Bronwyn Bishop billed taxpayers more than $50k for South America trip

Former speaker Bronwyn Bishop cost taxpayers more than $50,000 when she went on a three-nation tour of South America earlier this year.

Mrs Bishop resigned as speaker in August amid public outrage over a $5000 taxpayer-funded chopper ride to take her the 80km from Melbourne to Geelong to attend a Liberal Party fundraiser.

Further scrutiny of Mrs Bishop's expenses claims shows the helicopter ride was relatively small bikkies compared to the cost of her visit to Ecuador, Peru and Argentina between January 10 and 25 this year, ABC News reports.

The long-serving MP attended the trip with four other lower house colleagues and senators as part of a delegation that travelled to Ecuador and Peru for the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum.

However, Mrs Bishop was the only one of the group who tacked on a trip to Argentina, racking up a bill of $52,700 while her colleagues billed taxpayers for no more than $24,000 each.

Mrs Bishop's bill included $32,046.28 for airfares and $12,625.35 for accommodation and meals, the latest Finance Department parliamentary entitlement figures show.

The news comes on the same day that it was revealed the former speaker spent $4100 on a charter flight to attend a function on NSW's mid-north coast earlier this year.

Ms Bishop flew from Canberra to Port Macquarie on March 6 on a taxpayer-funded charter flight costing $4100.

She was attending the fourth annual Hastings Heroine Awards, an International Women's Day event run by the Hastings Business Women's Network.