Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce billed taxpayers more than $3,000 to attend fundraising and donor events on board the luxury cruise ship The World, hosted by the mining billionaire Gina Rinehart.
Guardian Australia can reveal that in December last year Hanson and Joyce attended multiple private events on the world’s largest privately owned cruise ship, on which Australia’s richest person owns an exclusive multimillion-dollar apartment.
Both politicians claimed taxpayer-funded travel to attend the events.
Under rules for MPs, taxpayer-funded resources can only be claimed if the dominant purpose of the travel is for parliamentary business, which excludes fundraising events or soliciting donations.
The One Nation leader and her daughter, Lee Hanson, also hosted business leaders for a private lunch on board the luxury ship when it was in port in Hobart on 2 January.
Rinehart is not believed to have been in attendance for the Hobart event, and One Nation has refused to explain how Hanson and her daughter were able to gain access to the exclusive ship, which is restricted to its ultra-wealthy residents and their guests.
The World is described as the ultimate on-water luxury experience for its millionaire and billionaire owners, with the ship boasting the only full-sized tennis court at sea, a retractable marina, multiple high-end restaurants and a 15,000-bottle wine cellar. Residences are priced between A$4m and $21.5m.
According to a report published in the Australian, Rinehart hosted Hanson and a group of former Liberal donors while the ship was docked in Brisbane on 17 December last year. The mining magnate used the occasion to auction off a Mar-a-Lago dinner with the US president, Donald Trump, and bejewelled Trump handbags to raise $300,000 for One Nation.
While not reported at the time, Joyce also attended this event, and parliamentary expenses records show he claimed flights from Sydney to be in Brisbane on 16 December, before travelling to Newcastle the next day.
The Guardian can reveal that Joyce and Hanson subsequently attended another private event on The World five days later with a group of donors while the ship was in Sydney. Both MPs claimed flights from the taxpayer to be in Sydney on that date.
Joyce claimed a flight from his home base of Tamworth to be in Sydney on 21 December, with the three air fares for both events costing $1,264. He also addressed the anti-immigration “Put Australia First” rally on the afternoon of 21 December which took place a week after the Bondi beach terror attack.
The former Nationals leader claimed $1,500 in accommodation for one night in Brisbane and two nights in Sydney either side of the events, justifying the claims as for “party political duties”.
Hanson claimed about $720 for a return day trip air fare from Brisbane to Sydney on 22 December along with a privately chauffeured taxpayer-funded Comcar. Hanson’s office did not respond to questions about her reasons for being in Sydney on that day.
The guidelines for parliamentarians state that party political activities are allowed, but “you must not claim work expenses or use public resources for the purpose of fundraising, soliciting donations or attending fundraising events and activities” – unless related to charity.
Joyce confirmed to the Guardian that he had attended the fundraising events. He said they had been hosted by Rinehart, but the events were of “no personal benefit”.
“Yes, I go to fundraisers for One Nation, just like I went to fundraisers for the Liberal party and obviously for the National party. I go to heaps of fundraisers, but I never get any money myself.
“It is just part of the job. If anyone thinks there’s a great thrill in going to a fundraiser rather than going home, well, they’re wrong.”
He said the decision to bill the cost to taxpayers would have been made by his office, saying he was “at arm’s length from it and they follow the rules”.
The use of entitlements to attend the events on board The World is the latest in a string of claims by Hanson that have coincided with party political fundraisers.
The revelation also raises further questions about Rinehart’s intimate involvement in the expansion of One Nation, after the party repeatedly failed to properly disclose that it had received free flights on the mining magnate’s private jet and other gifts from her company Hancock Prospecting.
Rinehart was photographed at the Brisbane fundraiser, but it is unknown whether she attended the 22 December event in Sydney. Publicly available flight tracking data shows her Gulfstream G700 was in Sydney on the same day, flying into the city at approximately 2.30pm on 21 December and leaving about 24 hours later to return to Perth. She reportedly also attended the Bondi shooting memorial during her short visit to the city.
Rinehart will be required to declare the gift to the party under Australian Electoral Commission rules if the value of hosting the fundraiser is above the disclosure threshold of $17,300 for the 2025-26 financial year.
Hanson posted on social media that her daughter, Lee, travelled to Queensland to be with her for Christmas last year, but the pair were in Hobart by 2 January in order to host the private function.
According to a report in The Pulse, which pictured the two women on the pool deck of the luxury ship, the Hansons hosted a private lunch with “business leaders and industry figures to discuss key state issues”.
Ahead of the event, The World cruised down Australia’s east coast leaving Sydney on 27 December and arriving in Hobart on 31 December.
It is unclear whether the pair travelled on the ship, but Pauline Hanson did not claim any taxpayer-funded flights to travel from Brisbane to be in Hobart for the business meetings.
Lee Hanson, who is expected to take over as One Nation president when her mother retires, is employed in a taxpayer-funded senior adviser role for the NSW senator Sean Bell.
However she lives in Hobart and is campaigning to expand One Nation’s presence in Tasmania, where she is also top of the party’s Senate ticket.
Hanson’s office did not respond to questions from Guardian Australia.
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