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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Top Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie billed taxpayers for flights and accommodation to Tasmania before and after her son\u2019s wedding in the Tamar Valley.<\/p>\n Parliamentary expenses records<\/a> show McKenzie, the party\u2019s Senate leader, used public money to partially fund her four-day trip to Tasmania at the end of summer in 2023.<\/p>\n After appearing at a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Thursday, February 16, 2023, McKenzie flew back to Melbourne \u2013 the nearest capital city to her home base at the time \u2013 and then immediately jumped on a plane to Launceston, billing taxpayers $328.99.<\/p>\n She then charged taxpayers $317 for one night\u2019s accommodation in Launceston that night.<\/p>\n McKenzie\u2019s son \u2013 who this masthead has chosen not to name \u2013 was married at a vineyard in Sidmouth, on Saturday, February 18, 2023. The venue is about 35 kilometres north-west of Launceston, which is the closest major airport.<\/p>\n McKenzie appeared in photos and a video which were posted on social media from the wedding.<\/p>\n The following Monday, the opposition transport and infrastructure spokeswoman charged taxpayers $207.53 to fly back to Melbourne, but that expense did not appear on her public expenditure record for more than a year after the wedding.<\/p>\n In total, the Victorian senator used $853.52 in public money to travel to Tasmania.<\/p>\n According to rules overseen by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, politicians may only claim the costs of their travel where the \u201cdominant purpose\u201d<\/a> of the trip is parliamentary business. That can include committee work, legislative work, attending meetings or representing the government or Australia, with the approval of the prime minister.<\/p>\n Related Article In response to questions from this masthead, a spokesperson for McKenzie said her February 2023 flight and accommodation to Launceston was \u201cundertaken in accordance with parliamentary rules as part of a multi-state campaign to expose Labor\u2019s budget cuts to infrastructure\u201d.<\/p>\n Asked who she discussed the cuts with, the spokesperson said McKenzie undertook \u201clegitimate activity as shadow infrastructure minister\u201d to expose cuts to Tasmanian road funding that had been disclosed during Senate estimates the week prior.<\/p>\n There are no public records of any parliamentary duties such as committee meetings or public events that McKenzie attended while in Tasmania except for an interview with a local newspaper, in which she called on the Labor Party to boost its investment in roads.<\/p>\n The spokesperson said McKenzie\u2019s work in Tasmania on the Friday included \u201ccoordinating a national media announcement and holding a press conference\u201d.<\/p>\n A small resulting article said McKenzie visited Longford, 20 kilometres south of Launceston, on February 17 to discuss Labor\u2019s \u201ccuts and delays\u201d. The 140-word article in The Examiner appeared under the headline \u201cMcKenzie slams Labor funding cuts\u201d. In that piece, she claimed the federal government had delayed and cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for Tasmanian roads.<\/p>\n The Victorian senator also posted a photo to social media of a field in Longford saying she was \u201cdiscussing cuts and delays to road funding\u201d.<\/p>\n The expenses authority also sets out five obligations when MPs and senators claim expenses, requiring them to \u201cact ethically and in good faith\u201d when accounting for their travel expenses. It also requires them to be \u201cpersonally responsible\u201d for their travel expenses and \u201cprepared to publicly justify their travel and any expenses claimed\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTaxpayers should not be expected to fund accommodation or travel for personal business and as a result, the senator paid for her own travel and accommodation while on personal business,\u201d McKenzie\u2019s spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cSenator McKenzie did not claim any funds from the taxpayer for the weekend for personal and private activities, which were appropriately paid for by the Senator personally.\u201d<\/p>\n Editor’s pick This masthead asked McKenzie\u2019s office to provide a list of meetings, events or people \u2013 such as MPs and stakeholders \u2013 she may have met with while in Tasmania, but her office was unable to do so.<\/p>\n Her office also disputed the public expenditure report by the expenses authority, claiming the senator had repaid the Devonport to Melbourne trip following the wedding on February 20, 2023, which cost taxpayers $207.53.<\/p>\n McKenzie\u2019s office also provided a copy of the senator\u2019s personal bank statement to support the repayment, which showed she returned $261.27 to the company responsible for booking MP travel on February 21, 2023, however those details are yet to be updated on the expenses authority\u2019s document.<\/p>\n According to Remuneration Tribunal records, federal MPs had a base salary of $217,060 in February 2023, with a 25 per cent bonus for a shadow minister taking McKenzie\u2019s pre-tax salary to $264,062 a year.<\/p>\n![\"Bridget](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/08e3fee0b1897779a68b9cf5894d7f2469081c66.jpeg\")
Bridget McKenzie at her son\u2019s wedding in Tasmania in 2023.<\/p>\n![\"McKenzie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/a66948078291d9c01ab56435e9ba36e67bbe4557.jpeg\")
McKenzie at her son\u2019s wedding in Tasmania in 2023.<\/p>\n![\"Shadow](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/487dc8d13a3cef1e0d801b526fa82826c5cf334f.jpeg\")
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