Anika Wells travel expenses audit to scrutinise trip to her own birthday party

Anika Wells flew from Brisbane to Sydney in August for a day of ministerial meetings – and to join friends, including the Prime Minister, to celebrate her 40th birthday at a nighttime function. The taxpayer-funded trip is among dozens that will be scrutinised by the independent parliamentary expenses watchdog after the Cabinet minister referred herself for an audit. Her decision was announced as a new analysis revealed Ms Wells has charged taxpayers at least $62,000 to use gifted tickets to more than 60 sporting events since becoming Sports Minister in 2022. After a week of intense scrutiny, the senior Albanese Government Minister says she remains “confident” all her travel and expense claims are within the rules, but has referred them to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority for assessment. Ms Wells announced her decision to self-report her travel expenses for an independent audit on the eve of a landmark social media ban coming into effect, which she has overseen in her role as Communications Minister. “I remain confident all my travel and expenses is within the framework but for the avoidance of doubt I have self-referred my expenditure to the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority (IPEA) for an audit,” she said in a statement. On August 15, Ms Wells flew from Brisbane to Sydney where she attended the Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council, which canvassed how prepared telcos are for natural disasters. She also met with Network 10 and Australia Post. That evening, Ms Wells joined friends for a function to celebrate her turning 40 earlier in the week, which Anthony Albanese also attended, The West Australian can reveal. She flew home the next day. When approached, Ms Wells’ office didn’t directly confirm the private party or if any parliamentary colleagues had joined. “The travel was within the guidelines and the Minister was on official duties,” a spokesperson said. All up, the return flights between Brisbane and Sydney and two official car trips cost $1589.84. Figures compiled by The West reveal the Queensland MP has accepted free tickets to 62 sporting events since June 2022, which has cost taxpayers tens of thousands in accommodation and travel for her to attend. She attended the AFL and NRL grand finals every year and has watched everything from sailing and golf to cricket and horse races. Included in the large sum of public expenditure is more than $8500 for “family reunion” flights and travel entitlements so her husband and Brisbane-based lobbyist Finn McArthy could attend three AFL grand finals with her. However, charges for his travel to the 2022 grand final appear to have been reversed nine months later, the IPEA records show. But in September 2023, Ms Wells travelled with her entire family for a four-night stay in Melbourne that coincided with the AFL grand final when Collingwood beat her side Brisbane. The next day, her family returned to Brisbane while Ms Wells flew to Sydney where she watched Penrith trump Brisbane in the NRL decider. All up, that trip to Melbourne then Sydney cost taxpayers $7160. Frontbench colleague Kristy McBain defended Ms Wells, saying attending such events were part of her ministerial duties. “It’s important that our sporting codes can work with government, particularly when we’re talking about national and international competitions,” she said. “As a sporting nation, I guess we want to see the best on those big weekends or those big competitions. So, it’s important that she’s there, but I also think it’s really important that there is transparency, and I think that’s exactly what Minister Wells has done.” The Communications and Sports Minister has been under intense public pressure since revelations last week that flights to New York for Ms Wells, a political staffer and a senior bureaucrat in September cost taxpayers close to $100,000. The minister and her office have repeatedly said all of her travel claims were within the rules. The Opposition has described the minister’s decision to self-refer her expenditure as a “belated admission” that she has “breached community expectations and has brought the Albanese Government into disrepute”. Shadow ministers James Paterson and James McGrath called for her to stand aside while the investigation was underway, and for it to be done by the head of the Prime Minister’s own department, Steven Kennedy. “The revelations over the past week suggest the standards in this (ministerial) code (of conduct) have not been complied with,” they said.