Public documents confirm Education Minister Christopher Pyne spent more than $5,000 of taxpayers’ money flying himself and three family members to Sydney over the Christmas-New Year break in 2009.

Department of Finance documents show that on Christmas Day in 2009 Mr Pyne and three family members flew from his home city of Adelaide to Sydney.

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Each airfare cost $1,200 and the family returned on New Year’s Day.

During the period Mr Pyne also spent almost $1,000 on Commonwealth cars and claimed two nights of travel allowance, worth $240.

The documents indicate Mr Pyne claimed the travel allowance because he had official shadow ministerial business.

A spokesperson for Mr Pyne said: “While in Sydney, Mr Pyne undertook work as a shadow minister, including a planning day with the new leader of the opposition.

“Neither Mr Pyne nor his family have ever seen the New Year’s Eve Sydney fireworks.”

Mr Pyne is the latest federal MP to have his travel claims put under the microscope.

Earlier this week Labor frontbencher Tony Burke was accused of “hypocrisy” when attacking outgoing parliamentary speaker Bronwyn Bishop over her expense claims.

Mr Burke’s own history of claims included a decision to charge taxpayers for going to a Robbie Williams concert and flying his family to Uluru in 2012 for $12,000.

Mr Burke said while the entitlements claims were within the rules, they were “beyond community expectations”.

Last week Mrs Bishop resigned as Speaker following sustained pressure over her travel expenses.

She faced fierce criticism when it was revealed she had spent more than $5,000 chartering a helicopter from Melbourne to Geelong to attend a Liberal Party fundraiser last November.