James Robertson July 22, 2015
Bronwyn Bishop and entertainment reporter Craig Bennett on the red carpet at an Opera Australia performance of La Boheme at The Domain in 2013.
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Under-fire Speaker Bronwyn Bishop has defended charging taxpayers thousands for expensive car trips on days when she went to the opera.
A Fairfax Media analysis of Mrs Bishop's travel entitlement claims between 2010 and 2013 showed the Speaker has charged taxpayers more than $3300 across at least eight days she attended the theatre and other arts events.
Bronwyn Bishop charged the taxpayer more than $1000 for the use of a car the day she attended the Opera Australia performance of La Boheme at the Domain.
On February 2, 2013, Mrs Bishop - then shadow special minister of state and for seniors - charged taxpayers more than $1000 for the use of a car.
The same day - a Saturday - she attended an Opera Australia performance of La Boheme at The Domain.
Mrs Bishop joined celebrities such as Vince Colosimo and TV personalities Brendan Moar, Indira Naidoo and Steve Liebmann in the crowd. She was pictured arriving with Craig Bennett, an entertainment reporter for the Ten network.
Bronwyn Bishop and Craig Bennett on the red carpet at La Traviata on Sydney Harbour in 2012. Photo: Eva Rinaldi
It is not known if Mrs Bishop had official engagements that day and others listed; her office did not provide details and defended taking taxpayer-funded transport to the theatre.
"It's quite proper," a spokesman said. "Members of both sides use entitlements for [such] events.
"They get invited because of the position that they hold. She would not have been invited otherwise. It's not like she bought a ticket herself."
The $1000 in charges by Mrs Bishop that Saturday were expensed in two amounts, both classified as "taxi". But politicians are not required to provide details of their expenditure on car transport.
In the past, Mrs Bishop has displayed a preference for hire cars from Royale Limousines - which offers chauffeured car hire for the "discerning executive" - that were also classified as "taxis" on expense reports.
Fairfax Media has previously obtained under freedom-of-information laws details of Mrs Bishop's transport on about 17 days between 2011 and 2012. On 11 of those, Mrs Bishop hired a car from Royale Limousines for amounts of up to $700 a day, also listed as "taxis".
No other hire-car companies were engaged in the same period but Mrs Bishop travelled often by Commonwealth Car.
A call to Royale Limousines on Wednesday morning confirmed that, for $1000, a customer could hire a 2014 Mercedes S350 for about 10 hours, or a BMW 7 Series.
The rules governing MP expenses say taxpayers can be charged for car travel for official parliamentary or party business or "official business as a minister".
The revelation comes after Mrs Bishop was placed on "probation" by Prime Minister Tony Abbott this week.
The Speaker had earlier agreed to repay a charge of more than $5000 for the use of a helicopter for a trip between Melbourne and Geelong, after agreeing the amount was "too large" and the mode of transport "grandiose".
The Speaker will also pay a $1300 penalty for the expense.
It is not the first time an MP has come under public scrutiny for charging taxpayers for entertainment-related transport.
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce refused in 2013 to repay more than $5000 for attending three NRL games and defended the trip as part of his job.
"The only reason you go to them is because you're invited [as] an official guest," he said at the time.
Opposition spokesman for infrastructure Anthony Albanese charged taxpayers $1300 for a trip to Melbourne on the day of the 2014 AFL grand final. Mr Albanese appeared on the Bolt Report program in that city the next day.
In the three-year period Mrs Bishop separately charged taxpayers amounts ranging between $60 and $500 for cabs, use of Commonwealth Cars and taxis on days when she attended other arts events such as the opening of Mary Poppins at the Capitol Theatre; another showing of La Boheme in 2011; and Uncle Vanya at the Sydney Theatre Company.
Mrs Bishop is the daughter of a soprano and has herself appeared in charity musicals, including as Baroness Elsa in The Sound of Music and the headmistress in Grease.
In 2013, she was a patron of Opera Australia and gave the organisation more than $6000, according to that organisation's annual report.
Bronwyn Bishop expense scandal: Speaker defends trips to the opera
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