Minister’s $5,500 Sports Spree: Health Chief Claims Taxpayer Cash for Family Trips to Australian Open and Cricket Match
- Health Minister Mark Butler charged taxpayers $5,500 for flights, accommodation, and chauffeured cars to attend the Australian Open and a Test cricket match
- Butler’s wife joined him on the tennis trip, while his son attended the cricket match with him
- The minister’s spending has raised fresh questions about the parliamentary benefits scheme, which has been under fire in recent weeks
In a shocking revelation, Health Minister Mark Butler has been found to have claimed back thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds to attend two major sports events with his loved ones. According to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), Butler charged taxpayers $5,500 for flights, accommodation, and chauffeured cars to attend the Australian Open men’s final and a Test cricket match in 2024.
Butler’s wife joined him on the tennis trip, with taxpayers forking out $3821.55 for the jaunt to Melbourne, including $382.67 each for two flights from Adelaide to Melbourne on January 28. The couple then flew back to the South Australian capital the next day at a cost of $1903.69 to taxpayers. Butler also spent $1393 on two return airfares to fly himself and his son to the New Year Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground that same month.
Butler’s office claimed he was “repping” as sport’s minister at the time, as Anika Wells was not in Cabinet until a reshuffle this year due to Bill Shorten’s retirement. However, the minister’s expenditure has raised fresh questions about the parliamentary benefits scheme, which has been under fire in recent weeks.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland recently referred expenses incurred during a family trip to Perth in July 2023 that billed taxpayers more than $21,000, and included business class flights valued at about $16,000. The IPEA found she had broken parliamentary travel rules, and Rowland has commenced steps to make a repayment.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sought advice from the independent watchdog on whether parliamentary entitlement rules should change, while Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has offered to sit down with the Prime Minister to make reforms to the entitlements. However, the Labor leader reportedly refused.
“I made a mistake. I put my hand up, I apologised to the Australian people, and I held myself accountable to the ministerial code of conduct,” Ms Ley said. “Anika Wells has not done one of those three things, and this Prime Minister has not addressed his ministerial code of conduct that she has clearly breached, nor has he said she should stand aside while this review and any investigation take place.”