Andrew Willcox, Fatima Payman, Don Farrell top spenders
The coalition has sparked a political row over its decision on Wells’ spending, while some opposition MPs have also spent thousands transporting family members around the country while attending events.
For example, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price charged taxpayers $6,581 for family flights between Perth Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin and Newcastle over the course of a week in April this year while traveling across the country for election campaign events. It is the eighth biggest spender on family travel in parliament.
Don Farrell, Fatima Payman, Patrick Gorman and Andrew Willcox have spent more than $100,000 on family trips since the Albanian government was formed in 2022. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen, Sam Mooy
Nationals MP Anne Webster, from the Victorian regional electorate of Mallee, ranked 30th for family travel expenses, spending $2976 to have a family member accompany her on a four-night trip to Perth for the World Transplant Games in April 2023, where she also claimed a $1676 travel allowance. Webster joined as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Organ Donation group.
On a separate three-night trip to Sydney in October 2023, Webster claimed $2253 for family flights but claimed only a one-night travel allowance for parliamentary business after attending an immigration conference. Webster’s office declined to comment.
A minister earns about $400,000 a year, while a backbencher’s base salary is about $240,000.
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Under family reunification rules, federal MPs are allowed up to three round-trip business class flights a year and the value of nine business class flights to Canberra for family members flying between the MP’s home base and a city outside Canberra. There are also three round-trip economy flights to Canberra per child, with some flexibility in the rules allowing ministers to request more.
The measures are designed to support politicians’ family lives given the extent of their travel, but MPs have discretion over how to implement them. Those claiming the least for family travel include independent MP Dai Le ($170) and NSW Labor Senator Jenny McAllister ($398).
Canberra-based cabinet ministers Katy Gallagher and Western Sydney MP Chris Bowen have not made any claims for family allowance since Labor came to government in 2022.
Home Secretary Tony Burke claimed $1,528 for family travel. After charging taxpayers $12,708 for his family to join him at Uluru in 2012, Burke refunded $8,600 in flights in 2020, saying the expenses did not meet community expectations.
The Labor ministers who spent the most on family trips were Farrell ($116,306), Western Australia minister Madeleine King ($76,692), Northern Territory minister Malarndirri McCarthy ($75,717), Albanese ($75,321), Rowland ($52,600) and Wells ($43,600).
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Farrell, who is charging $2094 for a family flight to Uluru for a free sunset dinner, said reunion rules were an important part of the parliamentary framework. “[They allow] “We will include diverse members and senators who will represent their communities in our nation’s parliament,” he said.
“Our parliament would be a smaller place without mechanisms to allow young mothers, single parents, those with families and those with caring responsibilities to serve as elected members.”
But Liberal MP Steven Kennedy, who has called for a $600 family benefit since joining parliament last year, said it made sense to limit family flights to economy class and then suggested the benefits could be scrapped altogether.
“I have more radical views about what you can do. I think you can get rid of it all.” [family] travel or gifts,” he told Sky News.
Kennedy said he didn’t want to demonize family travel for rural lawmakers because it allows them to see their children more often, but he worried such powers could encourage people to get involved in politics for the wrong reasons.
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