Politicians of all stripes have misused taxpayer money at times, but that hasn't stopped federal MPs from exploiting their opponents' missteps.
The coalition added to the long legacy earlier in September, launching a website it claims highlights government waste and inappropriate spending by Labor.
It did not go unnoticed that the Liberal MP who launched the website, South Australia's James Stevens, had previously billed taxpayers more than $300 for Uber Eats while serving as a state political adviser.
Mr Stevens said it was an accident and the funds had been repaid.
Sports rorts, VIP aircraft scandals, the sandwich shop affair, ChopperGate and expenses scandals have become part of the political lexicon.
Australian National University political historian Joshua Black said while there had always been scandals involving the misuse of funds, MPs might be more attuned to how spending is perceived due to social media and faster news cycles.
"There's huge concern for the electorate at large, and over the last 30 years there have been measures to deal with conflicts of interest, whether it's state-based commissions or more recently with the NACC (National Anti-Corruption Commission)," he told AAP.
"It's easier to get a scandal up and running now than say 60 or 70 years ago, and once it's running, it self perpetuates in the media ecology."
Dr Black said the repercussions of spending scandals had changed, with MPs previously suffering greater consequences.
Chief among them was the original sports rorts scandal during the Keating government, during which then-sports minister Ros Kelly came under fire for allocating grants to marginal electorates.
Ms Kelly resigned from her position, and eventually parliament altogether.
However, a similar scandal over sporting grants in 2020 involving then-coalition minister Bridget McKenzie ended with her resigning from cabinet but remaining in politics.
"Sports rorts is almost unparalleled because we have the same scandal on repeat 30 years apart, and it's a fascinating case study in the shifting perspectives of community attitudes and media tolerance for misuse of public money," Dr Black said.
There was a large drop in support for Harold Holt's government in 1967 after it was revealed VIP aircraft were being misused.
"Harold Holt, intentionally or otherwise, misled parliament about the misuse of expenses," Dr Black said.
"This was an extraordinary scandal and dramatically undermined the government after a very handsome victory in the 1966 election.
"It's unlikely the Holt government would have survived unscathed at the next election."
Dr Black said oppositions would always try and expose rivals to highlight perceived flaws - something unlikely to change before the next election.
"The rhetoric of waste and mismanagement has been incredibly effective when weaponised by the Liberals in the last few decades, certainly during the Rudd-Gillard government," he said.
"On the Labor side, the attacks tend to involve the assumption of unfairness or the entrenchment of privilege."
