Big spenders, high flyers
Politicians’ expenses claims for the past quarter have been released by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, and a few items caught The Snoop’s eye:
After the prime minister, Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell declared the highest amount of expenses at $667,067. This includes more in international travel ($74,622) than any other MP, including Anthony Albanese, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles.
Within One Nation, Barnaby Joyce ($261,037) outspent Pauline Hanson ($178,689) for the quarter.
Anika Wells has repaid $7,357, mostly in wrongly claimed family travel expenses and car rental, as did former senator Linda Reynolds ($6,253).
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten also repaid a whopping $12,900 printing bill from January 2025. What were you printing, Bill?!
We will continue to wade through the reports — if you see something we should know about, send in a tip.
Got a tip? Been snooping? Contact Snoop editor Cochon Truffier securely via our tip-off form, or via Signal and WhatsApp using the number +61 494 644 259. Email us at boss@crikey.com.au
What’s in a name?
Internal documents released under FOI by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reveal two psychological insights into Australia’s head of mission to the EU.
Emails from late last year reveal Angus Campbell, former chief of the Defence Force and now ambassador to the EU, NATO, Belgium and Luxembourg, was particular enough about his online profile to pop into the office of the Belgian embassy’s public affairs manager to request his experience in the Middle East receive its own bullet point on the embassy’s website. Further emails discuss changes to refer to Campbell as “His Excellency” instead of “General (Retired)”, and omit his middle name (John).
Far more disturbingly, the emails also reveal that some public servants working in the embassy use Comic Sans in their email signatures. Combined with the embassy’s social media accounts hawking cryptocurrency in January last year, one wonders how concerned we should be for the nation’s prospects in Europe.
News24 gets back to facts
We’re still getting used to calling Sky News Australia by its new name, News24, but the new brand’s debut correction (a fun and regular feature of the old brand) has made things feel a little more familiar:
“The Credlin program published on 3 August 2026 stated that in 2021, Judaism was on the official census form, and this year, it is not. That was incorrect. In both 2021 and 2026 the census forms provided Judaism as an example of ‘other’ religions to be specified by those completing the census in writing. News24 notes that while the parliament decides the topics covered by the census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which is an independent agency, determines the questions for the topics.”
A penny for MTG’s thoughts
If you could pay Marjorie Taylor Greene to say something — anything — what would it be?
Good news! The conspiracy theorist and former Republican congresswoman is now on Cameo, the platform for fans to buy personalised video messages from celebrities and other high-profile personalities. A personal video from MTG starts at US$179 (A$253), while a “business” video costs a minimum of US$5,000 (A$7,100). Tempting…
The house always wins
In the same week the Senate inquiry into gambling inducements heard shocking testimony such as that of ex-NRL player Luke Bateman, the government revealed it is considering shelving gambling ad restrictions rather than make them any stronger.
Much has been made of the assistance the government appears willing to grant the gambling industry, but something that escaped the notice of the bunker, pointed out by a tipster, is that the gambling and racing industries are steady recipients of the Fuel Tax Credits (FTC) scheme. Totalling it up, the tipster found the industries have received roughly $25 million in FTC over the past 20 years.
Of course, that’s a drop in the ocean for the FTC scheme. Analysis commissioned by corporate accountability not-for-profit Climate Integrity showed, in the last year alone, the top 18 recipients collectively pocketed a $3.3 billion rebate for the diesel they used. Over the same period, they paid $150 million under the Safeguard Mechanism, a ratio of 22 to 1. — by Charlie Lewis
Barrie’s back
In the spirit of what’s old being new again, long-term former Insiders host Barrie Cassidy will return to the famed ABC couch on Sunday morning to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the program. He will join The Australian’s editor-at-large Paul Kelly and political journalist Karen Middleton alongside current host David Speers.
Perks of the gig (apparently)
Emmy Award-winning Texas local news anchor Daniella Guzman will return to the airwaves after a one-week suspension and an internal review into her accepting complimentary tickets to a Bruno Mars concert and the recent FIFA World Cup.
If similar rules applied at major mainstream newsrooms in Australia, there’d doubtless be an awful lot of media types with a week or two of spare time on their hands.
Edited by Cochon Truffier, Crikey’s tip hog. Contact him securely via our tip-off form, or via Signal and WhatsApp using the number +61 494 644 259. Email him at boss@crikey.com.au