Sydney Council Flies the Friendly Skies

In watching the unfolding drama over Minister Angus Taylor’s cack-handed expose of Sydney City Council’s travel expenditures, I was struck by the minuscule amount spent on overseas travel by councillors in 2017/18 — just $1,727.77.  So I had a look at the Annual Report.

Sure enough, only two councillors took overseas trips that year, Cr Jess Miller and Cr Robert Kok.  They both attended the Chengdu Global Innovation & Entrepreneurship Fair in Hong Kong and the Tokyo Forum for Clean City & Clear Sky in May 2018.  The only cost incurred by the City of Sydney for these trips was the two councillors’ incidental expenses – presumably the $1,727.77.  So it is reeasonable to assume they covered their own costs or, perhaps more likely, some generous benefactor funded their airfares and accommodation.

Council staff undertook 22 overseas trips that year to Copenhagen, San Francisco, Singapore, New York, Seoul, Santiago, Auckland, Wellington, Guangzhou, Vancouver, Wuhan, Hong…