Public servants are taking hundreds of business-class flights between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
Many of the fares were for longer haul flights to and from Perth, but hundreds were for flights that were under two hours. All departments only allow staff who have the level of Senior Executive Services or above to fly business. Brian Marlow, president of the libertarian-leaning Australian Taxpayers Alliance, suggested major Australian businesses had tighter policies than government departments.
He said some people might look at the figures as a “drop in the ocean” when compared to other government spending, but this “misses the point entirely”. Asked what its policy was for domestic flights, the Department of Infrastructure said: “The class of fares for Senior Executive Service level employees within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts is business class.”
They should pay up front and be reimbursed later, a good test of whether zoom might do.
Based on figures from 11 Commonwealth departments for the 2021-22 financial year, bureaucrats took more than 4000 business class flights. - and you went with the divisive head line of course - badly done.
Define public servants because I can tell you a level 2 3 or 4 would be lucky to get a bus
State Governments generally reserve business class for CEOs only. Rest travel domestic, even when travelling on business overseas.
I managed corporate travel program valued up to $250M pa for 20+ years. I offered a number of times to help them better set policy and manage govt programs. No response, no interest, just let the kids run the show and waste taxpayer money.
I bet they wouldn’t be flying business class if it was their own money.
There is senior executive service (SES) level that's around 140k plus a year travel business as do every politician but every other pleb public service APS1 to EL2 travel economy, that's about 80% of public service. Facts not fiction or headlines.
It's not their money Ralph they wouldn't do it if they had to pay for it out of their own pocket mg's
Pathetic
they do not need it for any flight except maybe perth, darwin, broome
Need a Melbourne - Canberra - Sydney - Newcastle - Brisbane fast train..... But i'm sure it has already been said 1000 years ago.