UPDATE: Communications Minister Anika Wells is under fire following revelations of a taxpayer-funded trip costing $3,681.82 during which she attended a friend’s birthday party. This news comes just days after reports surfaced detailing her team’s nearly $100,000 spending on flights related to social media ban events in New York.
The three-day trip to Adelaide, which took place from June 6 to June 8, 2023, included official meetings with state ministers and federal colleagues. However, Wells also celebrated the birthday of Connie Blefari, an adviser to former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The details were first reported by the Australian Financial Review.
Wells charged taxpayers for various expenses during the trip, including $2,683.68 for return flights from Brisbane to Adelaide, $572.14 for official car services, and $426 on accommodation. Notably, no travel expenses were charged on June 7, the day of the party.
A spokesperson for Wells stated, “The minister’s travel was in line with the guidelines.” Under federal law, parliamentarians may use public resources primarily for parliamentary business, with a mandate to ensure “value for money” in their expenditures. Violating these regulations may lead to penalties of up to 25 percent of the misused public funds.
This latest incident echoes past controversies, including a decade-old case where several MPs repaid expenses for non-official events, such as family vacations. In 2013, Gillard’s travel to Byron Bay for an official meeting coincided with a staffer’s wedding, which was deemed within the rules. Similarly, there is currently no indication that Wells violated any guidelines during her trips.
Wells’ official diary indicates she met with state ministers Emily Bourke and Chris Picton, who is married to Blefari, along with a meeting with Trade Minister Don Farrell’s chief of staff, Ben Rillo. However, several entries from her diary during the Adelaide trip remain redacted.
On Wednesday, Wells declined to comment on a separate $190,000 trip to New York aimed at promoting the government’s teen social media ban, highlighting her focus on protecting Australian children at the United Nations.
Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson criticized Wells, calling it “extraordinary” that she has not sufficiently explained the costs associated with her New York travel. This scrutiny intensified after an Optus Triple Zero outage linked to three deaths occurred shortly before Wells’ overseas trip. Henderson stated, “The Prime Minister needs to explain why he approved this travel and how it could be justified as value for money.”
During her time in New York, Wells charged taxpayers approximately $70,000 for hosting an event, while she, a staff member, and a public servant incurred nearly $100,000 on flights to attend the function at the United Nations.
Wells defended her travel expenses, stating that her flights were not first class and that the government remains transparent about such expenditures. “We will disclose information about that trip through the usual processes,” she asserted at the National Press Club.
The financial details of the New York trip reveal that Wells’ return commercial flights cost $34,426.58, while her deputy chief of staff spent $38,165 and another staff member incurred $22,236.31. Accommodation and transportation costs for the trio in New York totaled $24,275, with the government event costing an additional $69,500.
As the political fallout continues, many are calling for further accountability and transparency regarding ministerial expenditures. This story remains developing, and the implications for Wells and her office are yet to unfold.
