Two cabinet ministers charged taxpayers $14,000 to fly their partners to an outback race meeting.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and his Environment Minister colleague Melissa Price both had a day at the track in the remote Western Australian coastal town of Broome, 2,200km north of Perth, in July 2014.
Both West Australian federal MPs charged taxpayers for their spouses to fly from Perth to the state's far north for the annual Broome Cup.
Treasurer and Liberal deputy leader Josh Frydenberg joined them on the trip, but paid his own way because he was on holiday.
The minister in charge of government spending programs and a future cabinet minister charged taxpayers more than $14,000 to attend the races (Broome Turf Club pictured)
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann (left) charged taxpayers $6,763 to attend the races in Broome, which included $2,177 in flights on the public purse for wife Hayley Ross (right)
Senator Cormann billed taxpayers $6,763 while Ms Price, the member for Durack, claimed $7,498, with their expenses adding up to $14,261, Department of Finance records show.
At that Saturday race meeting on July 5, Ms Price - then a first-term backbencher - wore a red fascinator and posed in a picture with Mr Frydenberg trackside in Broome.
'Welcome Josh Frydenberg. Great to see you in Broome taking a well-earned short break,' she told her Facebook followers at the time.
Ms Price, who represents Australia's biggest electorate, said the travel to the Broome Cup was entirely within parliamentary guidelines.
Liberal MP Melissa Price (left with future Treasurer Josh Frydenberg) charged taxpayers $7,498 to attend the races in Broome in July 2014
'As the member for Durack, the minister supports local communities across 1.6 million square kilometres,' her spokesman told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.
'The Broome Cup is one of most important annual events on the community’s calendar and a significant driver for local tourism.'
Ms Price also used her trip to Broome to attend the indigenous Kullari Naidoc ball.
While Broome falls within Ms Price's vast outback electorate of Durack, the travel expenses weren't just for her, as taxpayers footed the cost of transporting her boyfriend Brad Bell.
She gushed on Facebook about welcoming her Liberal Party colleague Josh Frydenberg to Broome for a 'well-earned short break'
Flights from Perth to Broome for Mr Bell cost taxpayers $846 under the 'family traveller' category.
- Perth to Derby flight, Friday July 4, $561
- Hire car for Broome weekend, $348
- Broome to Karratha charter flight, $4,009, Sunday July 6
- Karratha to Perth flight, $893, July 6
- Commonwealth car trips to and from Perth airport, $83
- Travel allowance claim, $758
- Family traveller expenses for boyfriend Brad Bell, $846
TOTAL: $7,498
Source: Department of Finance
Ms Price, who lives in a waterview house in Perth well outside her electorate, claimed $758 in travel allowance for accommodation on July 4 and 5.
The public purse also funded $348 in car hire during her weekend trip to Broome.
To get from Perth to Broome, she charged $561 to fly from the West Australian capital to Derby.
The expenses didn't stop there, with the Liberal MP charging taxpayers
