A former federal Labor MP paid a consultant to write an opinion piece bagging the Greens, and then sent the bill to taxpayers.
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Michael Danby outsourced several newspaper columns to a ghost writer earlier this year, raising eyebrows among his opponents.
"Yikes," Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi tweeted on Friday, alongside a photo of the tax invoice.
Mr Danby, the former representative for Melbourne Ports, also outsourced a piece on ethnic minorities in China and an article for the Australian Jewish News.
He also paid a graphic designer to advertise his push for a so-called "Magnitsky Act", laws designed to allow governments to sanction murderers and torturers acting on behalf of states.
Public money was also spent compiling invite lists for a community gala event celebrating Mr Danby's own retirement.
It is not the first time the former politician has attracted attention for spending public money on questionable communications.
In late 2017, Mr Danby refused to apologise for using taxpayer dollars to fund an advertisement in the Australian Jewish News accusing ABC journalist Sophie McNeill of bias in her reporting on Israel and Palestine.
Australian Associated Press
