EXCLUSIVE
Opposition leader Peter Dutton charged taxpayers $63,015 for three private jet flights during a two-day trip to regional towns that are “struggling”, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
Documents released by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) this week revealed Dutton billed taxpayers $21,005 on September 25 for a flight from Brisbane to Moree in northern New South Wales.
The Liberal leader then charged taxpayers the same amount twice more while flying from Moree to Dubbo and from Dubbo to Newcastle on September 26.
Making the same regional trip via a commercial airline such as Regional Express or QantasLink would cost approximately US$460 per flight.
During a photo opportunity in Moree with Mark Coulton, the Member for Parkes, Mr Dutton described how the regions were “having a hard time because of Labor’s cost of living crisis” and criticised the Albanese government’s farming policies.
‘In a cost of living crisis, removing water from agricultural production will only further increase Australian families’ grocery bills.’
The revelation comes just weeks after Dutton came under fire for claiming $23,000 in travel expenses after booking a private jet from Canberra to Tamworth to speak at a News Corp event and, again, for criticising the cost of living crisis under Labor.
Peter Dutton is pictured with Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price in Dubbo in September, after taking two of his three private jet flights.
Mr Dutton is pictured with locals in Moree in September, after spending $21,005 on a private jet flight.
In Dubbo, Mr Dutton met Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (then the face of the No Indigenous Voice to Parliament campaign) and nationalist leader David Littleproud.
Later that day, he flew from Dubbo to Newcastle and spent two days talking to locals before taking a commercial flight back to Brisbane for $362 on September 27.
During the same quarter, Mr Dutton charged taxpayers $32,740 for a five-day trip to New Delhi for the India-Australia Strategic Partnership summit, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She dined with billionaire steel magnate Naveen Jindal and wore traditional clothes on temple visits and while cooking naan with locals.
Other expenses included $36,977 for scheduled transportation between major cities, $10,389 in travel expenses for 28 nights, $3,848 for automobile-related expenses, and an exorbitant $116,911 in printing and communications.
Travel expenses for 34 of its employees cost taxpayers $448,999.
During the same quarter, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – dubbed “Airbus Albo” by critics – spent $298,899 on international flights to Fiji, Thailand, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, the UK, Japan, Qatar, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the US, among others.
Peter Dutton is pictured with Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and National leader David Littleproud during his $63,000 trip in September.
Daily Mail Australia has learned that Mr Dutton’s office has been unable to find commercial flights available for the time of his trip. He is entitled to charter flights as leader of the opposition.
He travelled to regional areas to meet with small business owners and indigenous groups in relation to the La Voz referendum, which failed in October.
Labour MP Julian Hill said: ‘Peter Dutton’s hypocrisy is unbelievable.
“He is the first to appear on television and criticise the Prime Minister’s official trips. However, when he is not on television, he is the first to hop on a private jet for publicity visits.”
A recent Newspoll survey shows The Liberal-National Coalition has overtaken the Labor Party in New south Waleswhere his primary vote increased by two points, reaching 40 percent for the first time.
The Labour Party has moved up one point to 33 per cent, meaning that The government could lose two seats in the state in the next elections.
The Coalition has also increased its lead in Queensland and is gaining ground on Labor in Victoria and South Australia, where Labor still leads.