$280k spent on Overseas Travel report

The Herald Sun has reported that the Melbourne City Council has spent in-excess of $280,000 on overseas junkets.


Melbourne City Council Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, "No more Junkets, has been on more junkets in his current term of office then previous years.

The council going so far as to restructure the payment of reimbursement to avoid listing overseas expenses on the Councillors expense register. Staff overseas and interstate travel no longer lists the department and inbound travel is now anonymous with allegation that  the Council has picked up the tab of others visiting the city in a reciprocal exchange for sponsorship of councillors trips, You scratch my6 back and I will scratch your" thus avoiding disclosure. In some cases the reciprocal trips are sponsored by subsidiary third party organisations that are closely associated or funded by the Council shifting the costs of travel from one account to another.  All councillor expenses are supposed to be reported in the Councillor expense registry but this no longer lists overseas travel which is only reported in the Council's travel register. Creative accounting at best.

Whats worst is the Council is using the tax expense deductions as a means of setting and determining a "per deim allowance".  Many Councillors trips costing rate payers in excess of  $2,000 to $7,000 a day with the Lord Mayor and councillors travelling business class at a premium rate no expenses spared.