EXCLUSIVE
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and a leading Liberal Party senator have introduced a taxpayer-funded $21,084 bill for two private flights to address the cost of living crisis.
Senator Price and Senator Jane Hume took a charter plane on the short 300km flight from Adelaide to Port Augusta, South Australia, on August 21 for a series of Cost of Living Committee hearings.
According to figures from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA), the total cost of that one-way 55-minute flight was $10,542.
The next day, August 22, they left Port Augusta for Alice Springs on a private charter plane. The flight cost another $10,542.
The flights were organised by the Cost of Living Committee Secretariat, a government initiative that aims to find ways to reduce pressure on the cost of living in Australia.
Daily Mail Australia has learned that the committee, chaired by Senator Hume, decided that private flights were the best and most economical way to transport senators and their staff to the hearings, even though the nearest flight was within driving distance.
One-way Qantaslink flights from Adelaide to Port Augusta start from around $165, while a number of commercial airlines offer flights between Port Augusta and Alice Springs – with direct flights starting from around $300.
Jane Hume (left) is pictured with Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (centre) and Kerrynne Liddle (right) at the Cost of Living Committee hearing in Port Augusta on 22 August.
The cost of the private jet, $10,542, was split between three parties: Ms Price, Ms Hume and the Senate Department, at a cost of $3,514 per person. In the end, taxpayers footed the entire bill.
According to IPEA data, they incurred an identical sum of $10,542 for the second leg of the journey from Port Augusta to Alice Springs, which was also split equally.
At the end of the trip, Ms Price and Ms Hume spoke on social media about the cost of living committee and the financial hardships faced by local people.
Ms Hume said in a side-by-side Instagram video on August 23: “We have just completed three days of hearings at the cost of living commission in Adelaide, in Port Augusta and here in Alice Springs.
‘[We have been] ‘In discussions with communities, with business organizations and with the local population themselves about the consequences of the rising cost of living for them.’
Ms Price said she enjoyed being part of the cost of living committee, especially in her hometown of Alice Springs.
“The things that impact our community include the devastating effects of family breakdown, domestic violence, crime – things like that. And the cost of living really contributes to that,” she said.
“It’s great that community members are willing to share their personal stories, but also the stories of their organizations and how they are working to support our vulnerable community members.”
They then appeared on local radio in Alice Springs and spoke about the cost of living crisis.
Jane Hume (left) is pictured with Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (centre) and Kerrynne Liddle at the hearing
Pictured: Senator Hume (left) and Senator Price (right) speaking on local radio in Alice Springs
The commission has issued a number of reports with recommendations on the cost of living, but it is unclear whether these recommendations are actually implemented.
The Cost of Living Committee referred all questions about the flights to Senator Hume, who was chairman of the committee.
Spokespeople for Ms Hume and Ms Price said the flights fell within relevant rules and were ‘a sensible use of public money and were therefore reasonably made’.
About a month earlier, on July 6, Ms Price had spent another $5,900 when she chartered a private jet from Alice Springs to Uluru.
The trip was to carry out parliamentary duties during NAIDOC Week, which aligned with her roles as Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians and Senator for the Northern Territory.
Senator Hume went on the trip in August, but she claimed her $7,028 share of the bill in the October-December 2023 quarter. In the same quarter, she spent $39,728 on domestic travel for seven staffers.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured) is the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians and Senator for the Northern Territory
Last week, Daily Mail Australia reported that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton charged taxpayers $63,015 for three private jet flights on a two-day trip to regional cities.
Mr Dutton was previously criticised for claiming $23,000 in travel expenses after booking a private jet from Canberra to Tamworth to speak at a News Corp event and criticised the cost of living crisis under the Labor Party.
During the same three-month reporting period, Anthony Albanese charged Australian taxpayers $1 million for everything from international travel to office supplies, including $298,899 for trips to Asia, the UK, the Middle East and Europe.
Climate Minister Chris Bowen also spent $30,564 of taxpayers’ money on flights to three international environmental conferences in less than six months, while urging Australians to cut their emissions.
