Anthony Albanese orders review of politicians’ perks amid Anika Wells travel scandal

Anthony Albanese has requested advice around politicians’ travel expenses from an independent watchdog after several taxpayer funded trips by his minister Anika Wells sparked public outrage.

Scrutiny mounted after it was revealed she spent $100,000 on flights to New York in September for herself and two staff to attend an event on Australia’s social media ban.

Backlash intensified after further details emerged about her spending on lavish Paris meals, sporting games, a family ski trip and chauffeur services. It then spiralled to engulf Liberal and Greens MPs and Senators.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley penned a letter to the Prime Minister on Friday urging him to meet with her to work together on a bipartisan reform to the expenses system following a travel entitlements scandal.

She claimed the unfolding scandal had “brought the Albanese Government into disrepute and undermined public trust in the parliament”.

As part of her offer, Ms Ley also called for the prime minister’s department to investigate Ms Wells.

She claimed her position was now “untenable” and accused Mr Albanese of not enforcing the ministerial code of conduct.

Within hours of Ms Ley publicly proposing the meeting, the PM told a press conference that he had already requested that the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority review the system.

“I’ve asked the head of IPEA for advice,” he said.

After he was promptly asked “when did you ask for that advice?” by a journalist, Mr Albanese claimed he’d “done it publicly at multiple press conferences”.

A look back at his previous transcripts shows vague references when mentioning Ms Wells’ self-referral for an audit rather than explicitly stating he’d requested a whole-of-system review to examine if it needed to be overhauled.

Speaking to Sky News on Friday, Ms Ley said that the rolling headlines had outraged the public and Mr Albanese’s dismissing of it added fuel to the fire.

“That obfuscation just doesn’t cut it with the Australian people,” Ms Ley told Sky.

“This is about the Prime Minister, because it is about his ministerial code of conduct.”

Ms Ley knows about the heat that misuse of travel entitlements can cause firsthand, after she resigned from the frontbench in 2017 after charging taxpayers for flights to the Gold Coast to buy an investment property.

Ms Ley on Friday said she had accepted at the time that she needed to stand down but flagged that Ms Wells hasn’t had the same response.

“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. Anika Wells has not,” she said.

“This Prime Minister has not addressed his ministerial code of conduct that she has clearly breached, nor has he said she should stand aside.

“What I called for yesterday and I repeat today, is that the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet should conduct an investigation into whether this minister has breached the ministerial code of conduct.

“He’s giving a green light to all of his ministers to continue to live it up just exactly how Anika Wells is doing.”

The PM also revealed on Friday that a second MP had referred themselves to the watchdog for an audit, which was later confirmed as Attorney-General Michelle Rowland.

The Labor frontbencher had requested a review of her 2023 use of the controversial family reunion entitlement to billed taxpayers $21,685 for a week-long family trip to Perth during the NSW school holidays.

Ms Ley’s call comes after senior Labor Minister Mark Butler used morning media interviews to hint that the Albanese Government could come to the table to change the rules but won’t take an active lead on it.

“The independent parliamentary authority is now considering a reference that Anika Wells made to them about her claims, and I think that’s a good thing,” he told ABC.

“But also, I think this is an opportunity for that independent authority to consider if they have some advice and recommendations about ways in which we could change the system. I’d welcome that.”

He told Sunrise that if the advice and recommendations had to be “enacted through legislation, I’m sure that’s what we would do”.

The last major change was when a helicopter flight by then-speaker Bronwyn Bishop to a Liberal party function, which cost taxpayers more than $5200 angered Australians.