Government ministers in South Australia – with a very long and shameful history of travel rorts – will now be held accountable to the taxpayers who fund their travel following the successful passage of Sarah Game MLC’s Public Sector (Ministerial Travel Reports) Amendment Bill 2023.

Sarah’s legislation standardises travel reporting for all ministerial departments, providing for greater transparency and accountability. Ministers will now be required to report on their ministerial travel within 45 days if they undertake trips outside South Australia. Reporting requirements include the reason for and necessity of the travel; costs such as transportation, accommodation, food and beverages, activity expenses, and a summary of activities.

“During a time of rising inflation, rising interest rates, and rental and housing crises, South Australians deserve to know that politicians are accountable for spending their taxpayer dollars,” Sarah said.

“Politicians are here to serve the South Australian people. They are not elite individuals entitled to luxury trips at taxpayers’ expense. Community morale and respect for politicians is already low, and a big part of that is seeing how much ministerial travel costs without any clear explanation of the benefits.”

Labor Premier Peter Malinuaskas’ visit to Japan and South Korea in October 2022 saw taxpayers hit with a $150,000 bill as he, other ministers and top public servants flew business class and stayed in classy hotels on the five-night business trip.

“This amendment is the bare minimum the public is entitled to know regarding the interstate and overseas travel of government ministers and the staff who accompany them, including ministerial staff and public sector employees,” Sarah said.