Defence minister Richard Marles catches a $16,000 VIP flight to watch the Matildas semi-final – with taxpayers picking up the tab

Defense Secretary Richard Marles took a ride on an RAAF flight to attend the semi-final of the Matildas World Cup, at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of $16,000.

His latest VIP flight comes after revelations that Mr. Marles’ cost of flights this year totals nearly $3.6 million.

On the afternoon of 16 August, a RAAF VIP flight flew from Brisbane, where Mr Marles had attended several press events, to Sydney.

The following morning, the tax-funded aircraft picked up passengers from Sydney and flew back to Brisbane in time for the ALP National Conference.

Just hours later, the defense minister posted pictures of the Matildas squad and stated that he was at ‘Sydney Stadium’ for the semi-final.

However, the defense minister and his office declined to comment on whether he caught the two-day VIP flight, even though his presence at both the game and the ALP conference was documented on social media.

A spokeswoman for Mr Marles confirmed that each trip was in compliance with government regulations.

“All travel by the deputy prime minister, whether in his role as defense minister or acting prime minister, is in accordance with relevant guidelines and security procedures,” the spokeswoman said.

Mr Marles posted several photos from a press event at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane on his social media on the morning of August 16 – the same day as the Matildas World Cup semi-final.

The cost of RAAF travel has led to calls for greater transparency after the publication of flight schedules was halted last year for ‘security reasons’.

Mr. Marles was forced to defend his firm’s role in that decision after his travel account was disclosed.

“All we’ve done in terms of coverage is to follow the advice we’ve been given regarding our own safety,” Mr Marles told ABC radio on Friday.

“And we’ve done security screening to make sure that the information that is placed in the public domain doesn’t put anyone at risk in terms of revealing life and behavior patterns and that’s a standard assessment that’s made with regard to national security. ‘

Senator Matt Canavan of the North Queensland Liberal National Party previously told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Marles needs to be honest about his flight history.

“I have no problem with our government using planes to conduct business, but they should do so at the best price for the taxpayer,” he said.

Our defense minister should travel the world defending our interests. The problem here is transparency.

“The government should publish the same details we do, including where the flights were and who traveled on taxpayer expense.”

The morning after the Matildas semi-final, the RAAF VIP flight flew passengers back from Sydney to Brisbane, where Mr Marles attended the ALP conference later that day.

Mr Albanese (pictured with partner Jodie Haydon) has already made 23 other overseas trips across four continents since becoming prime minister in May last year

Mr. Marles’ flight costs totaled $3.6 million, of which $1 million was spent since January this year, while Mr. Albanese spent $5.3 million between April 2022 and July 2023.

Special purpose logbooks of ministers’ taxpayer-funded RAAF flights were previously released four times a year.

These documents detailed where and when the ministers had flown and who was present.

But the release of flight schedules has been halted since last year due to “security reasons” following an investigation conducted by the Australian Federal Police.

The AFP stated that previous regulations regarding the release of VIP flight logs failed to protect “passenger life pattern data”.

Mr Albanese has previously sparked controversy over his frequent trips abroad, with some political commentators calling him ‘Airbus Albo’.