Mr Fitzgibbon's comments followed a report by Fairfax Media on Sunday that the use of military aircraft for trips to Canberra was rife in the Howard years. A bill of more than $2 million was run up, according to Defence Department records, despite ministers having unlimited business class travel.

Former treasurer Peter Costello used military aircraft to get between Melbourne and Canberra on more than 60 occasions just for parliamentary sitting weeks. He was joined on some occasions by MPs Kevin Andrews and Bruce Billson, both new ministers in the Abbott government.

Former ministers Nick Minchin and Amanda Vanstone, who was appointed last week to investigate wasteful government spending as a member of the coming commission of audit, also took VIP flights regularly.

Mr Costello, Mr Minchin and Ms Vanstone said all travel had been approved through the Defence Department and had occurred within accepted guidelines and systems for VIP travel.

Mr Costello's entourage cost taxpayers more than $200,000 during sitting-weeks from 2002 to 2007. From 1998 to 2002, Mr Costello spent more than $270,000 on ''special-purpose aircraft'' for domestic travel, but Finance Department records do not show destinations for those flights.