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President Abela cost Australian taxpayers $19,352 in VIP flights
President George Abela’s State Visit to Australia has reportedly cost the Australian taxpayer $19,352 (€15,000) in air force VIP flights.
17 December 2011, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
2 min read
President George Abela with Australia's Governor-General Quentin Bryce in Canberra last March
Figures published today in Australia and reproduced in Sydney's Sunday Telegraph, it was revealed that president George Abela "enjoyed $19,352 in flights, zipping from Sydney to Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne in March with an entourage of 26."
Abela's was the second highest expense incurred by the Australian government, given the size of his entourage, which included his wife, Mrs. Abela, education minister Dolores Cristina and a number of his staff.
The report gave a breakdown of the costs incurred by the Australian taxpayers during 2011 in VIP air force travel by foreign dignitaries down under.
Prince William topped the list of expenses for 2011, with a three-day trip costing almost
The Duke of Cambridge flew on the RAAF Boeing 737 around Queensland to visit flood-affected zones in March, as well as touring Victoria.
He was joined by his retinue, including his special adviser Sir David Manning, private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton and security adviser John Hourihan, a former chief inspector with London's Metropolitan Police.
"The Prince was our most expensive VIP guest in the first half of 2011, according to the Department of Defence's report on special purpose flights conducted by the air force," the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Malielegaoi took $19,024 in VIP flights in June, albeit with a more modest retinue of 13, between Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.
India's former air force chief, Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Naik, cost Australian taxpayers $13,776 for visits to Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Mongolia's richest man, who also happens to be Prime Minister, Sukhbaataryn Batbold, cost taxpayers $9,840 on a February visit, where he opened an exhibition about Genghis Khan and delivered speeches about Mongolia's resource sector and economy.
Disgraced British Defence Minister Liam Fox enjoyed Australia's hospitality before he resigned amid allegations of improper dealings, spending $15,416 on his visit to Australia in January, while British defence chief Sir David Richards clocked up $5576 in VIP flights on his own January visit.
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L-awsterita trid tibda mil KBAR hekk sewwa ghandha presitend li ghandu KOLLOX imhallas KOLLOX FREE il paga tieghu tibqa sejra il bank ghal 5 snien u bil wicc tost kollu HADD minnhom (Presitendi kollha li kien hemm ) ma JHALLAS TAXXA u il povru Hadddiem irid ihallas sa lanqas sit habbiet
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A transparent democracy at work - and exposing the banality and arrogance of mock democracies such as Malta. This president has been one big parasite - i think he models himself on his Italian counter-part which costs Italy more than the whole royal family in the UK!
They are complaining because this money came of the backs of hardworking Australians.
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Chicken feed, what are they complaining about ?
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Karl musta bin clubbin befo puttin pen to paper.
Luke Camilleri •
.... and money well spent!
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These figures do not impress. It is usual for a host government to incur them. Going over the figures, our President's expenses for a 26-strong retinue are not that high compared to, say, Samoa's 13 retinue delegation. However, i wonder how many of the 26 were Maltese and how many were Aussies. Moreover, i admire the Australian government's transparency in such matters, which must be financially trivial within the overall Australian economy. And they have been quick, too, considering that the visits took place this same year. What would be more interesting for the Maltese taxpayer to know would be the cost of each ministerial visit abroad carried out throughout the year. I'm not saying these are not necessary, but we have a right to know what they are costing us. Usually, we only come to know of such matters through replies to PQs.
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Ok seriously, what's happening at Malta Today? Is the proofreader on strike or something? The language in this article is unintelligible at times; there is even a sentence that is unfinished! This is not the only article with dismal language I've read on this website today.
