NSW Finance Minister Greg Pearce Accused Of UsingTaxpayers Money For HIs Travels
New allegations of funds misuse is being thrown at New South Wales Finance Minister Greg Pearce as a Sydney newspaper now details his parliamentary travels that allegedly coincided with sporting events across the country.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Mr. Pearce could have spent at least $9,000 for a number of trips he made to attend major sports events around Australia.
The report comes a week after an inquiry was initiated by Premier Barry O'Farrell, seeking to verify claims that the minister may have broken travel regulations by using taxpayers money in a recent trip to Canberra.
New South Wales opposition Walt Secord said it is important to let the truth out in this issue as the public deserves to know where their taxes go. The taxpayers, according to Mr. Secord, have the right to know if their taxes are being used to fund parliamentary travels that double as pleasure trips.
"Mr Pearce and the Premier have now both have serious questions to answer, and the Premier needs to say why he is not removing Mr Pearce from his office," he said.
"The fact is that the community also has a right to know if public money has been used for interstate travel."
The Daily Telegraphs' report includes Mr. Pearce's alleged trips to sports events like the Melbourne Cup, AFL Grand Final and Australian Open. The minister had earlier denied that he travelled to Gold Coast last year to attend a V8 event.
The move to look into Mr. Pearce's travels came also days after he was accused of attending a parliament session under the influence of alcohol. The minister had been warned publicly by the Premier due to the allegation.
Meanwhile, the office of Mr. Pearce released a statement lending clarification to the issue. The statement claimed there was no irregularity in the number of sports and cultural trips of the minister as this is common among most MPs.
Mr. Pearce's spokesperson said the minister often works on weekends and takes trips out of Sydney, but added that these travels are within ministerial guidelines.
The statement added that the minister "prefers to group a number of engagements on longer trips to maximise value for taxpayers and best utilise the time."
The minister's spouse, and also the staff on official trips, is allowed to travel with the minister, according to the statement.