Independent Senator Fraser Anning has defended his hefty family travel costs, arguing he charged more than other MPs because his wife volunteered in his office.
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In the most recent reporting period, from July to September 2018, Senator Anning claimed $19,000 in family travel costs - more than any other federal politician.
Senator Anning said his wife, Fiona, volunteered with his office so travelled with him to Canberra and other cities.
"It's within parliamentary guidelines," he said.
"My wife's probably one of the few people who, wives I guess, of parliamentarians who do help out and she volunteers and does quite a lot of work for us in my office."
Federal senators and members are banned from employing family members, including a spouse, child, parent or sibling.
The rules allow MPs to travel at taxpayer expense for parliamentary, electorate and party political duties.
A family member can accompany MPs to Canberra and on up to three other interstate trips a year.
The controversial Queensland senator has twice billed taxpayers more than $5500 for overnight trips to capital cities outside his home state.
Senator Anning has been under fire for his attendance at a far-right rally in Melbourne on the public purse at the weekend, for which he intended to bill taxpayers more than $2800 for flights and a Comcar.
The rally was organised by convicted far-right activists Blair Cottrell and Neil Erikson and attended by about 100 of their supporters.
Senator Anning has argued he was representing the people of Queensland who had been "subjected to African gang violence" and said he would not repay the travel costs.
He refused to accept that African gangs were not an issue in Queensland, despite advice to the contrary from the Police Commissioner Ian Stewart.
"This is gang crime, there is tonnes of evidence," Senator Anning said.
"The evidence is that people are being bashed by them, do you read the newspapers? And by the way, only about a fraction of what actually happens you'll ever see in the newspapers.
"It's entirely up to them what they [Queensland Police] want to tell you, if that's what they've been told to say, then that's fine."
Senator Anning said he did not know Mr Cottrell and had never spoken to him before the rally in Melbourne at the weekend.
"I've heard all these things about what he has and hasn't done, I have no opinion on his past history but I wasn't there to support anyone. I was there to represent the people of Queensland," he said.
Senator Anning described the Nazi salute as "abhorrent".
However, he repeated claims that the only people he saw performing Nazi salutes were far-left activists.
That is despite the publication of images which clearly show otherwise.
Senator Anning, who received just 19 votes, was declared elected to replace former One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts after his disqualification.
He left One Nation and joined Katter's Australian Party but was expelled and now sits as an independent.
