Australian judges join the jet set

Australian judges join the jet set

Magistrates and judges in Victoria have spent more than $88,000 on overseas travel over two years going to destinations including Paris, Fiji and Vanuatu.

Magistrates claim more than $500,000 between them each year on personal expenses and travel allowances touring within Australia and abroad. Data obtained through Freedom of Information shows magistrates and judges from the Magistrates', County and Supreme courts spent $88,000 on travel abroad in the two years to June.

The tab came from 17 trips and includes $31,700 in airfares, several of which stretched beyond economy class. One Supreme Court judge spent more than $500 a day on meals and "incidentals" during a trip to Paris in 2005. That was on top of a $7707 airfare, $200 on taxis and $3345 on accommodation for a four-day judicial conference.

We pay as judges join jet set (Herald Sun, 8 November 2007)