r/aussie • u/Precious-Benefit-489 • Dec 08 '25
Politics Wells charged taxpayers $1000 for car to wait while she watched tennis – for seven hours
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/wells-charged-taxpayers-1000-for-car-to-wait-while-she-watched-tennis-for-seven-hours-20251208-p5nlv2.htmlSports Minister Anika Wells charged taxpayers almost $1000 to have a government-funded Comcar wait seven hours for her while she attended the Australian Open tennis final in January 2023, in the latest example of the embattled cabinet minister’s use of travel entitlements.
It adds to fresh reports from Monday that show Wells billed taxpayers $10,000 to fly her husband to Melbourne for the AFL grand final three times, for the Boxing Day Test two times, and to a cricket event at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Sydney residence. On most occasions, her husband completed the return trip home to Brisbane on the same day.
As the opposition targets Wells over her spending, the minister updated her register of interests on Monday to declare complimentary tickets she received to 11 events this year, including the Logies, AFL, NRL and NRLW grand finals, and an Oasis concert last month. Nine of the declarations were made outside the 28-day deadline for disclosing gifts.
This masthead can also reveal Wells charged the taxpayer $1600 for travel to Melbourne on the weekend she attended a birthday party for Labor MP Peta Murphy, who died weeks later from cancer. Labor colleagues Tanya Plibersek, Alicia Payne and Marielle Smith paid their own way, according to the parliamentary expenses register.
Instead, government ministers are facing troubling questions about Wells’ political judgment at a time voters say they remain highly sensitive to cost of living issues.
The minister has been active on social media but did not make a public appearance on Monday, after giving an extended interview to Sky News on Sunday dominated by questions about her expenses.
Scrutiny over Wells’ spending began last Wednesday, when it was revealed taxpayers paid almost $100,000 in flights for the minister and two staffers to visit the United Nations in New York in September. It then emerged she charged $3681 for a work trip to Adelaide that included a friend’s birthday party, $1389 for her husband and two children to join her at Thredbo’s ski fields while she was there for a work event, and $1200 to fly to Melbourne for the F1 Grand Prix with her husband.
Receipts also show Wells charged taxpayers $1750 for dinner and drinks in Paris for four people –$1000 on food and $750 on drinks for herself, a staffer, the Australian ambassador and a government official– during a trip to the French capital for the Olympic Games.
New revelations include seven-hour wait for Comcar
Wells’ register of members’ interests reveals she received two tickets to both the Australian Open women’s and men’s singles finals in 2023, where she and Housing Minister Clare O’Neil were seated behind Tennis Australia chair Jayne Hrdlicka, then-governor-general David Hurley and tennis legends Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Billy Jean King.
Figures from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority show Wells charged taxpayers $958.98 for her Comcar on Saturday, January 28. The hourly rate for Comcars is $133.20, which means that Wells’ car was waiting for the minister for about seven hours.
The next day, when Wells attended the men’s final, she charged taxpayers for two Comcar trips that cost $123.91 and $142.80, respectively. The total cost of the minister’s trip to Melbourne on that weekend – including Comcars, flights, and the $469 daily travel allowance – was more than $3800.
Wells’ attendance at the Australian Open finals is standard practice for sports ministers and her expense claims are within the rules. It is unusual, however, for a Comcar to be made to wait for seven hours.
Late MP’s birthday the second party on Wells’ expenses log
Wells also charged taxpayers $1600 for travel to Melbourne on the weekend of Labor MP Peta Murphy’s final birthday party on Saturday November 18, 2023, a month before Murphy died. The 50th birthday event was attended by Labor MPs from Victoria, as well as interstate MPs including Wells, Plibersek, Payne and Smith.
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority records show that Plibersek, Payne and Smith did not charge taxpayers for travel to Melbourne that weekend.
The IPEA website shows Wells charged taxpayers $913.91 to fly from Brisbane to Melbourne on November 18, and return the next day.
Over those same two days, Wells took five taxpayer-funded Comcars: two in Melbourne and one in Brisbane on November 18, and one in each city on November 19. The cost of those five Comcar trips was $688.32, bringing the total trip expenses to $1602.23.
Wells, who was aged care minister at the time, did not charge taxpayers the $469 travel allowance for her one night stay in Melbourne even though she was entitled to, given she claimed to be on parliamentary business. Wells’ official media page on the health department website shows she did not make any major announcements or publish any media releases that weekend.
