Politicians have criticised a senior cabinet minister after reports revealed he spent tens of thousands of dollars on taxpayer funded travel.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones spent up to $43,000 on taxpayer subsidised COMCAR trips over a nine month period, according to reports published by The Daily Telegraph.
The reports, which cite documents obtained through Freedom of Information, claim Mr Jones racked up more than $11,000 in taxpayer subsidised car trips, including on petrol allowance claims, between April and December 2022, including a $1,000 car trip for the 2.5 hour journey from his NSW home to Parliament House in Canberra that September.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones (pictured right) spent up to $43,000 on taxpayer subsidised COMCAR trips
According to finance department guidelines, MPs are not allowed to use COMCARs for parliamentary business if they can responsibly drive their own private-plated vehicles.
Independent MP Jacqui Lambie said federal leaders were exploiting the guidelines to the ‘maximum.’
‘Considering he is the Assistant Treasurer, I find it absolutely disgusting,’ Ms Lambie told Sky News on Monday.
‘And why isn’t he driving himself from his house to parliament? which is about 200 km (to 220 km) away. Everybody else is expected to do that so I don’t understand. Sometimes being a political figure, it goes right to their head, and their entitlement – just blows me away.
‘s federal politicians, judges and high-ranking visitors can be chauffeured around in electric BMWs. Picture: NCA NewsWire
‘I would suggest instead of coming for the Independents or micro (MPs) up there (Canberra) you might want to go to the Labor party and start auditing them.’
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said senior government ministers had additional responsibilities that required them to use taxpayer funded car services more frequently than the average MP.
‘Stephen lives in a regional area. He’s got a lot of travel to do. It’s completely within the entitlements,’ Ms Plibersek said on Monday.
However Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said Mr Jones should publicly explain the charges.
‘To be frank, I used to drive my car from here in northern NSW to Canberra. I would stop over in Sydney and that was much cheaper than flying. Look, it’s something for Stephen to explain.
‘It would seem that there is a strong argument as to why he doesn’t turn his own car around the other way, which is taxpayer subsidised and just drive it to Canberra.’
According to the most recent parliamentary expenses data Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Workplace Minister Tony Burke spent the most on domestic and international travel after Labor took the federal election in 2022 – with the prime minister claiming over $82,000 in overseas flight expenses and $500,000 in employee travel costs.