Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has spent more than $36,000 of taxpayer money in travel to make an announcement about a Department grant.
Mr Dutton chartered the Royal Australian Air Force jet from Canberra to Tasmania to make a grants announcement for CCTV systems for two councils during the 2018 Braddon byelection campaign.
A Home Affairs department briefing released to the ABC under freedom of information shows Mr Dutton was advised against approving the grants on the grounds they did “not represent value for money in accordance with the program guidelines”, which he over-ruled.