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GREENS SENATOR Sarah Hanson-Young claimed over $2400 in taxpayer expenses to travel to Byron Bay on the weekend of last year’s Splendour in the Grass festival.
A total of $1032 in “electorate business” travel allowance for the period July 21-24 was revealed in a new Finance Department report on parliamentary entitlements claimed over the period from July to December 2016.
As well, the senator claimed a $65.50 Comcar to the Adelaide airport, a domestic airfare of $646 to fly from Adelaide to Sydney and Sydney to Coolangatta on July 21, car costs of $135 between July 21 and 25, and a $545 flight from Coolangatta to Sydney on July 25.
Comment has been sought from Senator Hanson-Young, who did not immediately respond.
However a check of the senator’s Twitter feed showed she spoke at a forum about the film Chasing Asylum alongside the film’s director Eva Orner.
She also took part in an ABC Q&A program which was webcast.
Neither Labor MP Terri Butler nor Liberal MP Andrew Laming who were also on the program, but hail from Queensland, claimed expenses.
But Ms Butler said it was not uncommon for MPs to claim Q&A attendance as “electorate business”.
Under the rules, members of parliament can legitimately claim taxpayer-funded allowances – up to a maximum of 10 overnight stays – for travel outside their electorates on “electorate business” such as meetings and conferences.
Senator Hanson-Young also claimed “electorate business” travel allowance for visits to Sydney and Perth, totalling $1593.