All in house and the Finance Minister ” forgot” to check who paid for his “private” travel arrangements. Lets not forget what happened to Peter Slipper for $900 (ODT)
Australia’s US ambassador, Joe Hockey, asked embassy staff to meet with a corporate travel company before it lobbied for government work, even though the former treasurer is close friends with the company’s chief executive and now a big shareholder.
In April 2017, Mr Hockey told Washington embassy staff to meet with an executive from Helloworld, the listed travel services company managed by Andrew Burnes, Mr Hockey’s good friend and federal Liberal Party treasurer.
The meeting in Washington in April 26, 2017 was arranged after Mr Burnes contacted Mr Hockey. The company’s 2017 annual report shows Mr Hockey is one of Helloworld’s 20 largest shareholders, with a stake now worth more than $1.3 million.
Senator Cormann admitted getting Mr Burnes to book family trips for him on three separate occasions, with the July 2017 Singapore booking, worth more than $2700, made just weeks before Helloworld was announced as the winner of a Finance Department tender to oversee $1 billion in federal government flight and accommodation spending.
Tag: Expense Accounts
it’s Mathias Cormann I want to talk about. He is, after all, our Finance Minister and what I’m reading today makes me very worried that he holds that role. According to reports, Mathias went on a holiday which he didn’t pay for until the media asked him why he didn’t pay for it.
via Mathias in “Cormann The Unawarian”! – » The Australian Independent Media Network
olddogthoughts 