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Cost of scrapping Tony Abbott's knights and dames totals $135K

<span>Photograph: Leon Neal/AP</span>
Photograph: Leon Neal/AP

Tony Abbott’s decision to grant Prince Philip a knighthood cost him much embarrassment and political support – and now it has cost Australian taxpayers a wasted $135,000.

That’s the value of write-downs the governor general has made to insignia associated with knights and dames because they are deemed worthless after the awards were scrapped by Abbott’s successor Malcolm Turnbull.

Only five people were awarded the honours Abbott introduced: former governors general Quentin Bryce and Peter Cosgrove, former New South Wales governor Marie Bashir, former defence force chief Angus Houston and Prince Philip.

The fact that “medals relating to knights and dames which are no longer awarded … have been written off” was revealed in the governor general’s annual report and probed by Labor at Senate estimates on Monday.

Paul Singer, the governor general’s secretary, told the finance and public administration estimates committee the cost of the write-downs was “in the vicinity of $135,000”.

“There was a cost attributed to having the relevant insignia for those dame and knights purchased,” he said. “With there no longer being knights and dames in the Order of Australia, those insignia hold no value.”

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Singer said knights and dames were given “multiple accoutrements” and a “number of insignia” as part of their package – but “no sword or armour”.

He said that “two or three” medals had been written off. The acting chief financial officer, Jason Chow, later clarified that “four waist badges” were written off for $20,000 each, one neck badge for $15,000 and a medal.

Labor senator Tim Ayres said the evidence was “extraordinary” and most Australians would be shocked at the cost.

Chow said although the items were written off they had been maintained in the “portable and attractive register” rather than destroyed.

The Australian honours system was created by the Whitlam government in 1975. Knights and dames were scrapped in 1986 but Abbott, a staunch monarchist, reintroduced them in March 2014 before awarding Prince Philip a knighthood in early 2015.

Earlier on Monday, Labor queried why the cost of the governor general’s office had risen from $19.4m in the 2017-18 budget to $28m in the 2020-21 budget.

Singer said the increase was mostly due to modernisation of its IT systems and the extra cost of the summer bushfires being declared a national emergency that meant those who fought them qualified for national emergency medals. Over four years, purchasing the medals for “tens of thousands” of worthy Australian recipients would cost $11.4m, including $2.5m in 2020-21, he said.

Singer said the governor general’s budget had grown in part due to a “pleasing” increase in the number of nominations to Australian honours.

Other awards – such as the companion of the Order of Australia – see “considerably” fewer items awarded to recipients than the scrapped knights and dames awards, he reassured the committee.