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‘Working class’ dad asks politicians to pay for trip

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A “working class” dad has started a crowdfunding campaign inviting politicians to pay for a family trip to Uluru following outrage over taxpayer-funded travel for Australian MPs.

Stephen Callaghan from Blue Haven, NSW, said he set up Please Pay For My Kids’ Holiday on Go Fund Me because he was “angry” about travel claims made for the families of Education Minister Christopher Pyne, Labor frontbencher Tony Burke and Treasurer Joe Hockey.

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Early on Monday morning, the page had garnered $660 in donations.

Mr Callaghan's ambitious crowd funding bid. Photo: GoFundMe

Mr Callaghan’s ambitious crowd funding bid. Photo: GoFundMe

“I’m just so angry at all these politicians that think it’s acceptable for us to cart their kids around business class on holidays,” he told the ABC.

“I understand they have work expenses but this is just pushing the boundaries.

“We’re working class, we’ve got lots of friends who have never been on a holiday. Ordinary Australians are doing it a tougher than [politicians] are.”

The campaign is addressed to federal MPs.

“It has come to my attention that many of you have been using taxpayers’ money to fly your children around on various holidays, fireworks visits, excursion and overseas vacations,” Mr Callaghan wrote on the Go Fund Me site.

“I would appreciate it greatly if you were able to donate to my Go Fund Me campaign so MY kids can go on a holiday too.

“All I ask is that, in the words of our great Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, my children get a ‘fair go’.”

Mr Callaghan said his family had already planned the Uluru trip before the scandals, which started with Bronwyn Bishop’s $5,000 chartered helicopter flight from Melbourne to Geelong.

He said it was a coincidence that Mr Burke was under attack for his trip to the same destination.

“The kids are not getting any younger at eight, nine and 12 … we want to see Uluru,” Mr Callaghan said.

“We’re really sacrificing for this trip. I sold my car and the kids have sold a few of their possessions like Nintendo games … it will cost $1,800 just in fuel to get there and back.”

Mr Callaghan said he did not expect to reach the $5,000 target but if he did, he would donate some of the money to children’s charity, Stewart House.

He said the family would see Uluru regardless. “I’m not expecting a cent from politicians. They will just ignore [it],” he said.

Mr Callaghan said he emailed every politician he could find an address for and tweeted others.

“Adam Bandt, he just tweeted a picture of a boarding pass for an infant that said ‘her first flight ever’,” he said.

“I [tweeted him], ‘who’s paying for that, Adam?’ He deleted the tweet.

“They [MPs] just seem to be hoping if they put their heads down, we’ll all forget about it.”

MPs under fire for taxpayer-funded travel

Mr Hockey is the latest MP to come under scrutiny. Photo: Getty

Mr Hockey is the latest MP to come under scrutiny. Photo: Getty

Mr Hockey is the latest federal MP to have travel claims questioned.

It was revealed on Saturday that Education Minister Christopher Pyne spent more than $5,000 of taxpayers’ money flying himself and three family members to Sydney in 2009.

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 charging taxpayers for going to a Robbie Williams concert and flying his family to Uluru in 2012 for $12,000.

Last week, Mrs Bishop resigned as Speaker following ongoing criticism over her travel expenses.

The leader of the Palmer United Party said an apparent truce by both sides of federal politics was the start of a massive cover-up.

Liberal and Labor halted attacks on each other over the weekend after the Prime Minister announced a review of the travel entitlements system to bring it into line with community expectations.

Clive Palmer said it was a diversion to stop the public from finding out how much money Federal MPs had spent tripping around the country.

He said the two major parties had stopped attacking each other publicly because they were frightened about whose name would come up next.

“It’s not up to them to call a truce. If they have done the wrong thing they will have to ‘fess up for it,” he said.

“We want a review and a public hearing where members of the public can come forward an express what they think the entitlements should be.

“If people can’t act honestly in this area they can’t govern the country. No-one has been more closely scrutinised than me but I don’t mind it.”

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