Wells’ return commercial flights to New York cost $34,426.58, her deputy chief of staff’s cost $38,165, and the flight of the online safety assistant secretary, who flew two days earlier, cost $22,236.31. A first-class Qantas return flight from Canberra to New York was available for about $16,000 on Wednesday. Flight costs are variable due to timing and seasonal changes.
Accommodation and transport costs for the trio in New York were $US15,985 ($24,275).
The government hosted an event at UN headquarters on protecting children in the digital age, which cost $US45,744.11 ($69,500). Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the UN General Assembly about the teen social media ban in the Delegates Dining Room, which boasts a waterfront backdrop over New York’s East River.
The Delegates Dining Room at the United Nations in New York.Credit: www.delegatesdiningroom-un.com
Wells said at the time that there were several world leaders at the event, including President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and prime ministers from Greece, Malta, Fiji and Tonga, among others.
Wells’ trip to the United States had already faced criticism, with her departure coming just four days after the Optus Triple Zero outage on September 18, which resulted in three deaths.
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Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh labelled the minister’s travel to New York a “PR trip”.
“I have always said the minister for communications should never have left her post during the Triple Zero crisis,” McIntosh said.
“As the crisis continued to unfold, the minister was holding a lavish event in New York. An event where the bill for over $73,000 was footed by the minister’s communications department, also known as the Australian taxpayer,” she said.
“And while families back in Australia are left wondering how the minister will actually make the under-16s social media ban work … the minister and her staff spent over $72,000 on flights to spruik its success to the UN.”
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Wells met with industry groups and stakeholders on the trip, including the vice presidents of Meta and Microsoft and Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer.
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson said Wells’ decision to fly to New York after the Triple Zero crisis was offensive and “at an enormous cost to Australian taxpayers”.
A government spokesperson said Wells attended the UN General Assembly to meet with world leaders about the new social media laws, which begin on December 10.
“The minister attended several events that garnered worldwide attention for how Australia is leading the world in online safety,” they said in a statement.
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