Pauline Hanson stung taxpayers almost $9000 for a chartered flight to the opening of a building at a private agricultural college funded by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart.
The One Nation leader flew from Tamworth in NSW to Avalon in Victoria in October last year at a cost of $8870, according to the latest data from the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority.
The $11.3 million Nicholas Hancock House at Marcus Oldham College in Geelong was opened by Hancock Agriculture chief executive Adam Giles on behalf of Rinehart, the Hancock Prospecting chairman.
Hanson’s one-way flight is the latest of her expenses to come under scrutiny after repeated breaches of spending rules and as her party surges in the polls, increasing its threat to the Coalition.
Expense rules require politicians to consider value for money when booking travel and for them to be travelling for the “dominant purpose” of doing parliamentary business for the costs to be claimed at taxpayer expense.
A spokesperson for Hanson’s office said the cheapest charter had been selected because no commercial flights had been available, and defended the Queensland senator’s attendance at the Victorian event.
“Senator Hanson attended the opening of the new student accommodation wing at Marcus Oldham College as it provides many Queensland students a home away from home during their time studying at Australia’s only independent agribusiness and agricultural business management college,” they said.
“She also had discussions about increases in HECS loans imposed on students attending the college, a private institution which receives no taxpayer funding.”
Hanson initially failed to declare that she flew to Sydney after the event aboard Rinehart’s private plane – sponsored travel, which is required to be registered within 35 days – as first reported in The Guardian.
Rinehart has previously flown Hanson to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where they attended the US president’s Halloween party, and the pair have also been spotted dining together in Thailand.
This masthead reported in January that Hanson had failed to declare director roles or shareholdings in three companies, including one tied to her satirical film, A Super Progressive Movie.
Hanson added to her register of interests holdings in Pauline Production Pty Ltd, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Limited and a Small Batch Brewing Pty Ltd last month following the report. The companies are run or co-owned by party official Alexander Jones, who pleaded guilty to a $24,000 attempted electoral fraud in 2023.
CORRECTION
An earlier version of this story said Hanson flew from Tamworth in Queensland to Avalon in Victoria. Tamworth is in NSW.
Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.