Senator Stephen Parry.

Senate President Stephen Parry flew to Europe and back twice in April, taking one trip for talks with a group Australia quit five years ago because of its “serious deficiencies”.

The hectic April travel schedule — 16 days out of 31 — taxpayers funded for Senator Parry was outlined at a Senate Estimates hearing today and in a report he authored.

He went to Britain from April 1 to April 7. After returning home he was soon off again to visit Britain, Belgium, France and Singapore from April 22 to April 30.

The first trip was for consultations with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, a body Australia resigned from in late 2012, in part because at the time there were worries that “serious deficiencies remained within the accountability and consultation mechanisms”.

He flew home, and about two weeks later was off to London yet again.

This second trip originally was to attend a conference in Turkey of an even more obscure parliamentary organisation with officials from South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey. But it was cancelled. He flew out anyway for Anzac observances in Belgium and France and a bit more British business.

Few Australians have heard of the CPA, but it was a serious matter for Senator Parry.

He told a Senate Estimates hearing today he had been lobbied by Alexander Downer, Australia’s High Commissioner in London, and diplomats from other countries to give the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association a second chance.

He said circumstances within the CPA had changed significantly over five years and that he and Speaker Tony Smith had decided “I would travel to London to investigate and see first-hand whether the improvements that were purported to us had been made”.

“We need to ascertain whether there is a wish for the Commonwealth of Australia to rejoin, or apply to rejoin, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association,” he said.

“If there is a willingness and an acceptance by this Parliament that we should do that, then we will put in place the arrangements to rejoin.”

Senator Parry also said he dropped in on the UK parliamentary body which scrutinises the expenses of MPs.

“I had an exceptionally detailed briefing with the (expenses monitoring) equivalent there. I also looked at parliamentary security, which is, of course, a focal point of our Parliament at this point in time,” he told the inquiry.

Senator Parry later in April headed for Turkey and a conference organised by MIKTA — Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, Australia parliamentary group established three years ago.

The conference was cancelled because of security concerns, but Senator Parry left anyway with plenty to fill the eight days ahead. And that meant back to the chaps at the CPA.

“So rather than just go to Belgium for the one day, I facilitated going to London again not only to follow up on two matters of the CPA, but also to visit the House of Commons and the House of Lords,” Senator Parry told the hearing.

“It is a customary thing for presiding officers to do, and parliamentarians for that matter — which were not in session the previous time, as well as undertake some matters in relation to counter-terrorism and parliamentary security.”