Anthony Albanese's US ambassador runs up $150,000 travel bill as his globetrotting expenses are laid bare - and you're paying for it Kevin Rudd has made numerous international visits US ambassador spent $150,000 over three continents READ MORE: How a potential Labor police could backfire on millions of renters By Max Aldred For Daily Mail Australia Published: 23:49 EDT, 29 September 2024 | Updated: 23:53 EDT, 29 September 2024 e-mail View comments Kevin Rudd has reportedly racked up a travel bill of more than $150,000 since the beginning of his posting as Australian ambassador to the US. Mr Rudd was slotted into the key diplomatic post by Anthony Albanese in 2022, but since then a senior Labor figure claimed he had become the government’s ‘ambassador to the world,’ the Herald Sun reported. The former prime minister has travelled to Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Singapore and twice to Australia on the taxpayer's dollar.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has insisted the travels have been in line with normal procedures and expectations. His apparent role has been to mix and mingle with world leaders at international conferences and dialogues, with the Albanese government sending him instead of ministers from home soil. Mr Rudd filled the shoes of absent government ministers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and Germany ’s Munich Security Dialogue earlier this year, at a combined cost of $40,000.
His bill included $30,000 to travel .