Frequent flyer Kim Williams racks up $50,000 travel budget

Sydney Morning Herald

17-07-2025

ABC chair Kim Williams has been busy. Very busy.
Since ascending to the job last year, Williams has become the kind of bloke who'd talk to a brick wall, and his very serious thoughts have graced numerous writers' festivals, annual orations, Friends of the ABC wine and cheese nights, and speeches at the National Press Club, the Melbourne Press Club, the State Library of Victoria, the General Sir John Monash Oration, the Lowy Institute Media Lecture, the DG8 Summit, and the pages of many a newspaper article.
On top of that, he's had to whip the public broadcaster into shape and press the flesh at its bureaux around the country.
All that moving and shaking comes with a hefty travel bill. According to documents released under freedom of information, taxpayers stumped up $55,087 for Williams' travel expenses between last March, when he started the job, and May.
The bulk of that, $48,338.50, came from airfares, while $6749 was spent on car travel.
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'The ABC chair receives remuneration and expenses for their service on the ABC board, including allowances for travel,' a spokesperson for Aunty told us.
'Rates are set by the Remuneration Tribunal and are reviewed each year.'
Williams takes home a salary of a little over $200,000 – a rather modest return for a senior public servant. And his expenses, as far as we are aware, don't include thousands spent on luxury car hire like his predecessor Ita Buttrose, who billed the public, including for trips to Beppi's in Darlinghurst. Perhaps that might make a line in Buttrose's new memoir, set to drop in October, which we are awaiting with bated breath.