Defence Minister Richard Marles has turned the tables on Peter Dutton during an extraordinary showdown in question time over his use of RAAF jets.

The Coalition raised questions about whether Mr Marles has been taking flights on a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) special-purpose aircraft for reasons other than official ministerial business.

More than $3 million in flights have reportedly been authorised by Mr Marles’ office since April, including a $16,000 flight from Brisbane to Sydney on the day of the Women’s World Cup semi-final last month. 

On Monday, Mr Marles sidestepped a further Opposition question about whether he had ever taken his golf clubs on an RAAF jet, but he accused Mr Dutton of hypocrisy. 

Begs the question

Mr Marles claimed that his office had received “numerous requests” from the Opposition Leader for a seat on the same RAAF aircraft, including asking “two times at least in writing” to fly to a Matildas game. 

“It begs the question, Mr Speaker, as to what the leader of the Opposition has to hide,” Mr Marles said.

“Their attempt to politicise (this) is pathetic but, worse, it reeks of hypocrisy.”

The Defence Minister has refused to say how many of the flights authorised by his office were taken by him personally, citing security advice about not revealing travel patterns. 

Mr Marles accused the Opposition Leader’s office of being the source of stories about his use of the jet as a form of payback for releasing information about RAAF flights dating back to Mr Dutton’s time as defence minister. 

“The fact that this is in the public domain is because this government released information about the use of the special-purpose aircraft during the period of time that the minister – the now leader of the Opposition – was the then minister for defence,” Mr Marles said. 

“Absolutely no information was released about the use of the special-purpose aircraft during the time that he was the minister for defence.”

The New Daily contacted Mr Dutton’s office for comment.

Evergreen issue

Monday’s exchange is the latest instalment in one of the evergreen scandals of Australian politics: Ministers’ use of VIP travel.

Harold Holt VIP affair (1966-1967)

• Former prime minister Harold Holt faced scrutiny for allegedly misusing RAAF VIP flights. An inquiry led to more stringent guidelines on VIP aircraft use, including what constituted official business for politicians and new standards for disclosure.
  

Bronwyn Bishop’s helicopter ride (2015)

• Then-speaker of the House, Bronwyn Bishop, spent $5227 for a helicopter ride from Melbourne to Geelong, causing public uproar and eventually leading to her resignation. “I repaid it; I think you should be doing some repaying,” Mrs Bishop said last week in response to the allegations against Mr Marles, noting that many of his flights landed at Geelong’s Avalon Airport.  

Sussan Ley’s Gold Coast trips (2017)

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese referenced a previous scandal on Monday involving then-health minister Sussan Ley, who was criticised for purchasing a Gold Coast apartment on an official work trip billed to the taxpayer. Though she flew commercially, she faced significant scrutiny and eventually stepped down.