During her tenure as federal aged care minister from June 2022 to May of this year, Anika Wells was often nowhere to be found, leaving members of the aged care sector frustrated and bemused at her consistent unavailability. However, revelations over the last few days of her lavish taxpayer-funded travel expenses over the last three years may offer some explanation for her chronic absence.
Wells’ time in office coincided with reports of multiple, expensive trips that appear to prioritise personal convenience over public service. Flights to New York alone cost taxpayers close to $100,000, while domestic trips for sports events, AFL Grand Finals, Formula 1, and ski holidays racked up tens of thousands more. Her husband and children frequently accompanied her, all paid for under the guise of “family reunion” entitlements.
Weekend jaunts to Thredbo, extravagant Paris dinners, and high-end sporting events were routinely claimed as official duties. Even attending friends’ birthday parties was somehow considered part of her ministerial responsibilities. While Wells defended these trips as being within guidelines, the optics are damning. Australians struggling to pay bills and care for elderly relatives saw a minister seemingly using her position as a personal travel pass.
Wells’ lavish lifestyle was matched by her inaccessibility. Members of the aged care sector frequently reported that she was nearly impossible to reach for consultations, urgent issues, or basic questions. In an environment where timely communication can literally affect the lives of vulnerable Australians, her absence and inattention speak volumes about her priorities.
Even if her flights and family excursions were technically within the rules, the question of judgement cannot be ignored. Sending family on ski trips, flying across continents for short appearances, and attending sports events while the aged care sector awaited guidance is a stunning display of misplaced priorities.
Australian Parliament sits for about 18-20 weeks a year, typically in 1-2 week blocks from Monday to Thursday. The entitlements (that’s how Wells think of it no doubt!!) are to make the job more family friendly so the parliamentarian can see their family due to the onerous nature of not seeing their family from Monday to Thursday. They fly home Thursday and fly back Sunday night. The flights are not intended to shower the parliamentarians family in gratuitous sporting events or family holidays. Like the rest of us parliamentarians should pay for that themselves, especially on their $400,000 salary per year.
Anika Wells should he made to pay all those costs back to the tax payers.
How can she or Albanese or any other politician justify $100,000 to fly herself and her family to New York?? Like seriously. I’m sure many other workers would love to take their family’s with them on special work occasions but sadly that can’t happen.
How can she sit back hiding now and still believe she was ENTITLED to spend all that tax payers money on herself and her family and no doubt there would have been friends in there too.
It’s absolutely disgusting how she is so SELF ENTITLED just because she is a politician.
She should hang her head is absolute shame and disgrace for ABUSING her role in parliament because that’s exactly what she has and is doing.
Bet she doesn’t even stop to think about the many Australians out there struggling just to pay their bills, pay for fuel in their cars to get to work and run kids to school and sports, put food on their tables, pay for dental and medical, rent and mortgages.
Many would love to just be able to go for a holiday somewhere nice just in Australia let alone New York and the likes.
Many can’t even go to sporting events like the tennis or cricket or football but here she is just lapping it all up at tax payers expense.
Hang your head in shame Anika Wells and any other politician who thinks this is all OK.
ITS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE.
Politicians are on absolute disgusting high wages so use your own money to pay for every you want to do. STOP USING US TAX PAYERS TO FUND YOUR LIVES AND THAT OF YOUR FAMILIES. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Not defending here but she didn’t fly her family to the US