A glimpse of how police will flex their might if things go wrong at this year's G20 summit but authorities hope protests won't turn violent
A $370 million budget allocation booked by the former Labor government was used as a two-year slush fund by fat-cats to host junkets for G20 officials in the lead-up to this year's world leaders meeting in Brisbane.
Officials from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet admitted last night that no clear rules had been established on administering the huge pot of money, which was being used for extravagant overseas trips and functions by senior bureaucrats.
Ten government departments have been approved for G20 "activities" and can access the money to spend it on whatever they choose by signing a simple memorandum of understanding with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
A senior government source said Prime Minister Tony Abbott demanded an immediate explanation after the "largesse" was discovered this week.
It is believed department chiefs were hauled in by the PM's office and reminded that they were "not heads of state" and could not use the G20 money for extravagant activities or events.
Last night The Daily Telegraph learnt Mr Abbott had asked the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to hand over its broader budget for vetting by his office.
A "line by line" audit of the PM&C's overall budget will be conducted by the PM's office.
It is understood every individual request to access the G20 slush fund now made by a department or bureaucrat would have to go through the Prime Minister's office and would be rejected if it did not meet strict new criteria. "The department has now been put on notice that everything will be approved by PM's office," a senior government source said.
The most recent trip using money from the fund, revealed this week in The Sunday Telegraph, was a $22,000 cruise down the River Seine in Paris for the Department of Employment hosting G20 officials and a $28,000 superyacht cruise on Sydney Harbour.
Rules established by Mr Abbott on coming to office created an automatic trigger for any expenditure requested by a department head of more than $20,000. Several trips using this fund had already been cut by the PM's office.
But it is believed new rules will be established around the use of money from the $370 million pot, which is also meant to fund infrastructure and security for the major meeting in November.
The Coalition had never disputed the cost of hosting the event, which will put Australia on the world stage, but was alarmed that no rules had been set for how the money was to be spent.
Under G20 rules, the host country is obliged to host scores of official meetings.
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