Mr Morrison said Labor disability services spokesman Bill Shorten was playing “cheap politics” by criticising the weekend flights because all federal MPs knew they qualified for exemptions when going to Canberra for work.
“I mean,the government still needs to function. And we return home when we’re able to return home. That hasn’t happened that often this year,I’ve got to tell you,but that’s the nature of the job and we all accept that,” Mr Morrison told Sky News.
“But the suggestion that somehow this was an unusual arrangement for members of Parliament,indeed ministers,well,that just wouldn’t be true.”
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Mr Morrison flew from Canberra to Sydney last Friday on one of the Royal Australian Air Force’s business jets,a Dassault Falcon 7X,and returned to Canberra early Monday morning.
Flights between the two cities cost $2118 each way in the most recentSchedule of Special Purpose Flights released every six months by the Department of Defence.
Mr Morrison did not need special approval to fly to Sydney but his return flight required approval from the Australian Capital Territory,which has banned entry from NSW to Canberra except for those who live in border neighbourhoods or gain exemptions from health authorities.