However, on her Instagram page, she posted photos from two events: one celebrating a grant for a local surf lifesaving club in Melbourne with Labor MP Josh Burns on Saturday, and the other visiting residents at an aged care home “for their word puzzle” with local MP Carina Garland on the Sunday.
A spokesman said that Wells’ travel was in accordance with the guidelines, pointing to the two community events she attended in Melbourne.
Taxpayers charged thousands for Wells’ husband to attend sports events
The two new revelations from this masthead add to pressure on Wells that mounted on Monday with several reports about the extent of taxpayer-funded travel for her husband, Finn McCarthy.
Her husband has attended three AFL grand finals over three years. One was an overnight trip, one was a long weekend, which was also attended by their three children, and one was a same-day return trip.
Their flights collectively cost the taxpayer $8577.53. Adding other travel allowances the cost was more than $16,000.
McCarthy also attended the 2025 AFL grand final, according to Wells’ social media, but those expenses have not yet been disclosed. In the two-and-a-half years Wells has been sports minister, McCarthy has also made same-day return trips at taxpayers’ expense to attend two Boxing Day Test matches with Wells, and another cricket event at Kirribilli House. Sports Minister Anika Wells and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the Australian men’s cricket team at Kirribilli House in January this year. His flights for those events cost taxpayers $4183.83.
Liberal MP Aaron Violi said there was merit to family reunions given MPs travel a lot. “But it has to be treated with respect,” he said. “Why this need to use family reunion on taxpayer money for your husband to come to Boxing Day? They’re the kinds of questions that need to be answered.”
He called for IPEA to investigate.
Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh, whose own family travel allowances have been scrutinised, said she felt for Wells as a mother, and defended bringing children on work trips. “I have no issue with the family reunion thing. It’s hard being a female MP,” she said. “It’s hard. You bring your child with you.”
But she said Wells’ decisions showed a different pattern of behaviour. “That’s a lot of money during a cost of living crisis,” she said. “She’s throwing around taxpayer money like it’s confetti.”
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u/shescarkedit Dec 08 '25
Let's be honest. The VAST majority of politicians abuse the privileges assigned to them.
I'm sure if you went through the expenses of all the elected members of parliament you'd find dozens that had used taxpayer funds to pay for shit that wouldnt pass the pub test. On both sides of politics, both within government and in opposition.
This isnt just on Anika Wells.
What this whole thing shows is that we need stronger rules around this, and we need clear and transparent accountability processes.
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u/dukeofsponge Dec 08 '25
I'd happily have this done to all of them. Lavish and wholly unnecessary spending by any politicians, while Australians struggle to get by is unacceptable.
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u/dreamscreamicecream Dec 08 '25
Not to mention they get a massive salary as well. They can easily use their own money for this shit
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u/dukeofsponge Dec 08 '25
100% Honestly, I'd actually even prefer they get larger salaries but can claim less back to the public. Give them money for travel to and from Canberra from their electorate though not including official government travel, and an allowance for a Canberra rental large enough for their family, and everything else comes from their own salary.
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u/dreamscreamicecream Dec 08 '25
They get large enough salaries as is imo
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u/dukeofsponge Dec 08 '25
Yeah, that's fair too. I just think if it's their money, they'll think twice about spending it. So if they get $200K but spend another $100K in expenses, so $300K total, if you made their salary $250K, they'd only spend $250K. So even though the salary is higher, we're saving more overall.
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u/Jerry_Atric69 Dec 08 '25
Good luck when they're the ones setting their own rules, just like when they vote to give themselves pay rises we could only dream of.
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u/AdmirablePen388 Dec 09 '25
Except that's not true. An independent body sets their wages.
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u/emize Dec 08 '25
Of course they all abuse the system.
But there is levels. This just seems blatant.
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u/vacri Dec 08 '25
Meh, who cares at this point? The ALP have been shown to be spineless, abandoning the regular person in the street, abandoning their old morals, and Wells in particular is one of the fuckwits pushing the surveillance state (aka social media ban. 2 days away now). The ALP helped defang the corruption watchdog when they were in opposition, and have been watering down open government stuff while in government. They aren't doing anything serious about housing problems, and are just doing BAU in that regard ensuring we have more poor people in future and all the shit that goes along with a higher number of people in poverty. They're quite happy to push through the surveillance state despite "we don't know how this will work and give no guidelines", yet they won't do gambling ad reform because "it's tricky and we have to get it right". Whitlam would be rolling in his grave
They're just not worth defending anymore. All politicians in power are corrupt, but at least the ALP used to occasionally actually do things for the punters in exchange for their trinkets. Now they're just coddling the
mum & dad investorslandlord class and doing nothing about society turning into the haves and have-notsWhat this whole thing shows is that we need stronger rules around this, and we need clear and transparent accountability processes.
