The Office of the Prime Minister is refusing to give details about the role of Phyllis Muscat – the former chief of the CHOGM task force in 2015 – in an official government delegation that accompanied Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his family on a two-week visit to Australia earlier this year.
Giving details of his visit to Australia during the Easter holidays, Dr Muscat said the delegation had consisted of three members of his private secretariat, his chief security officer and Ms Muscat.
Asked to give details about Ms Muscat’s role in the visit, an OPM spokesman did not reply.
The Times of Malta asked the OPM to state whether Ms Muscat currently occupied any official role at the OPM and who had decided to include her in the official delegation.
Read: Ex-CHOGM task force head Phyllis Muscat lands top arts job
The OPM also refused to quantify what Ms Muscat’s participation in the official delegation had cost taxpayers.
The OPM refused to quantify what Phyllis Muscat’s participation in the official delegation had cost taxpayers
Replying to questions in Parliament, Dr Muscat said the main purpose of his visit to Australia had been to take part in the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, as chair in office of the Commonwealth.
Giving a breakdown of the €143,000 spent on his two-week visit, Dr Muscat said the cost included air tickets and transport for the delegation, hotel accommodation, hospitality, including for the PBS crew accompanying him, and the gifts given to dignitaries and members of the Maltese contingent at the Commonwealth Games.
Dr Muscat said that while the costs for his wife had been covered by taxpayers, those for his children had been paid from his own pocket.
Read: CHOGM head Phyllis Muscat’s job is over
He also underlined that it was not the first time a prime minister had been accompanied by his spouse on official visits to Australia. He said that the same had happened on other occasions, including in 2007 on a visit by his predecessor, Lawrence Gonzi.
On that occasion, the costs related to the official delegation had reached €160,000.
ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com