Release: International Junketeering by Pollies Questioned by WA Taxpayers
The Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance (ATA), a 75,000+ member national grassroots advocacy group that represents the nation’s taxpayers, today questioned whether the hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars being fed into international junketeering for WA state government politicians is delivering value of money.
“In two years alone, Western Australia’s state politicians have racked up an exorbitant $1 million+ international travel bill, all paid for by ordinary taxpayers.” Said Satya Marar, ATA Director of Policy.
“While building relationships with international stakeholders who could bring investment and opportunities to WA or learning global best practices in public management are beneficial endeavors which could justify foreign travel, spending literally hundreds of thousands per trip to fly state government delegations around the globe to do things which federal trade and policy delegations as well as DFAT officials already do, doesn’t quite pass the pub test.
“Foreign junkets should be viewed as prospective investments. If sending and putting up politicians in glitzy hotels and conference centers overseas is not actually delivering us a measurable return on that investment, then it is not something that hardworking taxpayers across the state as well as our families and businesses should be paying for.”