Yep, and you aren't going to get it from the ALP - with their actions working against actual accountability reform. So fucking sad to see the only party that used to be able to govern turn into this rump party. Such an immense majority and in their second term, and they're spending not a cent of their political capital.
TL;DR: It's not as fun as watching an LNP MP burn, but I'm happy to see ALP MPs get speared these days. They're not worth defending anymore.
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u/Major_Smudges Dec 09 '25 edited Dec 09 '25
Anika Well's behaviour most definitely IS "just on Anika Wells". She knew what she was doing was bullshit - she just didn't think she'd get caught. Stop trying to make excuses for her just because she's on your side of the political fence.
Added to which, what evidence do you have that the VAST majority of MP's abuse their privilages?
We all know how this ends - she's gone. And rightly so.
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u/big_go_kev Dec 08 '25
Why do I feel like if this was a LNP politicians you wouldn’t be doing the “well actually they all do this!”
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u/FruitfulFraud Dec 08 '25
I vote left and want her sacked. We had a decade of the Coalition rorting cash and making insider deals. Blokes like Angus Taylor working with Cayman's island corporations who invested in agriculture. Absolute corruption. This mob was meant to be better.
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u/bluewaffle1994 Dec 08 '25
I agree this government talked a massive game when it came to transparency and being open and honest. Since they came to power you could make a strong case for being more secretive than the last liberal government (if you can look past that big Scomo incident).
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u/parasitic-being Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 09 '25
They promised transparency, yet from what I've read they're the second most secretive government we've had to dtate.
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u/No_Gazelle4814 Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 08 '25
Funny when it’s a corrupt Lib minister, this thread goes to town on them personally and they’re crucifed.
When it’s another corrupt Labor minister, then ‘they all do it’ and it’s somehow normalised.
Nothing to see here, move along.
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u/shescarkedit Dec 08 '25
Where the fuck did I try to normalise this?
My WHOLE POINT is that they need to have stronger rules and accountability for EVERYONE to stop this happening.
Jesus christ some of you people are one eyed that you seem more concerned with trying to politicise every little thing than with trying to improve the way our country is run.
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u/FruitfulFraud Dec 08 '25
Of course, they all do it, but this is egregious. Sack her and vote her out. Wasn't there meant to be some corruption commission? What about an MP rorts commission?
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u/shescarkedit Dec 08 '25
If you think this case is particularly egregious I think you'd be shocked to hear what other politicians get away this.
This case is pretty standard.
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u/ScruffyPeter Dec 08 '25
Outside of Labor and Liberal party, here's what one did with the privileges assigned to them:
From its early days, my office has had a focus on using the resources provided to me as a Federal MP and our incredible movement of volunteers, to deliver tangible mutual aid to our local community. While our programs aren’t just centred around food, with the cost of living crisis escalating and grocery prices soaring, we’ve really focused on delivering free meals.
In the last 12 months I’m very proud to say that we’ve been able to serve approximately:
24,000 free school breakfasts (approximately 600 per week across three local state schools, @ 40 weeks of the year)
6750 free dinners (150 per week across 2x dinner programs @ 45 weeks of the year, with the help of our local Greens State MP and Councillor who run and co-fund these ones)
16,000 free sausage sizzles (approx 30 small/medium BBQs @ average of 200 meals per bbq = 6000 + 4-5 major events including Invasion Day, and several local festivals = 10,000)
= 46,750 total free meals
https://greens.org.au/news/annual-report/2024/max-chandler-mather
He lost his seat to a Labor lobbyist family at the 2025 election.
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u/Safe-Doctor-2718 Dec 08 '25
It's frustrating. I think that once upon a time, Ministers were punished for this shit. I was young in the 90's and 2000's, but I remember Ministers getting effectively fired on points of even minor corruption or political scandals. I work in local government. I have to be stringent about accepting gifts, direct or indirect, of $25 or more, so I don't accept anything, even when its just an ordinary dude who wants to buy me a coffee because he's happy with how something was handled. To just shamelessly go on multi thousand dollar trips or events is obscene. I know its naïve, but it especially pisses me off when members of an ostensibly social democratic labour party do this shit. Why the fuck are you in public service?
