Taxpayers have been left with a $580,000 tab after the Federal Government wined and dined dignitaries and threw parties for governors general, cricket devotees, award recipients and others. It has been revealed the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has spent almost $600,000 on hospitality – including about $80,000 on alcohol – at official soirees since the Rudd Government was elected.
The largest bill was for a send-off dinner for former governor-general Michael Jeffery and his wife, Marlene, at the Great Hall in Parliament House. Almost $127,000 was spent on the dinner, which included a $26,145 bar tab. His successor’s swearing-in celebration was a modest affair by contrast. More than $19,000 – including $2400 for alcohol – was spent on the event in the Senate Chamber to mark Governor-General Quentin Bryce’s appointment to the role.
Taxpayers footed a $53,000 bill for hospitality at the Mercure Hotel in Hobart during the Council of Australian Governments’ meeting, which brings together federal, state and territory leaders. Federal ministers hosted private dinners – costing more than $12,000 each – at Parliament House for leaders from East Timor, Malta, Vietnam, Korea and Iraq.
Guests left a $12,861 bill for a luncheon to coincide with the cricket match between the Prime Minister’s XI and New Zealand at Manuka Oval this year. The cost was less than $10,000 for the same function last year when the Prime Minister’s XI played Sri Lanka. Almost $25,000 was spent on a morning tea to mark the Federal Government’s apology to the Stolen Generations.
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