SYDNEY, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Parks Victoria has come under scrutiny after the department allegedly spent hundreds of taxpayer dollars on fast food to lure feral cats.
Lily D'Ambrosio, Victoria's Environment Minister, announced that an external auditor would review Parks Victoria's credit card transactions over the last four years after a large number of credit cards were made available to department staff.
Department credit card statements made public by freedom of information laws revealed that the department spent up to 200 U.S. dollars at one Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant in a four-month period.
An unidentified Parks Victoria staff member defended the transactions, telling the Guardian Australia that the chicken that was purchased had been used in baiting programs on French Island, the largest coastal island of Victoria, 61 km southeast of Melbourne.
The credit statements also revealed that Parks Victoria had spent thousands of dollars at jewellery stores, technology stores as well as thousands of dollars on visits to the high-end Werribee Mansion Hotel and Spa.
Brad Battin, Victoria's shadow environment minister, described the transactions as "a scandalous abuse of taxpayer money."
"Whilst Victorians are facing a rising cost of living under (Victorian Premier) Daniel Andrews, his bureaucrats are regularly wining and dining themselves on the taxpayer," Battin told the Guardian.
"It just proves that there are always winners and losers under Daniel Andrews when his response is to have a 'review' and not cut up the credit cards of those abusing them."
Parks Victoria racked up a credit card bill of approximately 1.6 million dollars in the last financial year.
