Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has come under fire after a report revealed she billed taxpayers nearly $1,000 to attend her son's wedding in Tasmania. Parliamentary expense records show McKenzie charged $853.52 for a four-day trip in February 2023, including flights and accommodation.
Details of the Expenses
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, after appearing at a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on February 16, McKenzie flew to Melbourne and then immediately boarded a flight to Launceston, charging taxpayers $328.99. She also claimed $317 for one night's accommodation in Launceston. Her son's wedding took place at a vineyard in Sidmouth, about 35 kilometres north-west of Launceston, on February 18. The following Monday, McKenzie charged $207.53 for a return flight to Melbourne, although this expense did not appear on her public expenditure record until more than a year later.
McKenzie's Defence
A spokesperson for McKenzie argued that the bookings were made in accordance with parliamentary rules as part of a multi-state campaign to expose Labor's budget cuts to infrastructure. The spokesperson stated that McKenzie undertook legitimate activity as shadow infrastructure minister to highlight cuts to Tasmanian road funding disclosed during Senate estimates. Her office also claimed that the senator had repaid the Devonport-to-Melbourne return trip following the wedding.
Previous Controversies
This is not the first time McKenzie has faced scrutiny over expenses. In 2024, she apologised for failing to declare 16 undisclosed flight upgrades with Qantas, including five personal flights to or from New Zealand between 2016 and 2018. She also billed taxpayers nearly $30,000 for accommodation, flights, and chauffeur services to attend 21 sporting events, despite losing the sports portfolio in 2019.
Salary and Hypocrisy Allegations
According to Remuneration Tribunal records, federal MPs had a base salary of $217,060 in February 2023, with a 25 per cent bonus for a shadow minister, bringing McKenzie's pre-tax salary to $264,062 a year. The revelations come just months after McKenzie called for Communications Minister Anika Wells to step down over her travel expenses, which included a $190,000 trip to the United Nations. McKenzie criticised Wells, saying, 'What you've got with this minister is that that was an incredibly lavish spend, to spend six and a half minutes on stage for the United Nations in the middle of the Triple Zero crisis happening here at home.'
The Daily Mail has contacted McKenzie for comment.