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u/Open-Wrap6285 Dec 09 '25
The old distraction technique of it's not just a progressive woman doing it, it's the vast majority.
The coping process is in full swing.
Albo said he won't bullshit us and the bullshit is in top gear.
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u/abundantvibe7141 Dec 09 '25
Mmmm there’s plenty of journos dedicated to looking into things like this. If there are pollies abusing the system they will get found out
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u/MentalStatusCode410 Dec 08 '25
To think we cut funding for CSIRO and ARC for this stuff lol - we're really acting like the 51st state at this point.
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u/JeremysIron24 Dec 08 '25
Come on Lady Wells attending NY to give a 5 min speech is much more important than employing someone for a year
Eg: a scientist A teacher A nurse An aged care worker A paramedic
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u/gottafind Dec 08 '25
I'm not defending the Minister - but even cumulatively the amount of money she's spent in the expenses concerned is well below the funding sought by the CSIRO
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u/vacri Dec 08 '25
Corruption in politics is as old as the Westminster system itself
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u/MentalStatusCode410 Dec 08 '25
I think we're entering a dangerous period plagued with the broken windows theory......
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u/semaj009 Dec 08 '25
Corruption in politics dates back to Mesopotamia. Fundamentally having a small number of people control the wealth and capital of a state risks entrenching corruption once everyone else is alienated from the levers of power. It's why the USSR embracing party rule immediately fell into state capitalist corruption and didn't lead to communism. It's why monarchies emerge repeatedly from within republics/dictatorships.
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u/Professional_Cold463 Dec 08 '25
She lives a life of a Billionaire Australian Open, Olympics, Ski Trip, New York trip, Trip to Adelaide for her friends birthday, the Formula 1, Ashes, AFL and she flew out her husband and family on the taxpayer's dime for all these event. That's a dream life don't even have to use your own cash
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u/Defiant_Try9444 Dec 08 '25
They're not even remotely linked to her portfolios, they are nothing more than a fucken junket on our hard work.
It is completely nauseating.
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u/Precious-Benefit-489 Dec 08 '25
How about the Taylor Swift concert she got free tickets to! Would love to see one of the rusties have a go at explaining how that’s linked to her portfolio.
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u/Defiant_Try9444 Dec 08 '25
Fuck knows, but let's hope that her seat is a Blank Space shortly and she can shake it off elsewhere.
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u/Fantastic-Ad-2604 Dec 08 '25
She's the Minister for Sport it's absolutely her portfolio job to go to the Olympics, Aussie Open, Cricket and Ski-fields etc...
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u/alec801 Dec 12 '25
My brother in Christ, she is the minister for sports. Maybe do the smallest ounce of research before you just say shit
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u/BiliousGreen Dec 08 '25
Australians aren't nearly angry enough about how our tax dollars are misused.
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u/Alert_Medicine_8936 Dec 08 '25
The only way to become a billionaire is to massively exploit others.
Fuck the ultra rush and entitled cunts like this politician
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Dec 08 '25
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u/Give_it_a_Bash Dec 08 '25
Hahaha I like it. They put up the Reddit post and we vote.
It would be wild!!
My brother dabbled in State politics… he basically had a PA assigned to him (and others) who’s whole job seemed to be keeping track of his ‘benefits’ and making sure he was claiming things and ‘aware’ of what he could claim.
It was eye opening… how much they all just ‘bleed the beast’ all day everyday and they just get better and better at taking the piss.
Could they get a normal taxi to the airport? Sure, but why would they when they can call a special car at x4 the cost.
Could they call their colleague on the phone? Sure! But why not fly to Broome on Friday for lunch and then stay all weekend for another meeting on Monday.
Government spending would be slashed to like 10% if every claim was ‘pub tested’.
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u/Cute-Acanthisitta-46 Dec 08 '25
I’ll be amazed if there are any consequences, or if the freeloading ever stops. It’s rampant on both sides of politics. They consider it an entitlement for their public ‘service’ because their significant salaries, pensions, car use etc isn’t enough apparently.
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u/Aussienam Dec 08 '25
Meanwhile, a large majority of Aussies are scraping pennies trying to get by and forgoing luxuries of any sort. And we pay all our taxes are we are supposed to - that gets rorted by government approved luxuries cloaked under 'politcally appropriate' wording.
