Anthony Albanese has come under fire for failing to disclose his taxpayer-funded liquor bill for his office and guests.
The Prime Minister’s Department has not released the details months after the attack Australian Financial Statement requested the information in July.
Albanese ran in the federal election campaigning for transparency, but his office has been repeatedly criticized for failing to deliver on that promise since coming to power in May 2022.
His government came under fire in July after blocking more Qatar flights to Australia, with Labor Transport Minister Catherine King refusing to hold a Senate inquiry into her decision to reject the airline’s request.
Albanese’s deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, came under fire in August over the lack of transparency over his $3.6 million VIP flight account.
The prime minister refused to release his official diary, with his legal adviser saying in November it would “unreasonably” hinder his work. Mr Albanese has since returned and agreed to share it.
Although the Prime Minister will release his diary, the tax-funded liquor bill for his office and guests remains hidden from public view.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) has come under fire for failing to make his taxpayer-funded liquor bill public, despite agreeing to the release of his official diary
The case is now in limbo after two legal extensions for the details to be released. The request is now months overdue.
The only way the matter can be resolved is to resolve it through the Information Commissioner without any documents being released.
But that process could take several years, meaning Albanese’s department may not have to release the bill before the next federal election.
Center for Public Integrity director Geoffrey Watson, SC, slammed the Prime Minister’s Department, saying its apparent unwillingness to make the bill public was “unlawful activity”.
“In a country that supposedly operates under the rule of law, the government that introduced the laws is not obeying its own laws,” he said.
“When you’re talking about delays of two or three years, it’s common that the problem that was being addressed is no longer a problem, or even that the people who should be held accountable for decision-making are no longer in the decision-making process. role.
‘Experience shows that any involvement with the Information Commissioner will certainly mean a delay of at least a year, but in some cases three years. In other words, it undermines the purpose of FOI.”
Foreign Office Penny Wong had previously called for details of the money spent on alcohol to be released when Tony Abbott was prime minister in 2015.
Albanese’s diary describes his first hundred days in power, including appointments with deputies and unions and his telephone conversations with world leaders.
He refused to release it after multiple requests for information, saying his department claimed it would be an “unreasonable” distraction from his resources and hinder his work. His team has since done a backflip and agreed to share it.
Mr Albanese admitted that the original decision was wrong. This came after 17 other ministers released 100 days or more of their diaries.
The request for his department’s alcohol bill is the latest controversy to rock Mr. Albanese.
His government controversially decided to block additional Qatar Airways flights after an attempt by Qantas to reject the golf company’s application.
Center for Public Integrity director Geoffrey Watson, SC, slammed the Prime Minister’s Department, saying its apparent unwillingness to make the bill public was “unlawful activity.”
It comes after the government controversially decided to block additional Qatar Airways flights following an attempt by Qantas to reject the golf company’s application.
A Senate investigation into the coalition’s decision was launched last month.
The Senate asked the government to release documents related to its decision, but that was reversed.
Mr Marles claimed the government had ‘nothing to hide’ when asked about this.
“A decision has been made by the Minister for Transport in the course of her normal duties, as Transport Ministers have made over a long period of time, as to how the national interest should be applied to this,” he said at the time.
“And that’s all she did.”
For that, Mr. Marles landed in hot water In August it was revealed that he had made $3.6 million from tax-funded VIP flights.
This included $1 million accrued since January this year.
The costs were detailed in ‘special purpose’ logs following a freedom of information request by Greens senator and defense spokesman David Shoebridge.
It led to calls for more government transparency after the publication of flight schedules was halted last year for ‘safety reasons’.
It comes after revelations that Richard Marles (pictured) has made more than $3.6 million in VIP flight fees since taking office
Greens Senator David Shoebridge (pictured) has been highly critical of the government for charging taxpayers for its private flights
Senator Shoebridge, who submitted his FOI request in June, has urged the Albanian government to be open and honest about billing taxpayers for VIP flights.
“For a government that promised transparency, it sure took them twisting their arms to spill the beans on these VIP flights,” he said in a statement.
‘This is an eye-catching bill to allow senior politicians to fly around in VIP flights. Of course it is necessary to fly the Prime Minister around on official duties, but this Prime Minister is billing taxpayers harder and faster for VIP flights than anyone before him.
“The refusal, apparently for security reasons, to tell us where the flights went is a very convenient way to avoid serious investigation.”
Flight data from ministers within the Albanian government showed that Mr Marles – next to the Prime Minister – had incurred the highest costs.
Special purpose logs of ministers’ taxpayer-funded RAAF flights were previously released four times a year.
This data detailed where and when the ministers departed and who was on each flight.
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 passengers’ “lifestyle data.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Prime Minister’s office for comment on the liquor law.