Wells refers expenses to watchdog as flights to Labor event emerge

Embattled Sport and Communications Minister Anika Wells has asked parliament’s expenses watchdog to audit her use of taxpayer entitlements, after seven days of controversy over her use of taxpayer funds.

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority will now examine Wells’ use of family reunion entitlements to fly her husband, and sometimes their children too, to multiple AFL and NRL grand finals, two Boxing Day test matches, a Formula 1 grand prix, a trip to the Thredbo ski resort, as well as her use of Comcar transport and other expenses.

Even as Wells requested the audit on Tuesday, it emerged the minister charged taxpayers more than $2000 for flights to Sydney to attend a Labor Party fundraiser, in a potential breach of the guidelines that govern the use of parliamentary entitlements. Any entitlements are supposed to be used for the dominant purpose of “parliamentary business”.

Wells’ entitlements were first put under scrutiny when a Senate estimates hearing revealed last week that Wells and two government officials had spent almost $100,000 on three taxpayer flights to New York. The saga has engulfed the government in subsequent days and overshadowed the introduction of a social media ban for under-16s, which starts on Wednesday.

Analysis of IPEA data shows that Wells flew from Brisbane to Sydney and back on August 7, at a cost to taxpayers of $1945.91, and also charged for four Comcar trips, two each in Sydney and Brisbane costing $408.78, for a grand total of $2363.69.

Wells has maintained throughout the scandal that her use of entitlements has all been within the rules.

In a short statement announcing the audit, Wells said: “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”.

Wells and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese both defended the flights and expenses on Sunday as within the rules, but the minister endured almost a week of criticism for the nature of her trips and questions about her judgment before she asked for the audit.

As the scandal over Wells’ frequent charges to the taxpayer has rolled on, spurring investigations of the entitlements claimed by other ministers and shadow ministers – including Don Farrell, Michelle Rowland and the Coalition’s Melissa McIntosh – the latest revelations will prompt further questions about whether they meet community expectations, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis.

A government spokesman said Wells’ travel to the Federal Labor Business Forum fundraiser said: “the travel was within the guidelines and the minister was on official duties”, but did not specify what those duties were.

The minister’s official website and her social media channels do not show that she had any other commitments while she was in Sydney for the forum.

The Finance Department’s website states explicitly that MPs “must not claim work expenses or use public resources for the purpose of fundraising, soliciting donations or attending fundraising events and activities”.

The department’s website states MP can travel for party political work, but fundraising is not included in its definition of what is allowed.

The business forum was established by Labor to build links between the party and business – and as a lucrative source of party fundraising for the ALP. The Liberal Party has a similar body known as the Australian Business Forum that it also uses to fundraise.

The Australian Financial Review reported at the time that tickets to the event ranged from $2500 per person to $18,000 for a table for businesses that were not members of the forum. Membership of the forum can cost as much as $110,000 per year.

Sydney-based ministers including Anthony Albanese, Tony Burke, Chris Bowen, Tanya Plibersek, Tim Ayres and Andrew Charlton also attended the forum.

The furore over MPs funding family trips and travel expenses with taxpayer money also embroiled two more government ministers on Tuesday.

Expenses data showed that Farrell used his entitlements hundreds of times to fly his family around the country since Labor was elected in 2022, and The Australian Financial Review reported Attorney-General Michelle Rowland billed taxpayers more than $20,000 for her family to travel to Western Australia.

In 2020, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke repaid the cost of flights for his family to join him on a trip to Uluru in 2012 because, while within the rules, he said the expenses “did not meet community expectations”.

Earlier on Tuesday, this masthead reported that Wells left a Comcar limousine waiting for nearly 10 hours while she attended the 2022 NRL and NRLW grand finals, costing taxpayers $1287.76. Wells received two free corporate suite tickets to attend the games, according to her register of members’ interests declarations. Tickets for corporate hospitality at NRL grand finals start at about $1700 per person at Accor Stadium in Sydney.

On Monday, it emerged the minister had charged taxpayers nearly $1000 for a Comcar to wait for her while she was at the Australian Open tennis.

The Department of Finance’s website puts the cost of a Comcar limousine at $133.20 an hour. A government spokesman said Wells’ use of their service was within the travel guidelines.

This masthead also revealed that Wells charged taxpayers $480.90 for Comcar usage on January 1, 2024, the same day she and her husband, Finn McCarthy, attended the prime minister’s Sydney residence, Kirribilli, for a reception for the Australian and Pakistan men’s cricket teams. Wells billed the taxpayer $1274.72 for McCarthy’s flights on that occasion as he returned to Brisbane on the same day.

Under the family reunion rules, federal MPs are allowed up to three return business class flights a year for family members flying between the MPs’ home base and a city other than Canberra, and the value of nine business class flights to Canberra, though there is some flexibility to the rules that allows ministers to claim more.

Coalition MPs have harshly criticised the government’s response to the scandal, saying the travel did not meet community expectations, with Nationals senator Matt Canavan calling for Wells to resign.

“I think there’s too many yellow cards here from Anika Wells. I think she needs to be shown a red,” he told Sky News.

Canavan said other MPs had been forced out of parliamentary positions for less, including former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley when she was health minister.

“The question now is to the prime minister: what standards do you have? Do you apply any discipline to your ministers to pay a price if they’re not seen to be spending money in a value sense?”

Shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien questioned Albanese and Wells’ judgment on ABC Radio National, arguing that “what we see here is the prime minister defending a minister who is spending money that is hard to justify in the public eye”.

Read more on Wells’ expenses

• Comcars and sports events: Wells billed taxpayers for a car to wait hours at tennis, flew husband to Boxing Day Tests, grand finals
• James Massola analysis: This week was supposed to be a triumph. Instead, it is a trial
• Thredbo ski trip: Nearly $3000 charged to bring husband and two children to resort
• Birthday party: Wells attended friend’s soiree during $3600 taxpayer trip
• Rob Harris analysis: The optics of Wells’ $94,000 flights to New York are terrible

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.