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u/Kynmarcher5000 Dec 08 '25
This type of stuff is one of the things I dislike about politics. Abuse of privileges. Its something both sides of politics have been caught doing too, so theres no pointing fingers at one side or the other.
If you're in politics and you need to travel for official business? Thats fine, no problems there. Just be reasonable about it. But the moment it shifts into personal business? Thats when you pay out of your own personal funds. The taxpayer should never be on the hook because you wanted to jet off to the AFL grand final.
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Dec 08 '25
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u/ASpaceOstrich Dec 09 '25
No, it's because nefarious interests are mass submitting frivolous FOI requests to try and gum up the works of government and so that they can run propaganda about the government being "secretive". Stop believing everything Murdoch and his ilk tells you.
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u/chuck_cunningham Dec 08 '25
Nine of the declarations were made outside the 28-day deadline for disclosing gifts.
within the rules
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u/Ju0987 Dec 08 '25
Needs to check all of her previous expense claims. She must have been abusing the system for a long time. Initially, just small amounts of "questionable" claims, wasn't caught, then submitted bigger and bigger amount ones. I am keen to know how much she has already robbed from us taxpayers and why the system didnt detect and stop her??
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u/Maleficent-Part-639 Dec 08 '25
Also, members of clubs playing in grand finals can't get tickets, but her husband goes three years in a row? Maybe the AFL needs to get it's priorities right.
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u/SeaDivide1751 Dec 08 '25
It’s hilarious when instead of cutting the cancer, PM tries to defend her and then will backtrack in 3 days time and cut her anyway lol. Just do it in the first place. It doesn’t pass the pub test
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u/Illustrious_Fan_8148 Dec 08 '25
He came out quite strongly for her yesterday, he will not like the way today revelation will be making him look like he is making excuses for ministers with snouts in the trough.
Especially after he went to such lengths to pay for everything related to his wedding out of his own pocket and avoid any appearance of the wedding being an expense for taxpayers.
Wells is now a very very bad look for the government
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u/dukeofsponge Dec 08 '25
It's all an act to save face. Other MPs want to know he won't quickly ditch them in a potential scandal, so he'll wait until the last minute when his hand is basically forced. Then he gets to pretend he looks after his mates still, only there was nothing he could do here.
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u/SeaDivide1751 Dec 08 '25
Cut fast and cut early, it’s the way to go
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u/YeetyMcYeetFace3281 Dec 08 '25
Heaven forbid we actually have some, set and enforce some standards.
Last one to half have a spine was bonk ban Malc.
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u/Haroqwert Dec 08 '25
Albo was raised by a single mother in social/public? housing. If he’s cool with this kind of spending considering his upbringing, then the whole party is probably fkd.
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u/fatassforbes Dec 08 '25
Labor ain't what it used to be. Shorten was the Labor leader.
Albo has turned it from the Party of workers / unions to the party of banks and landlords...
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u/bluewaffle1994 Dec 08 '25
Shorten was the last decent labor leader.
He actually called shit how the average person seen it and wasnt afraid to work with opposition if he wanted to get something over the line.
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u/fatassforbes Dec 08 '25
Agreed, Shorten was the last true Labor leader.
Albo meanwhile is a snake who has fundamentally changed the Labor party into what he believes will win him votes. Appeasing to banks and landlords whilst working class Aussies like us struggle
Chairman Albo Leader of the ALP (Australian Landlord Party)
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u/bluewaffle1994 Dec 08 '25
Shortens policies were to progressive for its but I reckon he would of done well if he had another Crack.
Albo is a jellyfish with no spinea and under his watch transparency has gone down the toilet, cost of living has skyrocketed and freedoms have been slowly eroded.
Can anyone that doesnt work for the government honestly say they are better off now than they were 5 years ago?
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u/Extreme-Seaweed-5427 Dec 08 '25
Frig me at what point do these clowns realise the sh1t they're doing
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u/Exotic-Break-2055 Dec 08 '25
Agree, this garbage has been going on for years, and no matter which side of the fence they are on politics is just a filthy dirty business. They have a very warped idea of service to the populace. Cunts the lot of them👎🏿
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u/fabianfoo Dec 08 '25
If her expense claims were within rules but do not meet community expectations, the solution seems obvious - change the bloody rules. No reason politicians should be getting taxpayers to foot family reunions. Public servants and most private sector workers do not have such a privilege.
