Just two weeks into Matthias Corman’s global drive to head an international economic body, the former finance minister has traveled more than 20,000 kilometers on a taxpayer-funded Australian Air Force plane.
the main points:
- Matthias Corman is seeking to become the next president of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
- The former finance minister spent the month of November traveling the world campaigning
- An Air Force plane costs taxpayers more than $ 4,000 per flight hour
Mr Corman no longer defends taxpayer money to get his income, but has secured government support with jet payments to become the next Secretary-General of the European Union-dominated Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
His bid to become the first Australian to head the Paris-based organization began on 7-8 November at Canberra-Perth-Muscat station, including a refueling stop in the Maldives.
The RAAF Dassault 7X then flew to Ankara, Turkey, where Mr. Korman began his pressure seriously.
Turkey is one of the 37 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
From Ankara, Mr. Korman flew five hours north to Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the nineteen founding members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 1960.
Speakers of French, German, Flemish and English have described the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development as one of the most important administrative bodies in the world, especially as the world is seeking to recover from the deadly Corona virus pandemic.
“These are huge challenges and I have accepted this nomination because I think I can He said when he announced his candidacy.
The OECD Secretary-General’s job comes with a tax-free salary of 232,626 euros, or $ 376,900.
On November 12, the flight was to Berlin, where Mr. Korman could squeeze in a familiar language, as Australia’s ambassador to Germany snapped a picture of Mr. Korman having a barbecue during his stopover.
“A bit of a downtime over the weekend Central [Mathias Cormann’s] Busy visit to Berlin, ”Ambassador Philip Green tweeted.
“Time for barbecues, including thuringia sausages. Mr. Corman in tongs, intertwining Australian and German culture.”
The former Senator of Western Australia grew up in a German-speaking region of Belgium.
Three days later, he went to Bern, Switzerland, for another three days of the campaign.
After that, his quick diplomatic date took him to Ljubljana in Slovenia and then Luxembourg, via Bern.
On 21 November, Mr Corman arrived in Brussels where he once worked as an assistant to Matthew Groch, a Belgian member of the European Parliament.
Brussels is 130 km from Leoben, where Mr. Cormann was born.
Mr. Corman flew from Brussels to Madrid, Spain, raising his two-week travel tally to 21,360 kilometers. His plane is still there today.
Defense records show that flying a RAAF aircraft cost more than $ 4,000 per flight hour.
ABC contacted the Department of Defense for comment.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison kicked off Mr Corman’s diplomatic lobbying effort when he hosted OECD ambassadors at The Lodge last month.
Natasha Stott Despoga, another former Senator, ran her campaign for a job at the United Nations almost entirely from her home in Adelaide.
Ms. Stute Despoga, who had the support of the federal government, has won a place on one of the United Nations committees fighting for women’s equality.
She told the Sydney Morning Herald that she had traveled to Washington in March and Canberra during the pandemic, but otherwise campaigned via Zoom from her study, and had around 190 meetings.
