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Local pollies expenses revealed

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The April to June expenses figures for Australian politicians revealed vast sums being paid for travel and electorate offices in the local region.

When the cost-of-living crisis is forcing families to tighten their belts, the amounts spent by elected officials have raised some eyebrows.

Member for Farrer Sussan Ley spent $28,822 on interstate travel to tropical Queensland and Perth, and her team of nine staffers racked up more than $93,340 worth of travel in the three-month period.

Of the $21,649 paid in travel allowance, Ms Ley reported just $3,591 was for business related to the seat of Farrer, with the remainder for Party or parliamentary business.

Ms Ley’s Albury office reported the highest expenditure for office facilities and administration ($228,572), compared to others in the region.

Senator Perin Davey’s Deniliquin-based office reported a more modest $50,899 for the same expenditure item, while Member for Riverina Michael McCormack reported $203,808, and Member for Parkes Mark Coulton spent $110,781.

As a comparison, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reported $163,387 for his office expenses in his Sydney base in Marrickville.

Mr McCormack spent $6801 on travel, of which $1,050 was for electorate business, but under $500 on commercial travel.

Mr Coulton spent more – over $69,000 – but he stayed within the electorate, or claimed trips to Canberra and one-third of his travel allowance was spent in his electorate.

Senator Davey’s travel allowance of $17,438 reported just $394 was for electorate business, and Ms Davey also reported $7,438 for travel to New Zealand for five days in April. The Senator travelled as part of the Senate Select Committee on Australia’s Disaster Resilience delegation.

Senator Davey was also the only regional politician to report family travel of $816 to the vastly different landscapes of Conargo and Canberra. Under the rules parliamentarians’ spouses, children or nominated persons can claim travel in some circumstances.

Travel allowances are paid to parliamentarians for each night they stay away from home, within Australia.

How the number stack up:

Sussan Ley – Member for Farrer

    • Total quarterly expenditure April to June 2024 – $385,049.20
    • Previous quarter total expenditure $330,285.64
    • Travel allowance – $21,649
    • Commercial travel – $28,822
    • Office facilities and administration – $228,572
    • Domestic travel for nine employees – $93,340.33

    Michael McCormack – Member for Riverina

    • Total quarterly expenditure April to June 2024 – $237,433.38
    • Previous quarter total expenditure – $125,821.21
    • Travel allowance – $6861
    • Commercial travel – $447
    • Office facilities and admin – $203,808
    • Domestic travel for five employees – $16,125

    Mark Coulton Parkes

    • Total quarterly expenditure April to June 2024 – $222,841.15
    • Previous quarter total expenditure – $184,701.71
    • Travel allowance – $9309
    • Commercial travel – $69,214
    • Office facilities and administration – $110,781
    • Domestic travel for eight employees – $18,995

    Senator Perin Davey

    • Total quarterly expenditure April to June 2024 – $109,471.08
    • Previous quarter total expenditure – $61,189.28
    • Travel allowance – $17,438 of which $394 was electorate biz
    • International travel – $7320
    • Commercial travel – $4799
    • Family travel – $816
    • Office facilities and administration – $50,899 and
    • Domestic travel for five employees – $22,570.

    The Australian Taxation Office received 250,000 tip-offs from the community about tax avoidance and other dishonest behaviours since July 1, 2019.

    More than 47,000 tip-offs were reported in the 2023–24 financial year alone.

    ATO Assistant Commissioner Tony Goding said Australians are fed up with dodgy behaviours in the community and are stepping up to help level the playing field by tipping off the ATO about taxpayers not declaring income, demanding cash from customers, paying workers in cash to avoid paying tax and super, not reporting sales, and where someone’s lifestyle doesn’t appear to match their income.

    The ATO estimates there is around $16 billion in stolen taxes because of businesses doing things like cash jobs each year.

    Building and construction, cafes and restaurants and hairdressing and beauty services topped the list of industries the ATO was tipped off about in 2023–24. Ninety per cent of tip-offs analysed by the ATO in 2023– 24 were deemed as being suitable for further investigation by a specialised teams and task forces within the ATO, including the crossagency Shadow Economy Taskforce.

    The Riverine Grazier 23 October 2024

    This article appeared in The Riverine Grazier, 23 October 2024.

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