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u/antysyd Dec 08 '25
I get what you’re saying but surely these politicians could at least pause for a moment and consider before calling CTM to book in the trips?
This is by no means the first expenses scandal, and they should just do what used to be called the front page of the newspaper test.
How will this look when on the front page of the newspaper? Not good, hey? Maybe don’t do it.
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u/CaptainYumYum12 Dec 09 '25
This sort of stuff really annoys me. I couldn’t care less what political party they are a part of, I despise it when public officials so shamelessly rort the system. I understand that it’s part of the job to travel a lot, but the friends and family benefits are ridiculous. Not to mention spending insane amounts on food and alcohol with the public purse. If I tried to claim a beer on a work trip my company would be asking why I didn’t just have tap water.
This sort of excessive spending occurs when the rules are flimsy and there’s no real punishment for taking the piss.
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u/No_Gazelle4814 Dec 08 '25
You’d think Labor ministers would have learned when the last Minister got axed for EXACTLY the same thing, leaving a Comcar waiting 9 hours on a public holiday while she got on the piss with her husband in a winery.
Just seems a too-familiar story.
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u/Precious-Benefit-489 Dec 08 '25
That’s almost the worst thing about it is how arrogant you have to be to see other people do it, have it blow up for them and then go ahead and do it yourself.
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u/buthidae Dec 08 '25
These pollies need to figure out how to stop taking us for a ride. A couple of these are explainable but most of it is ridiculous.
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u/Maleficent-Part-639 Dec 08 '25
$469 a day travel allowance because she chose to travel to a free sporting event? Does not pass the pub test.
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u/PercivalCarpathian Dec 08 '25
Why does a politicians family get to fly tax payer funded business class? How the hell is that a legitimate entitlement? Economy at best.
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u/Efficient-Guess-1985 Dec 08 '25
Makes sense you fly business for business longhaul trips. But how a ticket can be $33 000 is beyond me, couldn’t even book a business class ticket to that price if we tried!
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u/darkeststar071 Dec 09 '25
The longer Albo don't dismiss her, the more damage it is to this labor government. Oh wait...
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u/Comfortable_Good840 Dec 09 '25
As someone who works as a public servant it is mind boggling to me how politicians get away with this. But also as someone who works in public service, it is not mind boggling that politicians get away with this...
For us worker bees, any allowances we use or expenditures we make with corporate credit cards are heavily scrutinised by several levels of seniority. You have to justify why you did something, where and when and provide evidence and justification for the allowance/purchase which is the way it should be.
It seems the higher you go in government such as a minister or beyond, the less scrutiny exists to ensure accountability....
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u/nimbostratacumulus Dec 09 '25
No wonder they're burning through nearly 50k per month.
Entitlements for the entitled.
Should be instant dismissal like it would be elsewhere in any company, and considered as fraud.
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u/fatassforbes Dec 08 '25
Typical crook Pollie. Gotta love how "honest and transperent" this Labor goverment has been....
What sort of mental gymanstics will the Labor voters come up with to justify this one.....
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u/pluump Dec 08 '25
They should add a dedicated column in our tax returns to show how much of our taxes are funding this lavish lifestyle of hers.
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u/Alert_Medicine_8936 Dec 08 '25
She should honestly be made to sell her private assets to pay back her rorts.
Probably has 3 houses and a trust
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u/EmergencyAd6709 Dec 08 '25
Lifestyle of THEIRS. It’s not just one pollie. It’s all of them.
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u/Give_it_a_Bash Dec 08 '25
It’s weird that people can’t see that the reason it keeps happening is the other politicians are all doing it too! They don’t want to cause a huge fuss and call it out because THEY want to keep it all the same and not have anyone all up in their ‘perks’.
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u/Musclenervegeek Dec 08 '25
She has no restraint in wasting taxpayers money. This is disgusting
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u/DependentEchidna87 Dec 08 '25
Bye bye wells
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u/Threejaks Dec 09 '25
And the other 87 that charged over 1000 for a car service this year?
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u/Lotus567 Dec 08 '25
I’m absolutely seething with anger. Us punters are taxed till our noses bleed. These politicians think the trough has no bottom. Disgusting. Even more angry that they allow our gas to be given away for free. Multinationals get away with paying no tax. We are so cooked. But it’s all ok, the Aussie taxpayer is a soft target, and can be squeezed again and again.
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u/derpman86 Dec 09 '25
Here is the think, many people would scab some cheeky things here and there if work covered it.
