From the ABC:
Federal politicians are facing calls to urgently tighten overseas travel rules, after details of a $144,000 taxpayer-funded South American tripwere revealed.
Cost per delegate
- Former NSW Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop and staffer Damien Jones: $52,700.62
- Incumbent Qld LNP MP Ewen Jones: $23,271.82
- Victorian Labor MP Joanne Ryan: $22,737.48
- Qld LNP senator Ian Macdonald: $22,731.10
- SA Labor senator Anne McEwen: $22,299.08
- Total: $143,740.10
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information list the famous attractions, five-star hotels and top restaurants on the two-week, country-hopping itinerary.
Five politicians, led by then-speaker Bronwyn Bishop, attended the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) over four days in Ecuador’s capital, Quito, in January 2015.
The delegation then met politicians and officials in Peru — a country that officially accounts for 0 per cent of Australia’s global trade, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Mrs Bishop then went to Argentina, without the group, for events.
On the schedule were visits to Peru’s world heritage sites Machu Picchu and Cuzco, along with a day trip to an Ecuadorian tourist town renowned for its open-air market.
“I’m not sure whether going to an artisan market and checking out the souvenirs builds a bilateral relationship or trade relationship with a country like Ecuador or Peru,” said senator Nick Xenophon, leader of the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT).
Don’t spare the horses, James.
