A Western Australian federal MP spent almost $2,000 on a chartered flight to attend a regional football grand final last year.
Liberal MP for O'Connor Rick Wilson used a taxpayer-funded $1,995 charter to fly from Albany to Narrogin return in a private plane on September 5 last year to attend the final day of the Upper Great Southern Football League.
The trip, to the game featuring Mr Wilson's former football club Katanning Wanderers, was listed under electoral duties in a parliamentary report.
Mr Wilson regularly charters aircraft to visit parts of his vast electorate which is the second largest in Australia after Durack at more than 1 million square kilometres.
The Liberal MP said he attended the grand final in Narrogin as it was a "significant community event".
MP says he met with constituents at football
"In Narrogin, I attended the Upper Great Southern Football League finals day, which is a very big annual community event attended by thousands of people from around my electorate," he said.
Albany to Narrogin is about 500km return by road or just under three hours one way — a trip often completed in a day by Great Southern residents.
The trip was one of several chartered flights Mr Wilson took across the electorate from July to September totalling $21,408.10.
Comparatively, during the same period Liberal MP Melissa Price, whose northern WA electorate Durack is the largest in Australia, spent $5,396.67 on unscheduled transport.
Mr Wilson's official Facebook page posted a congratulatory post about the game.
"My old side, the Katanning Wanderers has just won perhaps the greatest grand final victory in the club's history at Clayton Road Oval in Narrogin against Williams," it read.
"Very proud of my home town and the people who have stuck with the team throughout thick and thin. Enjoy!"
Chartered flight within rules: MP
Mr Wilson said the chartered flight to Narrogin was within Department of Finance guidelines and approved by the Independent Parliamentary Express Authority.
"If fortunate enough to be re-elected on May 21, I will continue to represent and meet with people from all corners of O'Connor, seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year."
Mr Wilson's office said the MP also attended one other regional grand final in 2021, driving to the Ongerup Football Association final in Boxwood Hill – about 240km return.
