Australian MP's public purse spending bonanza under audit

Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells has referred herself to parliament's expenses watchdog after revelations she slugged taxpayers to fly her husband to sporting events.

Wells, who doubled as the sporting minister, had also been under fire for billing taxpayers for chauffeur cars worth thousands of dollars to wait while she attended the Australian Open tennis and NRL.

"I remain confident all my travel and expenses is within the framework but for the avoidance of doubt I have self-referred my expenditure to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority for an audit," she said in a statement on Tuesday.

It followed revelations Ms Wells billed taxpayers nearly AUD$1000 for a chauffeur for seven hours the day she attended the Australian Open in 2023 and more than AUD$1200 for nine hours the day of the NRL and NRLW grand finals in 2022, according to the parliamentary expenses register.

The cost of the car service available to MPs, known as COMCAR, was billed at AUD$2.22 a minute, or just more than AUD$133 an hour on weekends, with a one-hour minimum.

The minister had her electorate office fitted with a secure communications facility in October 2024 when she was sports and aged care minister, despite a similar room being available nearby.

A highly secure facility was available at Brisbane's Commonwealth Parliament Office about a 20 minute drive from her electorate office.

Other ministers often travelled in excess of an hour to hold secure meetings at the Commonwealth offices in their city.

Ministers usually attended cabinet meetings in person in Canberra but they could be held virtually.

There was no suggestion the office upgrade fell outside of rules.

Wells' office referred questions to the Finance Department, which confirmed the office expansion to accommodate her ministerial staff but not the cost, saying it was consistent with the parliamentary business resources framework.

The framework stated MPs must ensure parliamentary business expenses are consistent with their obligations, including value for money, good faith and personal responsibility and accountability.

Wells' office facilities costs spiked by tens of thousands of dollars in the quarter between July and September 2024, when they increased to AUD$125,000.

The last major jump was the quarter after Labor was first elected in 2022, with administration costs billed at AUD$158,000 as new ministers upgraded their office facilities.

The communications and sport minister had for days been dogged by revelations she claimed thousands of dollars to fly herself and her family to major events.

This included having her husband join her in Melbourne for the 2022 Boxing Day Test against South Africa, in Sydney for the prime minister's reception for the Australian and Pakistani cricket teams and Melbourne for an MCG outing.

While it was common for the minister to attend major sporting events, deputy Liberal leader Ted O'Brien said Wells' claims raised more questions as MPs always had to justify spending public money, even when within the rules.

"You just have to use your own judgment as to whether or not this is worthwhile and that is the key point, I think what we see here from the minister is a lack of judgment," he told ABC radio on Tuesday.

Other MPs had been roped into the expenses saga, including Trade Minister and Labor powerbroker Don Farrell for claiming well over AUD$100,000 for "family reunion" travel since 2022.

Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh was also accused of billing taxpayers to fly her son to Queensland, where he took part in the Australian National Judo Championships on the Gold Coast.

Under rules, a politician could only claim their travel expenses if the "dominant purpose" of the trip was their official duties and could claim family reunion trips so they could stay in touch with their loved ones despite long work hours and heavy travel demands.