Albanese Government Scrutinised for Spending $1.6 Million on Climate Delegation

The average cost of the delegation was $38,000 per person.

Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen looks on during a federal cabinet meeting in Perth, Australia, on June 3, 2025. Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

The Albanese government is facing renewed scrutiny after disclosing it spent $1.6 million sending a total delegation of 75 Australians—including 42 officials from the Department of Climate Change—to the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil.

The average cost per person worked out to about $38,000.

The spending was detailed during a Senate Environment Committee hearing on Dec. 1, when Mike Kaiser, secretary of the Department of Climate Change and Energy provided details of the delegation that travelled to the U.N. conference in November.

“Belém is not a destination that officials of this department frequently fly to,” Kaiser told senators, noting that some staff required “four or five flights” from different parts of Australia to reach the Amazon city.

General view before the start of the plenary session at the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil, on Nov. 22, 2025. Pablo Porciuncula/AFP via Getty Images

Explaining the delegation structure, officials said 42 staff were either part of the formal delegation, supporting ministers, operating the Australian pavilion, or contributed to negotiations and agenda work.

This group was drawn from the Climate Change Department (32), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (nine), and one from the Department of Agriculture.

In addition, ministers and their advisers travelled to Brazil, along with a broader group of public servants from other portfolios who attended for shorter periods. Local consular staff in Brazil also formed part of the support team.

When all categories of attendees were counted, the total came to 75 delegates.

Kaiser said the $1.6 million was an “indicative” estimate based on internal budgeting, with final reconciliation still underway. Budget papers showed the government had authorised spending of up to nearly $40,000 per attendee.

Australian officials ran more than 90 events at COP30, drawing about 4,500 participants, according to evidence presented to the committee.

Sally Box, head of International Climate Negotiations, told senators the full costings would be available “in a months’ time,” as many officials had only just returned to Australia.

Government Stands By Spending

Minister for Industry Tim Ayres adopted a combative tone during the hearing, defending the size of the delegation and accusing the Liberal-National Coalition of selective outrage.

He noted the 75-person delegation matched the number former Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison took to COP26 in Glasgow.

“Must be an accident, precisely the same number as Morrison took to COP26 in Glasgow,” Ayres said.

He said the previous government included “13 political staffers on top of the two ministers,” likening the trip to “a rugby trip for [then-Energy Minister Angus] Taylor and Morrison.”

“That trip, it involved excursions to indulge Morrison’s passion for family history, essentially a holiday,” he said.

“This delegation was constructed carefully and was done in a disciplined kind of way. We take our responsibilities in this area seriously.”

COP31 Bid Fallout

The hearing also examined the government’s now-abandoned bid to host the 2026 COP31 climate conference in Adelaide. Senators were told the government had already committed $7.5 million to preparatory work before withdrawing, after Turkey was awarded hosting rights following months of diplomatic stalemate.

COP31 operations head Andrew Hutchinson said contracts with consultants, labour-hire firms and legal providers were currently being wound down.

“We’ll, of course, be trying to leverage value out of those contracts,” he said. “By and large, you would expect most of those contracts to close as soon as we’re able to under the terms of that contract.”

It remains unclear how much of the $7.5 million can be recouped.

Australia had pursued a joint hosting arrangement with Pacific nations, but the plan fell through after extended negotiations.

Opposition Steps Up Attack

Opposition MPs seized on the cost of the Brazil trip, linking it to broader concerns about spending on climate diplomacy.

Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson, who was part of the inquiry, took to X and posted the figure publicly, calling it “astonishing.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud described the government’s previous proposal to host COP31 as wasteful.

“There were Australians last night that could not afford to put dinner on the table, and we are going to flit away more than $1 billion on a conference,” he told Sky News earlier.

“I think this just goes to the heart of how this government is out of touch. They’re going to spend $9 trillion on their net-zero-by-2050 policy. You’re just going to add another lazy billion, in their minds, onto that.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley later sharpened the attack in Parliament, accusing Energy Minister Chris Bowen of prioritising global climate talks over domestic pressures.

“Why is it that this part-time minister, full-time president, isn’t using this unprecedented influence to lower energy bills for Australians?” she said.

AAP contributed to this article.