Anika Wells, Australia’s Minister for Communications and Sport, defended multiple taxpayer-funded expenses revealed in media reports, including $34,426 for business class flights to New York for a UN event, nearly $3,000 for her family’s travel to join her at Thredbo ski resort in New South Wales for the Adaptive Festival organized by Paralympics Australia, and over $6,000 in meal allowances during the Paris Olympics for working dinners with stakeholders.
Wells stated all claims followed parliamentary guidelines and were approved by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese‘s office.
The disclosures sparked widespread public and media criticism amid Australia’s cost-of-living crisis, with calls for repayment and review of politicians’ entitlements.
