Bridget McKenzie, Barnaby Joyce, Alex Antic, Matt Canavan and Keith Pitt were invited to speak at the annual showcase of rightwing political activism
Coalition senators who addressed last year’s Australian Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) billed taxpayers thousands of dollars in flights, accommodation and car expenses on the weekend of the event.
Guardian Australia can also reveal the former Labor senator Fatima Payman claimed more than $4,000 on a whirlwind Perth-to-Melbourne trip in which she appeared at a public meeting in solidarity with the embattled construction union.
Politicians are permitted to charge taxpayers for travel expenses if the dominant purpose is parliamentary business, which covers a broad range of activities including electorate, party political and official duties.
Shadow ministers Bridget McKenzie and Barnaby Joyce and Coalition backbenchers Alex Antic, Matt Canavan and Keith Pitt were invited to speak at October’s CPAC Australia conference, the annual showcase of rightwing political activism.
Parliamentary expenses figures show the five politicians claimed almost $10,000 between them on the weekend of the event, which was headlined by the former UK prime minister Liz Truss.
McKenzie claimed $2,780 of public money, including flights (Melbourne to Brisbane and Brisbane to Canberra), two nights of travel allowance and Comcar expenses.
Antic claimed $2,113 on flights and travel expenses; Joyce racked up $1,323 on flights and Comcar expenses; and Canavan charged $1,267 on flights and Comcar trips.
Pitt claimed $2,442 on flights and Comcare expenses.
In a statement, McKenzie’s spokesperson said she was invited to speak at CPAC in her capacity as a shadow transport minister and Nationals Senate leader. “Her speech was public and widely reported on,” the spokesperson said.
Canavan said his CPAC speech was almost entirely dedicated to the government’s misinformation bill, which was up for debate in parliament at the time before Labor scrapped it.
“Discussing legislation before the Senate with other Australians is my job,” Canavan told Guardian Australia.
Canavan noted he would have needed to transit through Brisbane regardless that weekend, as there are no direct flights from Rockhampton to Canberra.
Antic did not respond to questions from Guardian Australia, including whether two lots of travel allowance claimed on the same night (4 October) was an error.
Joyce also did not respond.
Expenses figures also reveal the Perth-based Payman charged taxpayers $4,060 for a visit to Melbourne during which she headlined a public meeting in support of the embattled Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU).
The former Labor senator has been an outspoken supporter of the union after it was forced into administration after revelations of alleged links to organised crime.
Payman – a former union official – appeared at the forum alongside Jade Ingham, a former CFMEU national president who was sacked after the federal government’s intervention.
In a statement, Payman said she was proud to have attended the event.
“No other politician is standing shoulder to shoulder with the men and women who build this country, who get up before sunrise to provide for their families,” she said.
“These are everyday Australians footing the bill for this administration and its unaccountable bureaucrats.
“That’s why this event was necessary. Because no one else is fighting for them. And I won’t stop until these men and women get the answers they deserve.”
Payman said the public meeting was among several events she attended while in Melbourne from 4 to 6 December.
Photos of the senator visiting Woolworths workers picketing a distribution centre in Dandenong and filming an interview with the “Ozzy Turks” page in Brunswick were posted to her account on 5 and 6 December respectively.