Looks like romancing paid for by the taxpayer!
Expenses: Burke’s world tour with staffer who became his partner
Ms Laris’s marriage broke down in late 2009. At the time, Mr Burke was married to Ms Bresnan-Burke, who was his partner of more than 20 years.
Italy and Spain were the favoured destinations of Tony Burke when he embarked on a ministerial travel extravaganza that included first-class flights with senior staffer Skye Laris, who is now his partner.
Mr Burke’s expense claims show that in 2008-09 he racked up $225,000 in overseas travel costs.
The Australian understands he was accompanied on most of these trips by Ms Laris.
In January 2009, Mr Burke travelled with Ms Laris in his role as agriculture minister to attend a forum in Barcelona known as “Food Security for All”.
The two travelled in the first-class cabin while senior departmental advisers flew business class.
Mr Burke’s expenses for this six-day trip were $48,951.
Shortly afterwards, Mr Burke promoted Ms Laris from adviser to chief of staff and stipulated that she accompany him on all of his domestic and overseas trips.
A spokesman for Mr Burke said yesterday Ms Laris had been directed to attend the Barcelona meeting by the then chief of staff.
He said this was the only trip in which the two flew first class.
While he denied that any travel directive about Ms Laris had been made, the travel requirement went with the chief-of-staff role.
“No such stipulation was made. It was standard for Mr Burke’s chief of staff to travel with Mr Burke unless the chief of staff delegated the responsibility to another adviser,” the spokesman said.
Mr Burke has come under fire for taking his children with him on a business-class trip to Uluru. Yesterday, he admitted that such travel was “completely beyond community expectations” and pledged not to access these entitlements in the future.
Mr Burke separated from his wife, Cathy Bresnan-Burke, in 2012. His relationship with Ms Laris became public two years later.
He is now able to claim travel costs for Ms Laris and her two children from two previous relationships, as well as for his own three children.
“Ms Laris is registered as Mr Burke’s spouse and all of Mr Burke’s and Ms Laris’s children are registered as dependants with the Department of Finance,” Mr Burke’s spokesman said.
Earlier yesterday, Mr Burke asked the Finance Department to review his parliamentary expenses for trips made with his family, including a 2012 trip to Uluru that involved business-class airfares for his family.
Ms Laris also accompanied Mr Burke in April 2009 on a 14-day trip to China and Italy to attend the Boao Forum for Asia and the “G8+G5 Outreach session” of the G8 agriculture ministers’ meeting. Mr Burke billed the taxpayer $58,722 for this extended tour.
In the same year, Mr Burke travelled to the US and the Middle East at a cost of $81,000, and again to Italy at a cost of $47,286.
In his capacity as finance spokesman, Mr Burke has led the attack on former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop, but a close examination of his expense claims reveals a host of excessive and questionable items.
Labor sources say Mr Burke has pushed the envelope on expense claims and this is why his records show numerous repayments over the years.
As previously revealed, Mr Burke has put in some of the highest claims for office facilities, averaging more than $280,000 a year for the past three year.
His June 2011 statement reveals a $309,900 bill for office fitout.
Ms Laris joined Mr Burke’s staff in early 2008 after having worked in a communications role for the Climate Institute.
Before the Climate Institute, she worked as a radio journalist for the ABC and as a media adviser to a state minister.
Mr Burke then promoted her to chief of staff in 2009 when she was 33 years old.
Ms Laris’s marriage broke down in late 2009. At the time, Mr Burke was married to Ms Bresnan-Burke, who was his partner of more than 20 years.
Ms Laris claims on her LinkedIn account that she was appointed chief of staff to Mr Burke in January 2008, but as Mr Burke’s spokesman has said, she did not hold this position at the time of the Barcelona trip in January 2009.
Ms Laris left Mr Burke’s office in March 2011 to join the activist group GetUp!, and in 2012 she moved into the role of director of digital for the ALP, based in Sydney.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...came-his-partner/story-fn59niix-1227473369458
