Federal Communications and Sports Minister Anika Wells has been forced to defend her use of taxpayer-funded travel entitlements, following revelations she spent $3000 to fly her husband and children to the Thredbo ski resort while she was working.
Sky News grilling over family reunion entitlement
In an extensive 25-minute interview with Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell on Sunday, Ms Wells insisted all her expenses were within the official guidelines set by the Finance Department. The trip in question utilised a parliamentarian's family reunion entitlement, which allows MPs to bring family members to their location when they are travelling for work.
"All of these costs have been submitted through the usual guidelines," Ms Wells stated. "They have been found to be within the rules ... I'll continue to follow the rules and follow the guidelines, as I have in every single instance that you've outlined."
When pressed on whether her family went skiing during the weekend—a fact seemingly confirmed by her husband's social media posts—the minister replied, "Yes." She maintained, "I was there to work. I did work across the weekend. You can see the official engagements that I had. Separate to that, I used my family reunion entitlement within the guidelines, as every parliamentarian can do."
Prime Minister's defence and a history of costly trips
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came to his minister's defence during an appearance on ABC's Insiders program. He confirmed the Thredbo weekend was "within entitlements" and stood by a separate, last-minute $100,000 trip to New York in September to promote Australia's social media laws. Mr Albanese said his office would have approved the New York flights, which were booked after Ms Wells delayed her travel to manage the Optus network outage.
"This was a really important event," the Prime Minister said, describing Ms Wells as "doing her job." He added, "I didn't get all the receipts ... This will come as a shock [but] I don't, you know, ring up and make bookings myself."
The Sky interview also scrutinised other expenses, including:
- A $3600 trip to Adelaide in June where Ms Wells attended a friend's birthday party. When asked if she was invited to the party before or after planning the work trip, she replied, "I can check the timeline."
- Three trips to Paris within 12 months for the Rugby World Cup and Olympic events, costing taxpayers a combined $116,000. This included authorisation to spend $6000 on meals over five days at the Paris Olympics.
- A $1000 dinner in Paris with staff and the then-Australian ambassador, which Ms Wells described as "an orientation meeting."
Coalition attack and the 'community expectations' test
The Opposition has seized on the revelations, with Coalition figures labelling the minister "air-miles Anika." Opposition industry spokesperson Alex Hawke said Ms Wells' defence "doesn't stack up," questioning why taxpayers funded expensive dinners if the minister claimed to be eating muesli bars.
"Whether it's New York, whether it's Paris, whether it's Thredbo, these are expenses that would make the royals blush," Mr Hawke told Sky News. "And yet she looks down the camera and says, 'oh well, it's all within the guidelines' ... Australians aren't going to buy that."
The controversy echoes past political expenses scandals. Current Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke repaid $12,000 for a 2012 family trip to Uluru, stating that while it was within the guidelines, it did not meet "community expectations." When asked if Ms Wells should similarly repay the Thredbo funds, Mr Albanese would not be drawn.
Ms Wells concluded her interview by acknowledging public concern. "I absolutely appreciate that people have a gut reaction to these figures ... That's why I agree that entitlements should be scrutinised," she said. "But at the end of the day, I don't write these rules, and must follow these rules."
