Christopher Pyne to Tony Burke’s rescue on travel expenses controversy

Australian education minister Christopher Pyne came to an unexpected rescue of Labor frontbencher Tony Burke earlier on Friday on the "Today" show. He also defended his own travel claims that amounted AU$7,000 when he flew his family to Canberra on business class for his swearing in ceremony at the opening of Parliament in 2013.

Pyne said making running comments on the entitlements of the MPs would not bring any benefit and that his travel expenses have passed the pub test and have been done according to the rules. He also said that the revelations on Burke travel claims do not make the MP wrong or prove that he had disregarded any rule. "The rules are the rules and if people stay within the rules, you can't then criticise them," Mr Pyne said. "I don't see any great benefit of having a running commentary on MPs' entitlements."

Burke, who has been the strongest critic of former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop in the controversy over spending taxpayer money to charter a helicopter, is being criticised himself over similar grounds. Revelations over flying his children to Uluru in business class along with him in 2012 have raised eyebrows. His expense claims also show that in 2008 to 2009, he had embarked on a trip to Barcelona with his senior staffer Skye Laris to attend a food security program and the expenses on it totalled to AU$225,000. The tour also included visits to Italy and Spain. Burke admitted on Thursday that it was “beyond community expectations.”

Senator Eric Abetz said that politicians need to travel in business class so that they can go through important documents while flying. “With great respect, you can’t do that sitting in the middle of, you know, three or four people,” Senator Abetz said.

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