Exclusive: Ministers used taxpayer-funded chauffeur to attend Springsteen concert

By LAUREN HILBERT

It’s been revealed senior government minister Jacinta Allan and Attorney-General Martin Pakula used a taxpayer-funded chauffeur to attend a Bruce Springsteen concert.

The duo were among the thousands to attend last month’s Springsteen concert at Hanging Rock.

3AW News can reveal Ms Allan and Mr Pakula used a ministerial driver to get to and from the event.

It’s understood the driver picked Ms Allan up from her Bendigo home waited at the venue for the show to finish, before taking her back to Bendigo.

Mr Pakula was driven back to his home at Black Rock.

In a statement, Minister Allan says she attended in a ministerial capacity as a guest of Frontier Touring.

She says she spoke to organisers about how to promote and support Victoria’s economy through major events.

Victoria has a separate Major Events Minister, John Eren.

Ms Allan said as Minister for Major Projects she oversees the development and construction of major entertainment venues across the state, such as Rod Laver Arena.

A spokesperson for Mr Pakula said he attended in a ‘ministerial capacity.’

Earlier on Friday, Premier Daniel Andrews charged taxpayers to fly to Ballarat where he held a press conference.

The government has defended the flight.

It said the Premier had several commitments in the state’s far-west and needed to be back in Melbourne for an event in the evening.

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