17 May, 2015
The A$1.8m cost of entertaining foreign leaders in Australia – Sydney Morning Herald
Taxpayers forked out nearly $1.8 million to wine, dine and entertain foreign dignities during a flurry of high-profile diplomatic engagements in Australia. Documents prepared by the department serving Prime Minister Tony Abbott show hosting just five world leaders – Japan’s Shinzo Abe, Britain’s David Cameron, France’s Francois Hollande, China’s Xi Jingping and India’s Narendra Modi – soaked up three quarters of the total bill.
Mr Modi’s rock star November reception in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra came with a $360,000 price tag, Mr Abe’s July 2014 trip cost $270,000 and the total for Mr Cameron’s two-day jaunt in Australia late last year came in at $141,000.
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