Australian Communications and Sport Minister Anika Wells is under fire for claiming more than $8,500 in taxpayer-funded family travel expenses to attend AFL grand final weekends, as the political opposition calls for an independent investigation into her spending.
Scrutiny Over Grand Final Travel Claims
Exclusive analysis reveals that the Brisbane-based minister charged the public purse for family members to travel to Melbourne during the AFL grand final weekends in 2022, 2023, and 2024. During these trips, she attended the marquee sporting events as a guest of the Australian Football League, receiving complimentary corporate suite tickets.
The total bill for this travel came to $8,577.53. In each instance, her register of parliamentary interests declared the gifted tickets, while corresponding reports from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) logged the family traveller claims for flights between Brisbane and Melbourne.
A Pattern of Controversial Travel
This revelation follows a report by Nine newspapers that Ms Wells also used family travel entitlements for her husband to attend the Boxing Day cricket test matches in Melbourne in 2022 and 2024. Previous scrutiny has highlighted her use of the allowance for family trips to the Thredbo ski resort, the Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix, and extensive international travel, including nearly $100,000 for a trip to New York.
While the minister, in her sport portfolio, receives many invitations to major events, she does not typically claim family travel for them. However, these specific instances have drawn significant criticism for potentially exploiting entitlements designed to help politicians maintain family connections while on parliamentary business.
Rules, Defence, and Demands for Reform
There is no suggestion that Ms Wells has broken the existing rules. IPEA guidelines allow parliamentarians to claim a limited number of business class return fares for family members to join them when travelling for the dominant purpose of parliamentary business.
Ms Wells defended her actions in a Sky News interview, stating she "used my family reunion entitlement within the guidelines, as every parliamentarian can do." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also backed her, noting relevant trips were for government announcements.
Despite this, the Coalition opposition is not satisfied. Shadow communications minister Melissa McIntosh has called for a review and tightening of the travel guidelines, arguing that trips to events like the cricket and F1 "is not really what it’s meant to be about." Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic has urged Ms Wells to self-refer her spending to IPEA for independent assessment, stating the claims do not meet community expectations.
The controversy has ignited a fresh debate over the transparency and purpose of parliamentary entitlements, with pressure mounting for stricter oversight and reform.
