funding including flights and accommodation for a two-day trip for him and his wife to Melbourne, which included attending Melbourne Cup Derby Day.
Federal Member for Mayo Jamie Briggs claimed expenses for flights and accommodation for a trip to Melbourne where he attended the PGA President’s Cup at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
Farrell was on official business in his role as Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water, while Briggs was on electorate business, according to their travel reports.
Farrell’s office told InDaily the trip, in November last year, was an official one.
“Between the 2nd and 4th of November 2012 Senator Farrell attended meetings in Melbourne in his capacity as the then Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water,” the senator’s office told InDaily via an emailed statement.
“While there, he and his wife attended Derby Day as a guest of the Suncorp Group.
“As required, this was declared on the senator’s register of interests.”
After InDaily asked for a detailed breakdown of the senator’s official meetings in Melbourne, his office responded with a one-line statement.
“Senator Farrell had a number of meetings in his capacity as Parliamentary Secretary.”
Farrell’s statement of interests notes that he and his wife accepted an invitation from “Dr Ziggy Switkowski, chairman of Suncorp Group to attend the AAMI Marquee on Derby Day on Saturday November 3 2012”.
The senator claimed travel allowance on 2 and 3 November, worth $858.
He also claimed a flight from Canberra to Melbourne on 2 November, and another flight from Melbourne to Adelaide on 4 November.
On 18 November 2011 Mayo MP Jamie Briggs attended the PGA President’s Cup at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club as an invited guest of the PGA.
Briggs claimed $118 in travelling allowance for a stay in Melbourne on the 18th. The claim is listed as “Electorate Business” on his travel logs.
On 18 November he flew from Sydney to Melbourne, before flying from Melbourne to Adelaide on the 19th – at a combined cost of $840.09.
Asked by InDaily about the nature of his electorate business on the 18th, his office first responded that he was meeting business and community leaders on that day.
“Mr Briggs travelled to Melbourne within entitlement to attend functions with business and community leaders in his capacity as a federal Member of Parliament,” Briggs’ office said.
When InDaily pointed out the PGA event and asked for a detailed breakdown of Briggs’s official engagements on the day, his office responded: “As publicly declared on the Registrar of Members’ Interests, the PGA invited Mr Briggs to attend the event.”
Adelaide University political expert Clem Macintyre told InDaily this morning that the claims made may well be entirely within the rules but the revelations added weight to calls for reform of the entitlements system.
“We would need more information before we know whether that’s inappropriate or not,” he said.
“It’s just another example though of something that looks like it might be questionable, and so the sense of public concern is growing and is legitimate and I think confirms growing calls for a review of the way in which those entitlements are approved and the guidelines upon which MPs should be claiming.”
– Additional reporting: AAP