'Unnecessary expenses': Sydney councillors slammed over lavish budget

Sydney councillors are set for an expenses boost that includes $5,000 a year for phones, $3,000 for refreshments and business class travel on international flights despite mounting public pressure over politicians' spending of taxpayer dollars.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore and her City of Sydney councillors won’t be told to reign in their work spending, but instead see their training budget alone increased from $20,000 to $50,000.

City of Sydney financial statements showed that $642,000 was spent on councilor expenses last year, equating to $64,2000 per councilor, however a new list of perks should see that figure explode in 2017.

Under their new regulations, Sydney councillors no longer need to gain approval for attending dinners that cost more than $200, instead they can spend up to $500 before they even need to get a tick of approval, The Daily Telegraph reports.

That is in addition to a $3,000 annual allowance for purchasing food and beverages for council-related meetings.

New Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton said the considerably inflated budgets needed to be regulated.

“Ratepayer funds should never be wasted on unnecessary expenses,” she told News Corp.

“Nor should it be an opportunity for any councillor to take advantage of overly generous allowances.”

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Among the long list of perks, councillors will also be granted $6,000 each to spend on local transport, while international travel is not capped, allowing them to all fly business class overseas.

The extravagant $1,500 a year for postage stayed the same, as did their $3,000 each for refreshments at meetings and 600 Christmas cards.

However, all these expenses were justified by a City of Sydney spokeswoman who told said the unrivaled level of funding was necessary for the mayor and councilors to do their jobs effectively.

“The proposed budget for councillor training has been increased in response to the NSW Government’s changes to the Local Government Act, which put a greater emphasis on professional development of councillors across the state,” the spokeswoman said.