Rudd government travel 'Whitlamesque': Turnbull

17 May 2009, 12:18 pm   -   Source: AAP
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A $2 million air travel bill for ministers shows Kevin Rudd's Labor government is Whitlamesque, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says. (AAP)

A $2 million air travel bill for ministers shows Kevin Rudd's Labor government is Whitlamesque, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says. (AAP)

A $2 million air travel bill for ministers shows Kevin Rudd's Labor government is Whitlamesque, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says.

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A $2 million air travel bill for ministers shows Kevin Rudd's Labor government is Whitlamesque, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says.
           
The government has been accused of trying to bury the figures by releasing them on the same day as the budget, which Mr Turnbull said showed Labor was ashamed.
           
"It's interesting that the government chose to reveal this travel on the day of the budget when it wouldn't be noticed so they're clearly ashamed of it," Mr Turnbull told the Nine Network on Sunday.
           
"They let it out on a day when it would be overwhelmed by other events."
           
Mr Turnbull referred to a quote from Fraser government defence minister Jim Killen to suggest the Rudd government was extravagant like Gough Whitlam's administration of the 1970s.
           
"There is also the constant travelling," he said.
           
"It reminds me of what the late Jim Killen said about Gough - he said he's crossed the international dateline so often he doesn't know whether he's AM or PM and I think you can say the same thing about Kevin Rudd."
           
When the interviewer Laurie Oakes pointed out that former prime minister John Howard spent $20 million on travel during his 11 years in office, Mr Turnbull replied: "He was prime minister for a very long time, just remember that, 11 and a half years. I think Kevin Rudd will top the travel stakes very quickly."
           
Labor defends travel bill
 
Federal Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner defended Labor's air travel bill saying it is part-and-parcel of government spending.
                       
Mr Tanner said there was nothing to hide.
           
"These trips are necessary," he told Network Ten.
           
The $2 million bill was racked up in just 60 days, during the parliamentary winter break between late June and August last year.
           
Mr Tanner, his wife and two staffers spent $62,980 in eight days on a trip to Europe.
           
Mr Tanner said it was the one substantial trip he has had as finance minister.
           
It is also the time of year when MPs can travel because of the extended break from parliamentary sittings, he said.
           
"It's one of the few periods when we actually do have a genuine opportunity to visit countries and to engage in these serious discussions."
                       
The Rudd government is in the process of installing major teleconferencing facilities to cut down on future travel costs, he added.
           
"And eventually I expect they will be able to be used internationally as well, and that will erode the cost of air travel over time."
           
Environment Minister Peter Garrett is responsible for the largest bill, spending $226,000 on an 11-day trip to the US and Chile.
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