Love is in the air when ministers fly off

Rodney Hide. Photo / Richard Robinson

New love could be to blame for ministers' use of a travel perk that gives them unlimited free travel for spouses and partners and heavily discounted holiday flights.

The top-three spenders on the travel perks for the year so far are divorcees who have recently remarried or found new partners.

Over all ministers, the average spend on the perk was about $10,600 for the first nine months of the year. However, some spent nearly three times that amount.

Act leader Rodney Hide topped the list until he repaid $22,000 of his $34,000 partners-travel tab for taking his girlfriend, Louise Crome, with him to Hawaii and on a ministerial trip to Europe.

Northland MP John Carter's bill for spousal travel for the nine months of the year so far was the next highest - he topped $31,000 - and ACC Minister Nick Smith's was third highest, $26,000.

The figures are on top of their own domestic travel and ministerial official travel and could be a mixture of spouses, children and private international holidays.

Mr Carter married wife Leoni in January last year and Dr Smith married Linley Newport in April this year. Mr Hide's relationship with Ms Crome is about two years old.

A spokesman for Mr Carter said he had not been overseas either officially or personally this year, and put the high cost down to the lengthy commute between Wellington and Northland.

Dr Smith honeymooned in Asia, but a spokesman said he had paid for it himself rather than use his 90 per cent travel subsidy. He said Dr Smith's wife went with him on an official overseas trip in March but her costs were included in the cost of the delegation.

She had accompanied him on his domestic travels for 2020 Emissions Target consultations. They also had four children between them who flew from Nelson to Wellington and back once a term.

Ministers with more long-standing marriages were also in the top five.

Education Minister Anne Tolley's total of $17,000 included an overseas holiday with her husband at a cost of $4120, for which she used her travel perk. A spokesman said Mrs Tolley's husband had not accompanied her on any official trips.

Finance Minister Bill English was also in the top five - although a significant portion of his $16,000 bill was the cost of shuttling up to six children to Southland and back. MPs' children can get up to four return trips from the home electorates to Wellington each year. A spokesman said Mr English had not taken his wife with him on international trips or used his international holiday discount.

The figures show MPs get varying levels of benefit from the perk. Foreign Minister Murray McCully spent just $327. Six others spent less than $5000.

Although Prime Minister John Key has warned his caucus to take care how they spend the perks, yesterday he said he did not want MPs to get "spooked" into halting travel, pointing out they needed to do so for their jobs. He said a certain amount of spousal travel was also appropriate.

Mr Key pays for wife Bronagh's international flights himself, but her domestic travel and that of his children has totalled $11,000 so far this year.

Labour leader Phil Goff said he had told his own caucus to act with restraint in the current climate. He believed Mr Hide's case was different from that of other MPs, saying Mr Hide had built his reputation on criticising other MPs who used the perk.

Other ministers who have revealed their costs include United Future leader Peter Dunne, whose wife went with him to Europe at a cost of $12,000, and Agriculture Minister David Carter, who took his wife to Europe at a similar cost. Phil Heatley and his wife used his 75 per cent discount for a holiday in the Cook Islands.

UP AND AWAY

Travel perks (air and surface) taken by ministers of the Crown between January and September (National Party unless stated otherwise):

John Carter - $31,549
Nick Smith - $26,137
Bill English - $18,366
Peter Dunne (United Future) - $17,848
Anne Tolley - $17,019
Pita Sharples (Maori Party) - $16,653
David Carter - $16,280
Phil Heatley - $16,163
Maurice Williamson - $13,098
Tony Ryall - $12,171
Rodney Hide (Act) - $12,146.60 (Was $34,121 - repaid $21,974.40)
Judith Collins - $11,882
John Key - $10,980
Georgina te Heuheu - $9517
Jonathan Coleman - $7850
Wayne Mapp - $7730
Steven Joyce - $6950
Gerry Brownlee - $6822
Pansy Wong - $6377
Tariana Turia (Maori Party) - $5113
Kate Wilkinson - $3181
Paula Bennett - $3168
Heather Roy (Act) - $3165
Tim Groser - $2483
Simon Power - $2441
Chris Finlayson - $1044
Murray McCully - $359