Father-of-three Stephen Callaghan will be taking his family on a holiday soon after a clever crowdfunding idea gained traction.

The man from Blue Haven in New South Wales decided to ask the country’s politicians and senators to pay for his family trip to Uluru following the expenses scandal.

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This week Mr Callaghan reached his $5000 goal after a single $2000 donation and $200 from a Lake Macquarie councillor.

“I’m surprised and overwhelmed and feeling a little bit guilty because I wanted the pollies to kick in, but instead a lot of ordinary people have,” Mr Callaghan said.

“There was one massive donation of $2000 and I contacted the guy and said ‘that’s way too much’, he has to take it back.

The family reached their $5000 goal.

“But he said he was single and well-off and thought we deserved it and hoped we had a good holiday.

“He refused to take it back.”

Mr Callaghan 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.

The story appeared in the media on Sunday and by Tuesday afternoon the campaign had already surpassed the funding goal.

Lake Macquarie city councillor Chad Griffith (ALP) has engaged in social media banter with Mr Callaghan in the past and decided to donate to the Go Fund Me campaign.

“I thought it was very tongue in cheek, but a very worthwhile cause,” he said, according to the ABC.

“He’s someone that has done it tough through looking for work and whole range of issues.”

The men have never met.

Mr Callaghan hopes to drive the family to Uluru – an ironic parallel of former Education Minister Tony Burke’s taxpayer-funded family business class trip to the same destination that allegedly cost $12,000.

– with ABC