AEC electoral funding payments - Oakeshott, Windsor $70K each, The Greens $6.3M, Derryn Hinch $.5M!
Tony Thomas on the Clinton Foundation and Gillard's Global Partnership for Education

Juanita Phillips and the ABC must have forgotten about that $72,000 Europe trip with Greg Combet

The story in the clip below expresses the ABC's outrage based information it received in an FOI application about a splash-up trip to South America for a group of Federal politicians - "The ABC has obtained details of the taxpayer funded trip - calls for the 'system' to be overhauled".

Somehow, Juanita Phillips managed to keep a straight face introducing the story - thanks to reader Brian for the tip.  Brian says:

 

Listen as ABC newsreader Juanita Phillips exposes the MPs living the high life traveling to exotic locations in 2015 at taxpayers' expense. In a report that aired on Sunday the 24th of July 2016, Phillips revealed that "the ABC has obtained details of their taxpayer-funded trip, leading to calls for the system to be overhauled". 
How very convenient for the ABC to apply a little scrutiny now that the LNP is in power. WHERE was that scrutiny in 2013 when PHILLIPS herself accompanied Labor Climate Change Minister Greg Combet - with whom she had only begun a relationship in 2012 - on a lavish first class trip to Paris which cost taxpayers a whopping $72,000?

  

 

 I'd be fascinated to know how you spend $57K on airfares for two people going to Europe and back Juanita, plus $9K on hotels and nearly $5K on "ground transport" which the rest of us refer to as the train or taxis.

 

ABC newsreader Juanita Phillips and Labor MP Greg Combet / Picture: Craig Greenhill

ABC newsreader Juanita Phillips and Labor MP Greg Combet / Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: News Limited

PANICKED ABC management ­believed star newsreader Juanita Phillips left them in a “tricky” position after blindsiding them over her controversial $72,000 taxpayer-funded European first class trip with Labor lover Greg Combet.

Emails reveal the $320,000-a-year star only told her superiors about the 10-day climate change ministerial trip with Mr Combet, who held the ­portfolio at the time, through France, Germany and Belgium last year upon her return and after it was raised with the Gillard government.

But ABC head of editorial policy Alan Sunderland instead planned to tell the public the ABC 24 host and Sydney news anchor had “always been upfront and clear” with the ABC about the romance. The pair began dating in 2012. 

“It’s a little tricky, because we are being specifically asked if we were aware of the trip in advance,” Mr Sunderland wrote in one email.

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL EMAIL TRANSCRIPT

The ABC attempted to downplay the lack of prior knowledge of the trip, saying Ms Phillips did not have to seek permission, that it was later found to be within ABC guidelines anyway and that the broadcaster had always provided a “high degree of transparency” dealing with the issue.

“However, the ABC also ­understood and correctly predicted that some media organisations would ignore the fact her actions did not breach any guidelines,” a spokesman said.

Six months after ABC chiefs plotted how to handle the romance’s conflict-of-interest concerns, it was revealed the 10-day trip racked up $57,673 on airfares, $8914 on hotels and meals and $4634 on ground transport for Mr Combet to attend meetings and a climate conference.

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