Coalition Senator Bridget McKenzie has defended billing taxpayers for a trip that included a family wedding, and signalled she won't pay the money back.
She spoke with Today about the February 2023 four-day trip to Tasmania which costed taxpayers $853.52, and included her attending the wedding of her son.
It was first reported in The Age.
READ MORE: Senate hearing derailed by fiery stoush between McKenzie and Labor MP
McKenzie has insisted her travel was genuine political business, saying taxpayers did fork out for any expenses over the wedding.
"Taxpayer funds should never be used for private business, nor were they in this case," she told Today.
"When we're undertaking whether it be community engagement, media engagement, stakeholder meetings, you know, assisting colleagues, there are arrangements in place to assist us to do that work that is right and appropriate, and it is not right and appropriate to bill the taxpayer, as you say, for personal activities. And I did not do that.
"So when I was on personal business, I absolutely paid my own way."
When asked if she stood by her decision, she replied: "Yep".
McKenzie maintained she had behaved correctly when fellow guest James Willis from 2GB suggested the Coalition front bencher should pay the money back.
The episode has dogged her over past days, with a leading Liberal MP and shadow minister saying the optics didn't appear good.
Coalition treasury spokesman Tim Wilson said the trip to Tasmania was technically within parliamentary guidelines, but it failed the "pub test".
