Mrs Bishop bowed to pressure on Thursday and decided to reimburse the $5227.27 she claimed for a November flight from Melbourne to the Clifton Springs Golf Club.
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Earlier on Thursday, Treasurer Joe Hockey called on Mrs Bishop to explain why she cost taxpayers more than $5000 to travel 80km for a Liberal Party event at a golf club.
She chartered the helicopter to attend a Liberal fundraiser for a state election candidate, despite the trip by auto taking only about an hour.
She’s also facing criticism for spending $300,000 on travel in a year. “These charters can be aircraft, helicopters or other vehicles”, a spokesman said.
The leader of opposition business, Tony Burke, said Bishop “should provide a copy of the form that she signed confirming this helicopter ride to a golf club was for official business”.
The office holder must certify that “knowingly giving false or misleading information is a serious offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995” and that they “travelled on the charter and it was provided for official purposes”.
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We all know people can make honest mistakes but you don’t accidentally get on to a helicopter and turn up at a Liberal Party fundraiser…
the government needs to release this document for us to work out exactly what it is that Bronwyn Bishop has claimed she has done”. “What’s important here is – frankly – culture and honesty”, Mr Bowen said.
This is a shameful abuse of taxpayer money and it goes to the character of the Government.
I mean Mrs Bishop’s spokesperson says she’s concerned for her country? Liberal frontbencher Scott Morrison said it was a matter for Mrs Bishop, and that Mr Shorten was in no position to talk about trust given his two days of evidence last week to the unions royal commission.
JAKE STURMER: Bronwyn Bishop’s chartered helicopter from Melbourne to Geelong in November previous year was part of a push to cram as many meetings and events into her schedule as possible. “Look, instinctively it doesn’t”, Hockey told 2UE.
Speaker quizzed… Prime Minister Tony Abbott with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bronwyn Bishop.
However, she stood by her position that the travel was within the rules.
The 16-day trip to Italy, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland in October came as she unsuccessfully campaigned to win the presidency of the Inter-Parliamentary Union – an worldwide organisation headquartered in Geneva.
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The expenses scandal led to Abbott repaying taxpayers for entitlements he claimed to attend the weddings of two colleagues, including $609.10 for the wedding of Slipper in 2006.
