Labor MP Emma Husar has defended a taxpayer-funded trip to Brisbane, detailing the work events she attended while there and claiming her tickets to a Bruno Mars concert were a birthday gift from a friend.
Ms Husar is already under fire over a separate internal investigation into allegations of bullying inside her Sydney electorate office. Labor leader Bill Shorten has declined to comment until the report is finished.
On Wednesday, of the taxpayer-funded flights and pictures from the concert, which the backbencher attended with a high-ranking police officer from Western Sydney.
“Of course no work expenses were used to attend a concert. Any assertion otherwise is preposterous,” a spokesperson for Ms Husar told SBS News.
Earlier on the day of the concert, March 14, she sat on a parliamentary committee hearing in Cairns that was probing the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Federal Labor MP Emma Husar has defended her trip. Source: AAP
The following day, Labor says Ms Husar was meeting with domestic violence organisations: DV Connect and the Micah Project.
“These meetings were relevant to Emma’s role as secretary of the Opposition Status of Women Caucus Committee and noting her involvement in domestic violence policy development,” the spokesperson said.
“The concert tickets were a birthday gift from a friend.”
Labor deputy Tanya Plibersek said the Daily Telegraph’s reporting was “inaccurate” – although Labor accepts the flights and hotel accommodation were paid for by the taxpayer.
“It is absolutely vital that every single dollar of taxpayer funding is used appropriately. There is no question of that. So if there are any issues like this to investigate, they should be looked at properly,” Ms Plibersek said.
It is common practice for politicians to attend cultural events like concerts or sporting games when they are travelling around Australia on government business. They are entitled to claim the travel expenses as long as they have “parliamentary business” in the area.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has previously been criticised for attending the AFL grand final almost every year. She defended the trip by saying the AFL was a “significant international event”.
The Coalition is yet to comment on Ms Husar’s trip to Brisbane.
