Richard Marles: Golf-loving Deputy Prime Minister ordered to handover documents revealing $3.6million in secret taxpayer-funded flights

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has been given nine days to hand over documents revealing the dates and costs of every flight he has taken on VIP aircraft in the past year.

The Coalition and Greens teamed up in the Senate on Tuesday to order the release of the documents amid questions about the $3.6 million cost of the 700 hours Mr Marles has booked since last year for special airline flights from the Raven.

There is also controversy surrounding a private golf trip he took to King Island in Tasmania in April, flanked by an Australian Federal Police security officer at taxpayer expense.

It has been the practice for MPs since 1967 to provide regular details of taxpayer-funded military flights, but Mr Marles, who is also defense minister, has not published where he flew or the passenger lists, citing ‘security reasons’ .

Mr Marles sought advice from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) late last year on the security implications of disclosing that information and has defended the move.

He has until 3pm this Thursday to provide details of the dates and costs of each flight since January 2021, as well as their origins and destinations.

It has also been ordered that the guidelines issued to officials on the use of special purpose flights be submitted.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said Australia deserved a ‘convincing statement’.

“John Howard in his government has released details of flights made at public expense and we ask that the same rules be applied here,” he told ABC Radio.

“So for us it’s… let’s just be transparent about this. It is a significant sum of money and previous governments have been candid about how this money (was used) and how these costs were incurred.

And we think the government should just continue the practice of previous governments and make this information public.

“We have yet to hear a convincing explanation as to why that information will not be made public, as previous governments have.”

Coalition Foreign Affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said special purpose aircraft performed an ‘essential function’ for ministers but that ‘reasonable transparency’ was expected about how they were used.

“The government’s changes that no longer report any information about the routes flown or the passengers on those aircraft are a complete undermining of how transparency about their use should be applied,” said Mr Birmingham.

Controversy has arisen over a private golf trip Mr Marles took to King Island in Tasmania in April, flanked by an Australian Federal Police security officer at taxpayer expense. Pictured: Richard Marles plays golf with his Southeast Asian counterpart while visiting Cambodia in November 2022

“They changed the practice that had existed since the 1960s and they’ve made it virtually impossible…to actually investigate how they use these planes and to ask questions.”

Mr Birmingham said the coalition is submitting a motion to the Senate calling on the government to confidentially provide “its security advice justifying these decisions” to the Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and Security.

“It will allow scrutiny by the opposition and some government backers as to whether or not the government is being sincere in the way it is acting on that security advice, or whether it is using that advice as a shield to get the most out of it.” from SPA (special purpose aircraft). planes,” he said.

Coalition defense spokesman Andrew Hastie challenged Mr Marles in Question Time on Monday, asking if he had taken ‘his golf clubs’ on one of his taxpayer-funded flights or if he had taken anyone outside his family or staff .

Liberal MP Simon Birmingham (pictured) said special purpose aircraft performed an ‘essential function’ for ministers but there was an expectation of ‘reasonable transparency’ about how they were used

Mr Marles said there had been cases involving representatives of other governments on some flights before accusing the opposition of hypocrisy. He noted that they had had many RAAF sorties during their reign.

“Let me be very clear: Every place I’ve been, everything I’ve done has been in the performance of my duties as Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister on behalf of this country, and I stand absolutely behind every flight I have. ever taken on the special plane,” Mr Marles said.

He also told parliament about opposition leader Peter Dutton’s recent request that VIP planes be used to attend Matildas matches.

Last week Mr Marles was accused of ‘shaming’ former chairman Bronwyn Bishop over revelations that he had taken RAAF flights to Avalon – close to his home in East Geelong – rather than using a Comcar.

In 2014, then-MP Bronwyn Bishop chartered a helicopter to make an 50-mile (80 km) journey from Melbourne to a golf course near Geelong for a Liberal Party rally.

In 2014, then MP Bronwyn Bishop (pictured) chartered a helicopter to make an 80km journey from Melbourne to a golf course near Geelong for a Liberal Party rally

She opted for a $5,227.27 taxpayer-funded charter flight to Clifton Springs Golf Club instead of using her Commonwealth car.

Estimated travel time by road is approximately 90 minutes each way.

While the Coalition and Greens have been politicizing the issue of Mr Marles’ VIP flights over the past week, when Liberal leader Peter Dutton was defense minister, he too stopped reporting on SPA flights.

The last SPA schedule submitted before the May 2022 elections covered the period from July 1, 2020 to December 30, 2020.