Malcolm Turnbull's government spent almost $10 million of taxpayers' money monitoring what journalists were saying about them in just one year.

It's been a decade since Australia last had a federal budget surplus but this hasn't stopped his government from spending big on 44 contracts with media monitoring agencies.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann's office has quietly revealed taxpayers forked out $9.9 million for newspaper clippings, radio and TV transcripts.

Malcolm Turnbull (pictured with Cher at Sydney's Mardi Gras) leads a government that has spent $9.9 million on media monitoring in just one year

That equates to $190,400 a week or $27,100 a day that was spent by the government to get alerts whenever there was a media report about him, his ministers and senior public servants.

Major media monitoring companies, including iSentia, are paid by the federal government for their services, by getting a contract through the Aus Tender agency.

Labor senator Kimberley Kitching asked about the spending on media monitoring services during a budget estimates hearing in May last year.

However, the answer on the millions spent on media transcripts in the 2015/16 financial year hasn't been revealed until now, after Daily Mail Australia exclusively uncovered an answer to a Question on Notice.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann's office has quietly revealed taxpayers spent big on 44 contacts with media monitoring agencies

Labor senator Kimberley Kitching asked about the spending on media monitoring during a budget estimates hearing in May last year

The period includes the last three months of the Abbott government and covers the amount spent by all the commonwealth government departments.

In another period, the Turnbull Government spent $5.86 million in the first nine months of 2016 monitoring coverage of their departments, with Health the biggest spender on $907,500 followed by Defence on $831,000.

The prime minister's senior media advisers and their counterparts in other ministerial offices receive the clips before dawn and circulate them to their colleagues as part of a daily media management cycle.

Malcolm Turnbull and his ministers then read the clips early in the morning to anticipate questions from journalists at upcoming media conferences.

As Opposition Leader in October 2009, Mr Turnbull accused Labor of squandering taxpayer funds and running up debt which Australia's 'children and grandchildren' would be paying off.

Since coming to power in September 2015, when he overthrew Tony Abbott, Mr Turnbull has led a government which has failed to deliver one budget surplus.

However, his minister's spending habits have raised eyebrows.

The prime minister's Liberal deputy Julie Bishop claimed $32,000 from the taxpayer for her boyfriend to travel across Australia to visit her - despite claiming they are not in a 'de facto relationship' so he doesn't have to declare his financial interests.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop claimed $32,000 from taxpayers for her boyfriend David Panton to travel across Australia to visit her - despite claiming they are not in a 'de facto relationship'

The Foreign Minister named property developer David Panton as her designated family member in 2015, meaning he became entitled to free domestic flights and Comcar rides as part of MPs' family reunification allowance.

But because she does not classify Mr Panton as her spouse, Ms Bishop has never declared any claims for him on the parliamentary register of interests on the grounds he is not a 'de facto' partner.

The Perth-based minister has claimed $32,000 for her Sydney-based boyfriend to fly across Australia and visit her and travel with her on domestic trips from 2015 to 2017.

Media monitoring services would have also been busy last month after Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash threatened to reveal sexual rumours about female staffers in Labor leader Bill Shorten's office and after former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce's affair with his former media adviser Vikki Campion was revealed.

The Labor Opposition and the minor parties also spend money on media monitoring, with the Greens paying $150,000 to the Meltwater group for summaries as part of their taxpayer-funded parliamentary entitlements.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Turnbull and Senator Cormann for comment.

Media monitoring services would have also been busy last month as Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash threatened to reveal sexual rumours about female staffers in Bill Shorten's office

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce's affair with his former media adviser Vikki Campion would have also kept media monitoring agencies very busy

The government's big spending on media monitoring was the subject of a May 2017 hearing