13 January 2017•Update: 13 January 2017
MELBOURNE, Australia
Australian Health Minister Sussan Ley has resigned after an investigation was launched into her taxpayer-funded travel expenses.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced Ley’s resignation Friday, saying that Arthur Sinodinos would continue as Acting Health Minister until her replacements in the health, aged and portfolios are be announced next week.
"Australians are entitled to expect that politicians spend taxpayers' money carefully, ensuring at all times that their work expenditure represents an efficient, effective and ethical use of public resources," he was quoted as saying by news broadcaster ABC.
On Monday, Ley had temporarily stepped down without ministerial pay after admitting she made “an error of judgment” billing taxpayers for trips to Queensland’s Gold Coast during which she purchased a luxury apartment.
Government documents released under Freedom of Information revealed that Ley has taken 27 taxpayer-funded flights in and out of the Gold Coast over recent years, including over two consecutive years.
The trips include some during the New Year's Eve period, when she attended events hosted by a prominent Queensland businesswoman, Sarina Russo, who previously donated AU$20,000 ($14,600) to the Liberal Party -- the party in government.
In May 2015, Ley spent thousands of dollars on a taxpayer-funded a trip to Queensland with her husband during which she purchased investment property.
The documents show that between 2013 and 2016 Ley took at least 18 trips to the Gold Coast, where she owns and her partner runs a bin cleaning business, News Corp reports.
In a statement released Monday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet would "thoroughly investigate the travel claims".
