Travel records emerge as former deputy PM takes to Facebook to defend his work as Scott Morrison’s special envoy

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Barnaby Joyce spent less than three weeks on the ground in drought-affected communities outside of his electorate while engaged as the government’s special drought envoy, according to MP travel records.

And while the government is refusing to release details of how much the position cost taxpayers, the former Nationals leader claimed $675,000 in expenses for the nine months in the role, and was allocated two staff members to conduct his work at a cost of an estimated $200,000.

The $675,000 figure includes Joyce’s normal work as a backbencher, but the government has declined to say how much was related to his work as special envoy.

The analysis comes as Joyce continues to defend his work in the position, which has come under scrutiny after it was revealed to parliament last week that he never produced a final report.

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Joyce has reacted angrily to the claim, saying he sent “an awful lot” of correspondence to the prime minister, Scott Morrison, including by text message, about his findings as drought envoy.

According to travel records lodged with the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, Joyce made four short trips to drought-ravaged Queensland during his time in the role, with about a week spent on the ground. The first was a day trip to Longreach, Bedourie and St George, for which a private charter cost more than $15,000, the second a chartered day trip to Charleville costing $5,600 for a delivery of hay bales by the rapid relief team, the third an overnight trip to Gympie, also by charter, costing $5,300, and the fourth an overnight trip to Rockhampton in March 2019.

Joyce made two trips to Tasmania as part of his duties, a two-day trip in March 2019, and a three-day trip in October 2018.

He also made two brief trips to regional Victoria in March 2019, and visited Hay in New South Wales with the local MP, Sussan Ley, in April.

Labor’s shadow agriculture minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, said the analysis raised questions about Joyce’s work as envoy.

“It’s time Scott Morrison came clean on what he was trying to achieve when he appointed Barnaby Joyce the Special Envoy for Drought, and to provide any evidence that the taxpayer gained any benefit from the appointment,” Fitzgibbon told Guardian Australia.

On Tuesday the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, criticised Joyce’s appointment, saying it was undertaken at “great cost to the taxpayer” with limited benefits.

“It appears that he didn’t produce a paper, he texted a couple of messages to the prime minister, as the excuse for having a couple of extra staff, travelling around the country,” Albanese said.

“I mean Barnaby Joyce’s appointment was clearly a farce to keep him busy, to stop him hunting down Michael McCormack. What we need is actually a drought policy from this government.”

But Joyce hit back at critics and the media for questioning why he did not produce a final report, pointing to correspondence he sent the prime minister while in the position from 27 August 2018 to 26 May 2019 which acknowledges his “detailed feedback” about the drought.

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In a Facebook video posted on Tuesday afternoon, Joyce films folders of correspondence that he claims relate to his work as drought envoy and quotes from several letters from Morrison that he says are “correspondence and reports pertinent to the drought”.

“You may not believe me, and a lot of people out there in media land don’t, so I am going to read you some of the letters from the prime minister,” Joyce says.

“Dear Mr Joyce, thank you for your letter … and your detailed feedback on the impacts of the drought.”

He quotes another letter that reads: “Thank you for your letters, your appraisal drawn from your on-the-ground experience and local contact with farmers and drought-affected communities plays an important part in forming our national drought response.”

He says Fitzgibbon is a “goose” for criticising him, and says: “Stop saying I never sent off reports.”

Neither Joyce’s office or the prime minister’s office responded to Guardian Australia’s questions on Tuesday about the time Joyce spent in drought-affected communities.

A spokeswoman for the prime minister’s office said last week that producing a report was never part of the terms of reference surrounding the appointment, saying the role was “focused on getting into communities and talking to farmers in drought”.