Victorian MPs have charged taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars for overseas travel for “electorate business”, with a warning from integrity experts that MPs must “pass the pub test” and not exploit the payment during a cost-of-living crisis.
Voters consistently name cost of living their biggest concern and Treasurer Tim Pallas has already foreshadowed that his 10th budget in May will be “very, very tight”.
An ABC analysis of MPs’ travel claims lodged with parliament for 2023 shows the majority did not access an annual international travel allowance of $10,765, which is paid to perform public duties overseas.
But dozens did.
In the past financial year, parliament paid…
