Was George Brandis reading poetry at his own expense?
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The Attorney-General drew attention to himself three weeks ago when he removed his glasses, reclined in his chair, and thumbed through a volume of Australian bush poetry during a hearing of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee.
The self-described "Minister for Books" is notorious for getting taxpayers to pay for his books.
He has billed them for more than $13,000 over four years for his collection of magazines and books.
But the most recent release of his parliamentary expenses show he may have forgotten to ask them to pay for that volume of Australian poetry - at least if he bought it between July and December last year.
Instead, he charged taxpayers for a different book of poetry, called A Shropshire Lad and Other Poems: The Collected Poems of A.E. Housman for $9.05.
He was also particularly interested in the famous start to Beethoven's fifth symphony, asking taxpayers to buy him The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination for $24.50.
And he couldn't resist Isaiah Berlin's A.W. Mellon lectures on The Roots of Romanticism at $15.41 (who could?).
Other titles include: The Political Bubble: Why Australians Don't Trust Politics $29.99; Fortunate Voyager: The Worlds of Ninian Stephen $49.08; Menzies at War $31.41; Paul Kelly's Triumph and Demise: The Broken Promise of a Labor Generation $45.45; The Great Rivalry: Disraeli and Gladstone $52.35; and Michael Pelly's biography of the former chief justice of the High Court, Murray Gleeson: The Smiler $54.50.
Other politicians were not so adventurous. The overwhelming majority who charged taxpayers for reading material did so for newspapers and magazines.
Family First senator Bob Day bought "Triumph and Demise," like Brandis, and the conservative publication Quadrant.
The Green's Sarah Hanson-Young had The Monthly magazine and Quarterly Essay on her reading list, while former Greens leader Christine Milne used her expenses to buy the Guardian Weekly.
Education Minister Christopher Pyne and Liberal senator Cory Bernardi charged taxpayers for copies of The Economist and The Spectator.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon spent his money on the Australian Financial Review, The Advertiser, The Australian, The Sunday Mail, and a digital subscription to The Age.
Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer only spent a modest amount - just $211 - on his local paper.
He spend more than twice as much - $450 - on personalised letterhead stationery.
