A staggering 99 bureaucrats accompanied Chris Bowen to Pre-COP at a cost of more than half a million dollars.
Documents obtained by the Opposition under Freedom of Information laws confirm that of the 99 departmental staff, 51 “supported operational delivery” of the conference and 48 “supported successful policy outcomes.”
The huge entourage incurred the following costs:
- $221,425 spent on accommodation.
- $240,470 spent on flights.
- $9,196 spent on a travel allowance.
- $93,868 on a ‘contingent’ spend.
- Grand total: $564,959.
The total does not include a $300 travel allowance provided to all staff for taxi or rideshare services.
In addition, the heavily redacted documents also reveal that 11 staff from the policy division and 13 staff from the event delivery team stayed at the five-star Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort, including Secretary Mike Kaiser. The remaining staff stayed at the luxury Sebel Fiji Nuku Loaloa.
Not a single G20 world leader attended the event, and only two nations from outside the Indo-Pacific attended. The Government has consistently refused to release the RSVP list for the climate conference.
Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Dan Tehan said the Pre-COP conference was a diplomatic embarrassment.
“Australians are having to cut back because of Labor’s cost of living crisis, but instead of helping them, Chris Bowen and his team have been flying around the world to attend conferences,” Mr Tehan said.
“Following reports yesterday about a doubling of wholesale power prices because of Labor’s botched transmission rollout, Chris Bowen should return home and get back to work.”
The Government is yet to disclose the final cost of the four-day climate conference, but did confirm at Senate Estimates last month that the conference spend had hit $34.6 million, up from an initial estimate of $20 million.
ENDS
Media contact: Phil Connole M | 0417 063 605