THE ‘chopper-gate’ scandal surrounding Bronwyn Bishop has brought greater scrutiny on parliamentary expenses with the Speaker not the only political indulger.
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Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop were the biggest spenders in the government’s latest entitlements report with Member for New England and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce the sixth – one spot above Bronwyn Bishop.
A summary of parliamentary expenditure paid between July to December show Mr Joyce racked up $430,865 in expenses.
Over $33,000 went on a trip to China for an APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security, $28,833 on travel allowance for the period, $54,661 on domestic travel, $36,165 on car costs and $9,018 on family travel costs.
Mr Joyce also charged $75,807 to taxpayers for charter travel costs – more than any politician in the country.
Office facilities and fit out costs were above $130,000 while office administration costs soared to $70,000.
According to his office Mr Joyce has only travelled by helicopter on three occasions over a two year period.
Mr Joyce has been criticised for charging taxpayers for flights to Sydney for he and his wife to attend the cricket.
The Agriculture Minister flew to Sydney from Tamworth with his wife Natalie on the same day he attended the Ashes Test (with free tickets) on January 3 last year.
He flew back that evening at a combined cost of $1,200 to the taxpayer.
According to a diary record provided by his office, Joyce was fulfilling a commitment to Ausveg, the industry body for vegetable and potato growers, at the Sydney Markets and went to the cricket in the afternoon.
The list of MPs' expenses from the previous six months left Mr Joyce red-faced when it showed he’d purchased a book advising how to be a successful minister, almost six months after entering cabinet as Agriculture Minister.
Mr Joyce bought Learning To Be a Minister (heroic expectations, practical realities) in March 2014.
Amazon's review says the book “investigates how a new ministry learns and adapts to the responsibilities of governing”.
Mr Joyce revealed the book was so good he bought two copies. “It's a must read,” he told Fairfax Media at the time.
“There are two things in life that you don't need a degree for - one is having a baby and the other is becoming a minister, so any other information you can get on it should be absorbed with relish,” he said.
“It's also handy for people in my office, especially electoral staff, learning about procedures.”
The Department of Finance notes that not all costs contained in the six-month reporting period were actually incurred between July 1 and December 31, 2014.