No apologies are coming from Trade Minister Philip Dalidakis for his expenditures for overseas trips using tax payers’ money.
A new report by the Victorian Government this month revealed that over the past year, Dalidakis has made 6 overseas trips amounting in $167,332.44.
“We make no apologies for aggressively pursuing investment for this state and taking brand Victoria to the world,” stated a spokesperson for the minister as she defended his actions.
“In the past 12 months we’ve had a string of the world’s leading global tech companies, including GoPro, Zendesk, Slack and Square, all invest in Victoria to expand their operations in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific — this is good for Victorian jobs and Victoria’s economy,” she said.
However, the State Opposition Leader, Matthew Guy has questioned the spending that appears to be excessive.
“Philip Dalidakis wants to look at whether he wants to be a travel agent or a minister,” Mr Guy told reporters.
“Ten thousand dollars a month, for every month he’s been a minister, is somewhat excessive,” he added.
Since October 2015, the minister has traveled to the UK, US, Indonesia, China, Korea, South Korea, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.