The expenses watchdog launched an investigation into then-home affairs minister Peter Dutton’s use of a taxpayer-funded flight to attend a “long lunch” on a luxury island on the Noosa River in 2019, internal documents reveal.
Dutton billed taxpayers $465 for a flight from Sydney to Maroochydore on 19 July 2019, the same day he was to appear alongside the then-Queensland opposition leader, Deb Frecklington, as a special guest at a private event on Makepeace Island, a resort island part-owned by Richard Branson.
The invitation to the event, seen by Guardian Australia, describes it as an “exclusive long lunch on Makepeace Island with special guests Hon. Peter Dutton MP, minister for home affairs, and [redacted]”.
Guests were ferried to the private island from the Noosa marina at 12pm, returning at either 4pm or 4.45pm. The drive from the Sunshine Coast airport – where Dutton landed – to the Noosa marina takes about 30 minutes.
The investigation found that Dutton’s use of expenses was within the rules, and Guardian Australia is not suggesting otherwise. The rules state that parliamentarians are required to use expenses in good faith, “for the dominant purpose of conducting parliamentary business” and in a way that achieves “value for money”.
Documents obtained under freedom of information by the Guardian and former freelance journalist William Summers show the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (Ipea), which oversees MPs’ expense claims, conducted a preliminary assessment of Dutton’s travel following Guardian’s reporting in 2021.
The preliminary assessment concluded that Dutton had used parliamentary business resources for the trip and recommended that a more thorough investigation, known as an assurance review, be conducted.
The documents show the full review was completed six months later, on 9 September 2021, and determined that Dutton’s expense claim was in accordance with the rules.
That was because the invitation to the event “addressed the Minister as Minister for Home Affairs” and “the Minister was an invited guest to the ‘Long Lunch on Makepeace Island’ event, which he attend in his official capacity as a Minister”.
This made the trip parliamentary business and entitled Dutton to claim travel in association with it, the watchdog ruled. It found he had not used taxpayer funds “for his travel from Maroochydore to Makepeace Island or from Makepeace Island to his home base of Brisbane”.
“On the basis of the assessment conducted, IPEA has concluded the travel was for parliamentary business as defined in Schedule 4(b) of the Determination, as the Minister was an invited guest to the ‘Long Lunch on Makepeace Island’ event, which he attend in his official capacity as a Minister,” the watchdog ruled.
Ipea declined to comment further on its ruling.
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There was little other indication from Dutton’s social media accounts of him attending community events in or near Maroochydore at the time. On 19 July 2019 he posted a video filmed in the outer Brisbane suburb of Ironbark Gully, which is in his electorate of Dickson, 100km from Maroochydore. It featured an RSL sub-branch president, whom he hailed as one of “Dickson’s heroes”.
The website for Makespeace Island describes it as a “private luxury resort home, set on an exclusive-use island and nestled in the tranquil waters of the Noosa River”. The island is used for corporate retreats and functions, among other things.
For those staying overnight, a master villa attracts a nightly rate of $19,950 for eight guests.
Anthony Whealy, a former New South Wales supreme court judge and current chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, said the expenses system needed review.
He said it allowed a grey area for MPs to claim travel in circumstances the public would not always accept as fair.
“I think the public demand that these sorts of systems be shaken up every now and again because clearly they’re not satisfactory,” Whealy said.
“There’s always this grey area where integrity is being threatened. That’s because people slot their behaviour into systems and rules without those systems being examined closely enough.”
Dutton’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
