$2500 bill for Cory Bernardi’s trip to fundraiser
October 2017
Former South Australian senator Cory Bernardi charged taxpayers for a $2,500 trip to Sydney on the day of a major fundraiser for his fledgling Australian Conservatives party in 2017, according to Guardian Australia.
It notes that Bernardi flew into Sydney on the afternoon of Friday October 27, 2017. Comcar records, released through freedom of information, show he arrived at his hotel about 2pm before taking another Comcar to the fundraiser about two hours later, joining about 120 supporters for a riverside dinner at Parramatta Wharf. The records also show he used a Comcar to leave the fundraiser and return to his hotel about 10pm that night.
Bernardi stayed in Sydney for the weekend, flying out on Sunday 29 October. Guardian Australia reports the former senator declined to answer questions about the trip when contacted. He reportedly answered: “In your eagerness to bottom-feed, you ignore or haven’t a clue what else I did that day, who I met or what parliamentary business was conducted, so I’ll politely ask you to not contact me again.”
