Bowen bills taxpayers $2000 for four-hour trip to Adelaide
February 2018
Chris Bowen billed taxpayers more than $2000 for a day trip to Adelaide, where he was the key speaker at a $500-a-head business lunch to raise money for South Australian Labor’s 2018 state election campaign, hosted at the offices of Ernst and Young. Â
Guardian Australia obtained travel records showing that the then shadow treasurer Chris Bowen was in Adelaide for about four hours and spent 45 minutes of that time travelling to and from the airport. Bowen reportedly arrived in Adelaide’s CBD just over an hour before the fundraiser’s midday start, before returning to the airport at 2.05pm, immediately after the event finished, to return to Sydney. His four-hour trip to Adelaide cost $2,190 for flights and Comcar transfers, which was all charged to Bowen’s parliamentary travel allowances.
A spokeswoman for Mr Bowen claimed the fundraiser was not the dominant purpose of his trip. She said he held a press conference while in the city and that he had meetings relevant to his shadow ministerial role.
