Prime minister John Howard has always identified himself with the ”Aussie battler”, the hard-working suburban voters who form the bedrock of the Australian working class.
Details of his personal expenses suggest that his lifestyle might be more lavish: hotel rooms at £4 000 (about R52 000) a night, an £8 000 (about R104 000) television set and a £12 000-a-year (R156 000) wine bill.
A trip to Rome last July ran up a £15 500 (about R201 500) bill for a four-night stay in the royal suite of the St Regis Grand hotel.
It has its own lounge, dining room and 850-bottle wine cellar, and a butler is always on call. In all, the government paid £126 500 (about R1 644 500) for the 44 days that Howard spent abroad last year.
Hearings of the senate estimates committee this week heard that officials spent £4 800 on six nights at Claridges hotel in London last March.
The Labour opposition has jumped on the costs as evidence that, after seven years in office, Howard’s entourage has lost touch with the problems of middle Australia.
”The Howards believe they have become the royal family of this country,” said a Labour frontbencher, Wayne Swan. Australia’s telecoms company, Telstra, has revealed it spent £16 000 (about R208 000) buying plasma televisions for Howard and his communications minister.
Howard defended the hotel expenses yesterday, saying: ”The standard of hotel chosen for the visit to Rome is no different to that for previous prime ministers.” – Guardian Unlimited Â