Communications Minister Anika Wells spent almost $100,000 of taxpayer money on a three-day trip to New York City, according to documents released at Senate estimates.
Wells stung the public purse with $94,828.75 on return flights for herself and two staffers to attend the United Nations General Assembly in early September.
A breakdown of the flights revealed Wells paid $34,426.58 for her ticket.
Minister for Communications and Sport Anika Wells flew to NYC in September for just three days. (Alex Ellinghausen)
Flights for the minister’s deputy chief of staff were $38,165.86, and her assistant secretary for online safety’s tickets were $22,236.31 for the whirlwind visit.
Accommodation and transport in the Big Apple also totalled around $22,296 for the trio.
The UN General Assembly was already well-represented by Australian politicians, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
She was due to fly earlier alongside the PM but her trip was delayed by several days due to the Optus Triple Zero outage.
9news.com.au has contacted the minister’s office for comment.
Wells is scheduled to front the National Press Club in Canberra today.
