Australia MP under fire for Robbie Williams, Uluru trips

Mr Burke is the latest MP facing questions about his taxpayer-funded expenses

A key critic of Australia's political expenses scandal stands accused of hypocrisy for claiming holidays and trips to pop shows.

Labor Opposition MP Tony Burke spent A$12,000 ($8855, £5,600) of public funds for a family holiday to Uluru.

He claimed travel expenses too for a Robbie Williams show, local media said.

Media coverage of his expenses follows the resignation of lower house speaker Bronwyn Bishop over her use of taxpayer-funded expenses.

Ms Bishop charged taxpayers thousands of dollars to fly by helicopter rather than by car to a Liberal party function.

She also claimed expenses for attending colleagues' weddings.

Public and political outrage eventually forced her to resign and prompted Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to announce a review into MP entitlements.

Mr Burke claimed a trip to meet a promoter ahead of a Robbie Williams concert

The review is expected to shine a light on more questionable expense claims.

Australia's rules about travel entitlements for politicians are hazy.

Mr Abbott has himself had to pay back money spent on travel in the past.

Mr Burke, Labor's chief Lower House strategist and an outspoken critic of Ms Bishop's use of travel entitlements, said in a statement on Wednesday that his claims were legitimate.

"My criticism of Bronwyn Bishop was that she had broken the rules," said Mr Burke.

"Today's [newspaper] articles explicitly acknowledge that there is no allegation that I have broken any of the rules at any point," said Mr Burke.

"The information provided in these articles is public because I made declarations in accordance with the rules," he said.

Labor MP Tony Burke claimed four "family traveller" airfares to Uluru

Publicly available Department of Finance records show that in April 2012, then environment minister Mr Burke took a four-day return trip from Sydney to Uluru in Central Australia and claimed his own flight worth A$2,181.43 plus four "family traveller" airfares worth A$8,656.48.

Mr Burke's office said he was on official business and held meetings in his capacity as environment minister, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.