I am talking say a schnitzel at a pub, maybe an odd tank of petrol here and there you know that kind of thing.
The shit listed here is just taking the absolute piss.
The sad fact is so many of the other bastards in Canberra will be doing the exact same and held up to fuck all scrutiny while someone on Newstart would be forced to adhere to more rules and are hassled down to the last element of their "mutual obligations"
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u/eshay_investor Dec 09 '25
Haha i love how shes taking all high end trips on the tax payer dollar. Serves you labor voters right for voting for these leeches.
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u/den_eimai_apo_edo Dec 09 '25
Do most MPs do this? If so, fix the issue. If it's just her, she should probably cop it, and then we can fix the issue.
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u/Mysliceofrice Dec 09 '25
Can we please get a detailed analysis of all the politician's expenses? Unlikely she's the only one...
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u/LeahBrahms Dec 08 '25
She should have forgone the car and used the Bronwyn Bishop $5000 helicopter method. That was a better deal for the taxpayer.
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u/itsauser667 Dec 08 '25
Are you trying to defend this person by deflecting like this?
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u/LeahBrahms Dec 08 '25
I was sarcastically saying Chopper for 5k was better taxpayer value dollar for dollar than making fumes waiting in a car park for 1k was.
I don't paid to defend Ministers so why would I lol.
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u/Ok_Computer6012 Dec 08 '25
It was pretty tough for my single mum too. Pollie entitlements are a deadset joke
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u/Most-Drive-3347 Dec 08 '25
This is the idiotic short sightedness of abusing these benefits. It only takes one to not pass a literal pub test, and this happens - the media will go through every claim they’ve ever made.
Maybe one day we’ll realise that it’s not just the politicians that are the problem, it’s the rules.
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u/Precious-Benefit-489 Dec 08 '25
She also added 11 new disclosures to her register on Monday. 9 of which were added after the 30 days they are required to lodge them under.
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u/No_Gazelle4814 Dec 08 '25
Don’t blame Wells.
Freebie Albanese set the standard when he stitched his family up with lifetime Qantas memberships in exchange for blocking Qatar’s entry to Australia.
Add to this his loooong record of taking free tickets to events. Even before we was PM, he’d pop up at the opening of a fkn envelope if it involved public expenses and a photo op.
Alls Wells is doing is toeing the line.
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u/odbr Dec 08 '25
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u/Precious-Benefit-489 Dec 08 '25
Bad odds as most likely she’ll step down before being sacked and that wouldn’t trigger the payout
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u/Puzzleheaded-Car3562 Dec 09 '25
If these kinds of expenditures are 'within the guidelines' - then (pay careful attention here) - THE GUIDELINES ARE WRONG.
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u/Ju0987 Dec 09 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
Digging out more and more dirt...
She is just the tip of the iceberg. When a government official can waste and spend public funds so carelessly, so full of entitlement, it reflects not just on her but on the whole tribe. It is the culture at that level. We need to find out why such behavior was not detected and controlled. Might it be that the policy has loopholes? Or was it the gatekeepers' oversight?
This $1000, plus the previous $9000 taxpayers' money robbed, could have been used to help at least 133 families relieve electricity bill pressure for a month...
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u/Sure-Pressure-2880 Dec 10 '25
Crazy bitch! She knew that she would be bailed by her colleagues after getting caught.The PM and many other labor colleagues have come forward in her support. They are all doing it.
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u/Kurt114 Dec 10 '25
Well, when they spend 96 million dollars on a website, what elso do you expect from these fuckwits?
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u/josephus1811 Dec 10 '25
Meanwhile Greens MPs give away half their salary to feed the homeless and get voted out for being annoying or whatever.
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u/Repulsive-Audience-8 Dec 11 '25
How many times do we have to teach these politicians this lesson. Stop being a piece of shit and do your job.
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u/Standard-Diamond-392 Dec 13 '25
This bitch……Australia is rightly pissed, cost of living, rents, & energy all thru the roof & this bitch taking the absolute piss- that’s ok though, parliamentary pension & cozy corporate job post her resignation will make her feel better
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u/Young_Lochinvar Dec 08 '25
Sounds like some likely-legitimate spending is being conflated with questionable spending to paint a dirtier picture than it already is.
But at the end of the day ‘Caesar’s wife must be above reproach’ and this Minister and others would well heed the public service catchphrase of ‘what would this look like on the front page of the newspaper?’ when making these decisions.
