some ex mps are frequent flyers

Yahoo News...
Former federal MPs have been accused of riding a publicly-funded gravy plane, claiming more than 20,000 free flights around Australia since 2001 at a cost to taxpayers of more than $8 million.

Fairfax newspapers report that 272 former MPs and widows of MPs enjoyed holidays and other travel under the Life Gold Pass scheme over a seven-year period.

One in four of the retired politicians claimed more than 100 trips each, with 11 of them chalking up bills exceeding $100,000, according to documents obtained under freedom of information laws.

Ian Sinclair, a former Nationals leader and speaker of the House of Representatives, heads the list of frequent flying parliamentary retirees, having taken 701 flights between January 2001 and June 2008 - an average of two flights every week.

Mr Sinclair's total flying bill came to $214,545, although he repaid $11,731 in December 2001 after claiming 296 flights that year. Mr Sinclair has spent much of his post-politics career helping community groups and charities.

The second most prolific flyer was former Queensland Labor senator Margaret Reynolds, who left parliament a decade ago. She claimed 427 flights at a cost of $142,863.

Former Labor government ministers Gordon Bilney and Barry Jones were the next heaviest users of the perk, with 362 and 361 flights respectively, followed by former Kalgoorlie-based Labor-turned-independent MP Graeme Campbell, who took 350 trips.

Many former MPs defend the scheme, saying they use it to continue to serve the public through charity and community work or to help national institutions.

The travel perk for former MPs comes in addition to their generous superannuation benefits and provides free business or first class airline travel within Australia with their spouses.

Some of the annual claims far exceed the value of the aged pension and some of those sending their travel bills to the taxpayer have not sat in parliament for more than 20 years.

Dave R.