Anthony Albanese has responded after it emerged the Prime Minister had racked up a $3.8 million expenses bill over a one-year period.
The exorbitant sum was revealed following an analysis of the most recent data from the independent parliamentary expenses authority.
The Daily Telegraph It was reported that $3.8 million of taxpayers’ money had been spent on staff, travel and office costs during the year to the end of June.
Around $2.5 million was spent on travel expenses for its 61 employees, while $102,000 was spent on Comcars, $896,000 on international travel and $253,000 on printing and communications.
The revelation came after Albanese acknowledged that many Australians were struggling during the cost of living crisis.
The Prime Minister was questioned about the spending during a press conference in Perth on Wednesday and said the data was “coming out like clockwork”.
“If they think the Prime Minister of Australia should drive himself, they should say so,” he said.
‘In today’s world we need security and we need these things to happen, and I think Australians know that.
Premier Anthony Albanese has defended his taxpayer-funded spending bill, which totalled more than $3.8 million over the past year, saying he would “rather drive himself”.
“I think we should, whenever possible, of course, minimize spending.”
Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance president Brian Marlow took issue with the massive spending report.
“When the Prime Minister says we’re all having a hard time… he means everyone except him and his staff,” he said.
“The private sector is going backwards. If we compare what the Prime Minister says with what he does, he no longer passes the public test.”
Mr Albanese’s office said “all expenditure is in accordance with the relevant rules and guidelines administered by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority”.
The prime minister was responding to a question from reporters on Tuesday about whether the cost of living crisis is as severe today as it was in the 1960s.
Mr Albanese said growing up in the 1960s in a council house with a single mother was “pretty tough”.
“People who are having a hard time are having a hard time and they deserve respect, and they deserve respect, more than games. I understand that people are having a hard time,” he said.
‘Throughout our history, from time to time, there will be people in the community who do very wrong, and my thoughts will be with them.
“Like other politicians, and dare I say it, like high-level journalists, we are in a privileged position. We accept that.
The revelations about his spending came after Mr Albanese expressed his solidarity with Australians who are struggling.
‘I grew up in a home where every dollar mattered, with a mother who received a disability pension and struggled every two weeks to be able to pay what she earned.
“I know what it’s like to have a bad time.”
Despite rising to a salary of just under $600,000, Albanese said he was still accessible and interacted regularly with Australians “every day”.
“I walk through supermarkets, I walk through shopping malls and that’s part of the way I stay in touch with the concerns that are out there,” he said.
“And I know people are having a hard time.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton racked up spending of $2.8 million over the same 12-month period.
