Good morning. Horse races, big footy matches and international cricket games – just a few of the sporting fixtures that some Australian MPs attended on taxpayer-funded trips that coincided with travel for parliamentary duties, Guardian Australia’s reporting has found.
MPs from across the political spectrum defended these trips – reported in parliamentary expenses records from October-December 2022 – as being within the official guidelines, claiming the sporting events helped them connect with stakeholders. But the group Transparency International said sending the bill to taxpayers was a failure to meet community expectations.
