Are public servants bigwigs getting their just desserts for dining out at taxpayers' expense?

If you’re a senior public servant dining out on the public purse, you can expect that it’ll be raised in Budget Estimates – and talked about at length.

That’s exactly what happened this week when Airservices Australia boss Jason Harfield faced a grilling over a wine and dine fest for himself and 10 of his organisation’s officials, totalling close to $2000.

These were all highly paid executives being entertained by the chief executive officer, who was happy for the taxpayer to foot the bill.

It was, after all, after a monthly managers meeting with bosses flown in from around the country.

These executives all earn above $400,000 a year, a couple of them on more than half a million dollars, and Mr Harfield himself is on an annual remuneration package twice that amount.

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie feigned outrage at the $1889 tab from a Canberra restaurant she pointedly did not want to name and “promote” (maybe it’s one of her favourite haunts, but it’s since been reported as Mezzalira in Civic).

“Eleven people earning over $400,000 a year having a free dinner,” she said in the CEO’s direction.

“Thanks to the taxpayer.”

Mr Harfield confirmed the dinner and amount, noting that alcohol was involved, which was likely why the bill was so high.

“This isn’t something you do after every management meeting, is it?” asked Senator McKenzie.

The CEO replied that there would usually be some sort of dinner for all the managers if they were in town.

The indignant senator referred to credit card charges for the night out, showing one payment of $687, with the other at $1202.

These were obtained under Freedom of Information laws.

All the embarrassed Mr Harfield could do was mutter something about the most senior officer in the room being the one who usually got stuck with having to put such dinner payments on their (government-issued) corporate card. In this case, it was him.

In February, Education Department Secretary Tony Cook copped a similar basting in Senate Estimates at the hands of Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson.

That was over a bill of $1209 when the taxpayer shouted members of the National Research Infrastructure Advisory Group to a fun night out at Canberra’s Courgette restaurant.

Mr Cook all but apologised and noted he had already been questioned about the dinner by Education Minister Jason Clare as the matter had been raised during estimates in October last year.

“We now have limits on the expenditure that is allowed to be made,” the Secretary said in February, following a thorough dressing down from Senator Henderson.

“I think we have let the taxpayers down in terms of what they would expect from public servants,” he said.

That’s three times in the past three sessions of Senate Estimates – October last year, February this year and the current week of Budget Estimates – where senior public servants dining out at fancy restaurants have been the subject of tough lines of questioning from outraged Coalition senators.

With further questions over taxpayer-funded nights out certain to be in the pipeline, there are quite a few more public service bosses who are nervous about their own upcoming appearances before senate estimate committees.