Anthony Albanese believes Peter Slipper (pic) has been treated harshly over travel expense claims. Source: AAP
CHRIS Bowen admires Tony Abbott's fitness regime but the interim Labor leader says taxpayers shouldn't have to cover the cost of the Prime Minister showing off his sporting prowess.
Mr Abbott has repaid over $1700 claimed for travelling to the weddings of former colleagues Sophie Mirabella and Peter Slipper in 2006.
But he is defending the use of parliamentary entitlements to enter an ironman triathlon and the annual Pollie Pedal charity fundraiser.
"I believe that all of my claims have been within entitlement," he told reporters at the APEC leaders forum in Bali.
Mr Abbott claimed nearly $1300 in flights and allowances for a night at Port Macquarie in November 2011 when he competed in the ironman triathlon in the marginal NSW seat.
"I don't go to marginal seats simply for sporting events ... and I think you'll find there were quite a few other community events involved in those visits," he said.
Mr Bowen says it didn't appear Mr Abbott had participated in any other community events in Port Macquarie.
"It's good that Mr Abbott tries to keep fit ... but if he chooses to participate in an ironman event, that is in my view pretty clearly a personal issue, a personal expense, not something the taxpayer can fairly be asked to cover," he said.
Coalition ministers George Brandis and Barnaby Joyce have also repaid expenses they claimed for travel to former shock jock Michael Smith's 2011 wedding - and a clutch of others are also caught up in expense controversies.
But it's not just the government caught up in the furore.
Hours after calling for "some serious investigation" into the coalition's expenses claims, shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus paid back $466 he claimed for staying two nights in Canberra in August 2011 when he was actually skiing in the Snowy Mountains.
His office called it an administrative error, saying Mr Dreyfus had taken the trip on a weekend between two parliamentary sitting weeks in Canberra without his staff knowing he had left the capital.
Labor frontbencher Tony Burke said Mr Abbott shouldn't be surprised at the outcry given his "holier than thou" attitude over former speaker Peter Slipper's alleged expense rorts.
"If you're going to do the character assassination that Tony Abbott and George Brandis did on Peter Slipper, then I don't think you can be surprised when the public want to apply the same standards that these two men held up," he said.
Labor doesn't take issue with $3500 Mr Abbott claimed when taking part in the 2012 Pollie Pedal through regional Australia as it allows for engagement with community groups in towns that rarely see politicians.
Mr Abbott will take part in it again in 2014 and plans to use his allowances "to the extent that it involves being away from home".
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