Source: The Sydney Morning Herald                     Date: 07 July, 2010

Australian MPs spent AUD4.62 million on overseas trips in the last six months of last year. They are required to lodge travel diaries detailing their taxpayer-funded jaunts and the diaries can become a source of some amusement around Parliament House.

The Queensland Liberal MP, Mr. Peter Lindsay, spent AUD37,203 on a seven-day trip to Mongolia. His travel diary contains insights into the local culture such as the fact that the capital of Mongolia and Perth have roughly the same size population and that Mongolians do not tend to behave in a ''silly'' way.

''Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the world - typically minus 40 degrees in winter,'' Mr. Lindsay wrote. ''Mongolians have a far better work and safety ethic than Australians. Their philosophy is ingrained based on the premise 'I have to take care of myself'. No one does anything silly.'' Mr. Lindsay did not elaborate on what constituted ''silly'' behavior, but he did recommend to Parliament that Australia set up an embassy in Mongolia.