New costs revealed in answer to a Senate question on notice include additional legal costs, brokerage fees, utilities bills and gardening costs for this empty house these new costs come on top of a $65,000 termination fee incurred to break the lease and $39,000 in dead rent revealed by the Opposition earlier this year.
The cheap headlines associated with the Prime Ministers move into the Australian Federal Police College have proved very expensive indeed for taxpayers.
Evidence to a Senate Estimates hearing in November 2013 confirms that Mr Abbott was advised during the 2013 election campaign that the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet proposed to lease a residence for use during repairs to The Lodge and was invited to inspect the property.
The only aspect of this saga more outrageous than the cost is the fact it has taken the Prime Minister nine months to come clean on the scale of his expensive media stunt.
The full costs of the 78 day lease obtained by the Opposition are listed below:
| Item | Cost to taxpayers |
| Settlement with lessor | $65,000 |
| Rent | $39,107 |
| Legal advice termination of lease | $14,144 |
| Legal advice lease | $4,266 |
| Brokerage identify property | $3,272 |
| Brokerage new tenant | $1,402 |
| Telephone service | $1,135 |
| Electricity | $638 |
| Telephone installation | $435 |
| Garden maintenance | $224 |
| Gas | $204 |
| TOTAL | $129,827 |
Sources:
Answer to Senate question no.410 (asked in April 2014, answered in July 2014)
Evidence to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee, Budget Estimates, Hansard, 27 May 2014, pp.23-25
Answer to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, Additional Estimates, February 2014, question no.80
Answer to Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, Supplementary Budget Estimates, November 2013, question no.88
Evidence to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee, Supplementary Budget Estimates, Hansard, 18 November 2013, pp.85-87 and pg.88
