Tony Abbott defends expenses: 'MPs shouldn't be prisoners of office' The fitness-obsessed prime minister, who was elected last month, faced criticism for claiming more than $23,000 (£13,500) on trips linked to a cycling race and attendance at a car race and the cricket. In his parliamentary expenses report, he described a trip costing $1300 (£768) to compete in a 2011 iron man event as "official business." He has insisted the trip was not a "frolic" but a "serious act of community engagement." "If people want to make suggestions, they're welcome to make suggestions, but I'm not proposing to change the system," he said. Australian MPs are only required to provide few details about the reasons for their trips and are subject to minimal oversight. But revelations have leaked out over the past two weeks of various politicians who have made questionable claims. Two senior ministers have repaid expenses to attend the wedding of a close friend, while several others - including Mr Abbott - have defended claiming expenses to attend two weddings of fellow MPs. A Labor MP who led the attack against the government, Mark Dreyfus, was later forced to admit he wrongly claimed accommodation costs for a skiing trip. Numerous Labor MPs have been found to have accepted travel and tickets to major sporting events. The Coalition and Labor have both rejected calls by the Greens for a British-style crackdown on parliamentary entitlements, including the appointment of an independent commissioner to oversee expenses.