And this is the man that thinks everyone on welfare is a bludger?

The Liberal Party's Tony Abbott has long thought that the average Australian receiving welfare payments is either someone who can't handle money or who is a bit of a bludger on the state (which is part of the reason he is so keen to transform Centrelink cash transfers into digital food stamps and force young people away from family in search of jobs) and currently is trying to paint Federal Labor as careless with the public purse, so it was interesting to see the media disclose the Leader of the Opposition's willingness to do a bit of bludging on the public purse himself:

FEDERAL Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is being investigated by the Federal Government after admitting he used taxpayer-funded travel for a Liberal Party fundraiser where he also promoted and sold his new book.

Mr Abbott, who was due to be in Perth today, confirmed to The Sunday Times on Friday that he used both a Government car and a Government-funded flight to travel from a Liberal event in Beaufort in regional Victoria in September. [Perth Now 20 December 2009]

Department of finance documents raise the serious and politically damaging possibility that Abbott used taxpayer money to promote his 2009 book, Battlelines.
The revelation follows an investigation by The Drum in which the dates of Abbott's national book promotion tour have been matched to his travel expenses claims. The dates of his promotional tour were provided by his publisher, Melbourne University Press.

Abbott's home base is Sydney where Sarah Murdoch launched Battlelines on Tuesday, July 28. Two days later, the then-Opposition frontbencher flew to Canberra, to quote MUP, "address the National Press Club (NPC) to discuss Battlelines". There was also a book signing coinciding with the event.......

All in all the taxpayer coughed up $6,651.96 in Battlelines-related travel. [ABC The Drum 28 July 2010]

These are the reported 2009 Battlelines travel accounts submitted by Abbott as Shadow Minister - Official Business:

Tuesday, July 30 - $504.29 Flight to Canberra and return
August 3 to 4 - $930.95 Flight to Melbourne and return

August 6 to 7 - $465.47 x 2 Flight to Melbourne and return

August 11 - $861.95 Flight to Brisbane and return with Canberra overnight stopover

August 14 to 15 - Flight Perth and return $2,461.23

Commonwealth cars and drivers - $962.60

Dept of Finance and Deregulation Parliamentarians Report - Tony Abbott MP

Photograph of Abbott from Google Images