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Scott Morrison says a Nationals MP has stopped making multiple trips to the Philippines since he became prime minister, and that he expects all coalition members to be doing their jobs. Queensland backbencher George Christensen spent 294 days in the southeast Asian country over a four-year period, according to detailed travel records reported by News Corp. "All I can say is George hasn't spent a day in the Philippines since I've been prime minister. Not a day," Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday. The records also show Mr Christensen spent more days in Manila than Canberra for parliament in 2016 and 2017. Mr Christensen spent 72 days in the Philippines in both those years, compared to 51 days in Canberra in 2016 and 64 days in the capital the following year. Mr Morrison said the overseas travel hadn't happened on his watch but stopped short of saying whether he had instructed Mr Christensen to curb his jaunts abroad since he became prime minister in August. "I expect members to be in their electorates doing their job," he said. Mr Christensen, who holds the marginal seat of Dawson, claims he's the victim of a smear campaign from Labor and a "former very senior Liberal MP". "As far as I'm concerned and the facts are concerned, this matter is over," he told News Corp. He insists his travel to the Philippines was to visit his fiancee and help raise money for a charity that provides disabled children with wheelchairs. "He wasn't travelling there officially, as my understanding was, and so what he does in his private time is a matter for him," Mr Morrison said. Labor leader Bill Shorten compared Mr Christensen's travel with the four weeks of annual leave most workers are entitled to. "Mr Christensen seems to have pioneered the 11-week annual leave condition in the Australian workplace. That is not how politicians normally do it," the opposition leader told reporters in Melbourne. In December, Mr Christensen admitted he was the government MP who was the subject of police inquiries into his frequent trips to the Philippines. The Australian Federal Police were reportedly concerned about potential blackmail threats. Queensland Labor senator Murray Watt said Mr Christensen's overseas travel had earned him the nickname "the member for Manila" among his colleagues. Senior Nationals colleague Matt Canavan leapt to Mr Christensen's defence, saying it was a beat up and an invasion of privacy. Australian Associated Press

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