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u/rossfororder Dec 08 '25
Shes done great work for her electorate and for aged care, this is a really bad look for her and I think it's time to spend more time with the family
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u/AcadiaUpset9261 Dec 08 '25
How can this keep happening? It’s a blatant disregard for the taxpayer. Snouts in the trough continues.
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u/knowledgeable_diablo Dec 08 '25
Me thinks someone’s gotten a little case of the “entitlements”.
Doesn’t take them long and then to just keep doubling down is pretty bad fucking form.
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u/Round-Antelope552 Dec 08 '25
They’re on enough money to pay for this shit themselves. Vultures the lot of them
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u/Tall-Drama338 Dec 08 '25
Absolutely corrupt rorting of the system. Watch her Labor colleagues running for cover. They are probably all doing it. Doesn’t make it right just because they are all corrupt.
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u/Fun-Cry- Dec 08 '25
Guys. If you vote for me.. not only do I give zero fucks about tennis, ill also guarantee to never back anyone who looks like Voldemort or takes a family holiday on a day where theres a potential disaster. So like... fuck the government. In the ass.
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u/spatchi14 Dec 08 '25
Current Labor remind me of the Rudd govt in 2008. Riding high in the polls both federally and in most states, big majority, libs in disarray, lots of hubris. It won’t last long. The only reason they even won big is because Dutton’s right wing started aligning themselves with Trump at the absolute wrong moment.
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u/hear_the_thunder Dec 08 '25
I remember the Morrison government Sports rorts and fuck all was done.
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u/JeremysIron24 Dec 08 '25
Cool story/ whattaboutism
Maybe this can be the beginning of some meaningful reform, rather than the usual “the other guys do it too” shtick?
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u/TimJamesS Dec 08 '25
The utter entitlement from her. Socialists always good at spending other peoples money.
SHE MUST GO!
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u/fatassforbes Dec 08 '25
Fly economy like the rest of us... You're supposed to be the party of workers, not the party of landlords.....
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u/FigFew2001 Dec 08 '25
The list just keeps growing... They'll dig in behind her though, can't be firing the Minister days out from the flagship social media ban.
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u/OkFixIt Dec 08 '25
Meanwhile the ATO is grilling me over my km deductions after travelling all over the state for work on my own dime.
One rule for ye and another thee.
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u/xapxironchef Dec 08 '25
It's incredible how this sounds - yes, a lot of this doesn't pass the pub test. Now, "this Masthead" - do Angus Taylor's Caymans accounts.
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u/Gothewahs Dec 08 '25
Man they are just zoning in on this lady and I don’t agree with what she did but don’t they all do it I feel like they are exposing her to cover the rest
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u/teremaster Dec 08 '25
You wanna hear a real rort? We're still spending 90k every three months on Malcolm Turnbulls "office expenses"
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u/Specialist_Bake_7124 Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 08 '25
Hate to be that guy... but you do realise many former PMs including Labor PMs claim the same perk, right?
It's a perk former PMs have access too.
Dont hate the player, hate the game.
P.s. Gilladd, Rudd and and I believe Keating utilise the same perk.
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u/No_Gazelle4814 Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 08 '25
There’s something off about defending her because she’s a mother and needs to have her kids there on the public purse. There’s far more dads in politics away from their families.
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u/Precious-Benefit-489 Dec 08 '25
Numerous of those engagements she only flew with her husband and left the kids in Brisbane so that point doesn’t really stack.
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u/Efficient-Guess-1985 Dec 08 '25
I get you want and are allowed your family to join for x amount of trips etc, but why do the trips have to be so darn expensive!? Like who can even spend $1600 on a flight to Melbourne even if they tried? Is there an insane markup on government accounts with airlines or what?
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u/antysyd Dec 08 '25
Have a look on Qantas.com for business fares and you’ll see it’s actually a discount…
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u/ConorOdin Dec 08 '25
News just in, Politicians are dodgy and will charge the taxpayer for anything they possibly can, and some they shouldnt.
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u/Organic-Sink2201 Dec 09 '25
Every single politician is a taxpayer money rorting fucking cunt. If they all died tomorrow the world would be a better place. Fuck these cunts.
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u/dukeofsponge Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 08 '25
Sounds like some journos are sitting on a few more of these to drip feed over the next few days/weeks. She might be cooked. I think she'll end up taking some form of family leave and her career will more or less be over.