Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dodged questions on whether politicians’ use of family travel perks should be pared back as under-fire Communications and Sport Minister Anika Wells refuses to admit her use of entitlements was a bad look.
Two Coalition MPs, opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh and Simon Kennedy, have called for the rules that govern the family reunion entitlements to be looked at.
Minister for Communications and Minister for Sport Anika Wells and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
After days of reports on Wells using the entitlements to bring relatives to sports events at which she was working as minister for sport, information has come to light showing Greens senators Sarah Hanson-Young and Mehreen Faruqi using the perks to bring family members to music festivals and pro-Palestine rallies.
Albanese conducted a morning broadcast blitz before an event at Kirribilli House to promote the government’s teen social media ban, which comes into effect on Wednesday, but his spruiking of the initiative was complicated by the saga surrounding Wells’ use of taxpayer funds.
The prime minister ducked a series of questions on whether the entitlements system should be reviewed, instead seeking to turn the tables on the Coalition by repeatedly referring to Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s controversial use of funds that led to her resignation as health minister in 2017.
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“These rules were put in place, of course, under the former government after the now opposition leader travelled to the Gold Coast, and there was the issue of her purchase of real estate, so she ended up having to resign [as health minister], and these rules were put in place,” Albanese said on ABC TV. Ley has not been leading the charge against Wells, leaving the task to her shadow ministers.
Albanese defended the family reunion rules on the basis that they allowed parents with young families to be involved in politics.
“The parliament has changed, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “Minister Wells, for example, has three young children. She gave birth to twins while in office. I think it’s a good thing that parliament is more representative than it used to be. People have a long time away from their families, from their children and from their partners.”
