Taxpayers now know the price of Tony Abbott’s humility. The Prime Minister’s unorthodox decision to forgo a $3000-a-week luxury home in Canberra for spartan accommodation at the Australian Federal Police College has cost taxpayers $65,000 in lease termination fees, Senate documents reveal.

After winning the election, Mr Abbott was supposed to stay in what real estate agents described as a "sensational executive residence” in one of Canberra’s most desirable suburbs, Forrest. Mr Abbott had not chosen the property - it was procured by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet - but bureaucrats expected he would stay there for as long as it took to complete renovations on The Lodge.

Canberra luxury: The home in Forrest that Mr Abbott declined. Credit:Leigh Henningham

But days after becoming Prime Minister, Mr Abbott let it be known he would rather not stay at the mansion and would prefer instead to stay at the $110-a-night police college while in Canberra. This would save money over the long run, depending on how long it took to renovate The Lodge. But in the short term the putative prime ministerial mansion, which the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet had procured for a $156,000 annual lease, was left empty.

While Mr Abbott had rejected the property, Australian taxpayers were stuck paying rent. The lease was finally terminated on November 18 last year and the government agreed to settle for a termination fee of $65,000, according to documents released by the Senate after questions from Labor.