Taxpayers paid $2000 for Stuart Robert to attend Hillsong conference
July 2015
Taxpayers paid for Stuart Robert to attend a Hillsong mega church conference with his wife, who has since become a Pentecostal pastor on the Gold Coast, Department of Finance records showed. Mr Robert says he was asked to represent the government at the five-day conference.
Taxpayers stumped up $2326 for his travel and accommodation, including $672 for his wife Chantelle. Mr Robert was a guest speaker at the Pentecostal church’s Hillsong Conference Nights event in Sydney, in July 2015. He delivered a ‘Pillars of Influence Masterclass’ lecture on how ‘innovative individuals’ are ‘influencing their pillar with the message of Jesus’. As the Daily Mail reported, ministers usually meet bureaucrats or stakeholder groups related to their portfolio during such visits. In this case, however, he was asked to represent the government at the five-day Hillsong conference.