IF the average Australian wedding costs $36,000, what should taxpayers make of paying almost $20,000 for five coalition MPs - including Prime Minister Tony Abbott - to attend three weddings?
Interim Labor leader Chris Bowen says the series of revelations about Mr Abbott, three of his ministers and a backbencher show a pattern of poor judgement.
"This goes to judgement of senior Liberals claiming travel expenses for what are very clearly, very clearly not legitimate travel expenses," he told reporters on Sunday.
"We all accept that mistakes can happen but this goes to a pattern of poor judgement and a pattern of a lack of transparency and disclosure."
Mr Abbott has paid back $1094 claimed for travelling to Wangaratta for then-Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella's wedding in 2006.
Ms Mirabella was set to be in Mr Abbott's cabinet but lost her seat at the recent federal election to independent Cathy McGowan.
A spokesman for Mr Abbott said he had recently repaid money claimed for the 2006 trip after the Department of Finance told him it could not guarantee he was entitled to it.
Likely speaker Bronwyn Bishop also attended the wedding.
Separate questions have arisen about the Bollywood adventure of three other coalition MPs which cost taxpayers more than $12,000.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart flew Julie Bishop, Barnaby Joyce and Teresa Gambaro from Perth to Hyderabad in a private jet to watch the granddaughter of her business partner marry in front of 10,000 guests, Fairfax media reported on Sunday.
They later claimed travel expenses to return home.
Ms Bishop claims to have spent more time talking to business executives over the three days than she did attending the wedding, while Mr Joyce met officials in Malaysia on his way home.
It's the second wedding Mr Joyce attended which has come under scrutiny.
A week ago he and Attorney-General George Brandis paid back almost $2300 they got to cover travel to the 2011 wedding of former radio shock jock Michael Smith.
"This simply isn't good enough," Mr Bowen said of the series of wedding revelations.
"This money is only being paid back after journalists are asking questions, not because the individuals involved have decided on balance that it was an illegitimate claim."
But minister Malcolm Turnbull says his colleagues would have been "absolutely satisfied" they were doing the right thing when claiming the expenses.
However he conceded there was a degree of ambiguity in the rules.
"The better course of action is to always err on a more conservative side and if there is any doubt, then don't make a claim," he said.
"All of the colleagues that you have mentioned are people that are scrupulous about the way they use taxpayers' money and would have been absolutely satisfied that what they were doing was the right thing."
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