Federal Government under fire for spending $215,000 to send 23 politicians on Paris junket

The Department of Foreign Affairs is set to face a grilling from senators over why it spent an estimated $215,000 of tax payer dollars sending bureaucrats to Paris for a conference about finding efficiencies.

Fairfax Media reports 23 officers were flown business class for the two-day trip, staying at the four-star Mercure Paris Centre Eiffel Tower Hotel in September.

They were there for conference focussed on ways to spend money. It's argued the politicians could have attended the junket via video link.

Departmental officials are likely to face questions over the report when it appears before a Senate estimates committee on this morning.

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