Turnbull defends Hockey's 13 taxpayer funded trips to Cairns

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull believes Joe Hockey hasn't done anything wrong after reports he made 13 trips to Cairns, where he owns a farm, while in opposition.

Treasurer Joe Hockey

Malcolm Turnbull has defended Joe Hockey's (pic) reported 13 trips to Cairns while in opposition. (AAP) Source: AAP

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull is sure Treasurer Joe Hockey followed the rules when he made 13 taxpayer-funded trips to Cairns while in opposition.

According to News Corp reports, Mr Hockey's trips to Cairns, where he owns a farm, cost more than $20,000.

"Joe Hockey like all MPs and Senators has to acquit their expenses [and] use their travel entitlements they've got in a manner consistent with the rules, and I'm sure he has," Mr Turnbull told reporters.

Speaker Bronwyn Bishop's controversial luxury helicopter ride to a Liberal Party fundraiser has prompted calls for changes to rules around parliamentarians' expenses.

Mr Turnbull said while some areas of the rules were "ambiguous", he didn't see a need for major changes.

"I think the issue is one of compliance and commonsense rather than having to make a big change to the rules per se," he said.

"We've got to make sure that what we're doing is strictly in our parliamentary business."


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Source: AAP


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