Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have come under fire after spending almost $5,000 of taxpayers money on a private jet to Sydney on the night of Lachlan Murdoch's Christmas party.
According to The Guardian, the pair jetted off on December 5 last year, as bushfires raged across the country, and attended a party at Murdoch's mansion.
The flight to Sydney reportedly cost $2,153, with the flight back costing $2,583.
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Frydenberg then reportedly billed taxpayers $486 to fly home to Melbourne from Canberra, while Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton flew home to Brisbane, again via Sydney, at a cost of $831.
The group travelled on the Boeing 737 Business Jet, which is one of six 'special purpose' planes that are reserved for travel that cannot be taken via commercial airlines.
According to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, special purpose aircrafts can only be used for the purpose of parliamentary business, and the travel must result in good value for money for the government.
It comes following backlash in 2017 following an expenses scandal involving Sussan Ley, which caused former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to introduce new rules governing the use of expenses.
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The rules also introduced a formal 'pub test', which meaning MPs are to consider 'how the public would perceive their use' of travel resources.
"Australians are entitled to expect that politicians spend taxpayers' money carefully, ensuring at all times that their work expenditure represents an efficient, effective and ethical use of public resources," Turnbull said at the time.
"We should be, as politicians, backbenchers and ministers, we should be as careful and as accountable with taxpayers' money as we possibly can be."
Featured Image Credit: PA