Prime Minister Tony Abbott says MPs can travel by car to fundraisers

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Thursday that he has no problem if MPs take public funded cars to fundraisers but hiring a helicopter for the purpose would be considered a luxury, as in case of former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop.

On the other hand, Opposition leader Bill Shorten has also defended the use of entitlements by Labor MPs at the ALP national conference. PM Abbott has defended the taxpayer-funded travels of his MPs by pointing out that they have political, governmental and parliamentary responsibilities to take care of. “The public should be prepared to fund what is reasonably necessary for politicians to do their job properly,” he told 3AW radio on Thursday. These reasonably necessary entitlements of the politicians include research support, office and staff along with travel.

Abbott said he doesn’t think it is wrong to take a Comcar to attend a fundraiser program of the party when asked about it. “Should you use a helicopter to get there? Well, plainly that's outside community expectations.”

News Corp reported that MPs have spent a minimum of AU$13,600 over the years to attend Labor’s Light on the Hill dinner in Bathurst, which is held annually to commemorate the legacy of Ben Chifley. For this year, Labor is reportedly charging AU$85 a ticket to the dinner, which will have senior Opposition frontbencher Anthony Albanese as the star attraction of the event. Shorten said it was part of his duties to attend the event, which he described as a public lecture.

According to Skynews, Labor is backing the prime minister’s move of getting the travel entitlement system reviewed by finance department head David Tune and Remuneration Tribunal chief John Conde. A businessman and two former federal politicians would be appointed by the prime minister for assisting Tune and Conde. The PM will request the panel to consider whether MPs will be entitled to fly in economy class for all kinds of travel.

Meanwhile, Mr Abbott defended fundraiser programs, saying that while such events raise funds for local parties, they also provide opportunity to learn more about the way the country works. Federal Labor frontbencher Tony Burke has submitted his claims for scrutiny to the finance department.

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