By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
NARRE Warren North MP Luke Donnellan said he makes “no apology” for going on a $58,000 trip to Europe funded by the taxpayer.
According to a report in the Australian, which cites documents posted on the Department of Economic Development website, Mr Donnellan, also the state’s Roads and Ports Minister, and his chief of staff accrued costs of $58,168 on their European trip which included visits to England and Sweden.
This reportedly consisted of $30,000 on airfares and $17,000 in accommodation.
The 11-day trip in September also included a three-day cycling tour in The Netherlands, which was criticised recently by the Opposition.
It’s understood Mr Donnellan’s London visit was to see integrated transport planning and address a road safety forum, while the Swedish leg was also for road safety talks.
Mr Donnellan said there was “no better place” to apply what he learnt in Europe than in his Narre Warren North electorate.
“International travel can provide highly beneficial insights that we can use here in Victoria, such as how we might make our roads safer and how we continue to cater for our growing city and state as our roads get busier,” Mr Donnellan said.
“There’s no better place to apply what I learnt in Europe than in my electorate, which has seen one of the fastest growing populations in Melbourne in recent years.
“I don’t intend to travel overseas on a regular basis, but I make no apology for bringing what I learnt from this trip back home and applying it here in the south-east and in other key areas of this city and state to ensure that Victoria remains a great place to live.”
