The costs of an NT Government trade delegation to Vietnam involving Trade Minister Nicole Manison, Investment Commissioner Andy Cowan and Department of Industry chief executive Shaun Drabsch have not been publicly released, in contravention of the Labor Government’s own travel disclosure policy.

The Fyles Government said in a release that the three will travel to Vietnam to focus on “investment promotion [and] student and worker attraction” as well as “growing trade relationships”.

However, the Labor Government has a long-standing policy of disclosing estimated travel costs to the public for all taxpayer-funded overseas trips involving a minister. It appeared to stop the practice in 2019 after questionable expenses were raised, but have not made an official comment about the disclosures.

The government did not provide the estimated costs for the trip to Vietnam that will include representatives from the NT Livestock Exporters Association, the NT Cattlemen’s Association and “international education and training delegates”.

Ms Manison’s office refused to comment on the costs and said in a press release that the trip will take place over four days in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi where government representatives will engage in “site visits and public seminars”.

“The purpose of this trip is to enhance trade relationships in agriculture, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, international education, workforce and infrastructure and logistics,” Ms Manison said.

“Vietnam is a valuable trading partner, and our second largest live cattle export market, supporting local businesses and creating jobs for Territorians.”

Taxpayer-funded international trips for ministers and other government officials stopped in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The government said the trip to Vietnam is the first to that country since the pandemic, but it was unclear where else ministers and other government officials may have travelled internationally since 2020.

The government recently rejected a Freedom of Information application for the total cost of travel for Mr Cowan over a 10-month period because the Department of Chief Minister and Cabinet determined it would be an “unreasonable interference” on the office to tell the public where Mr Cowan had travelled and at what cost.

It is understood he has travelled to Asian countries to raise financing for Amphibian Aerospace Industries, the company that received $10 million of taxpayer money to purportedly set up an airplane manufacturing company despite never having assembled an aircraft before.

Mr Cowan previously charged taxpayers nearly $30,000 for a trip to the US in late 2019 that included a jaunt to Disney World in Florida. He later claimed the money for the Epcot Centre theme park trip was reimbursed by a private company that had been lobbying him for taxpayer money for the redevelopment of Jabiru.

Questions to Ms Manison’s office were not answered, including whether Labor has officially changed its policy of publicly reporting the costs of all taxpayer-funded overseas ministerial travel.