Anthony Albanese has failed to rule out whether his staff requested free flight upgrades for him, amid claims he solicited them himself from ex-Qantas boss Alan Joyce.
The Prime Minister has vehemently denied speaking directly to Mr Joyce about upgrades, but a growing number of government and Qantas insiders have told media Mr Albanese secured free upgrades indirectly, including through the airline’s government affairs division.
Asked on ABC radio if his staff had requested free upgrades for him, Mr Albanese could not rule it out.
“Not to my knowledge, no,” he said
“We have a situation whereby politicians across the board got upgrades. That was because of the way that the system works.”
He said he had been “upfront” on the issue.
“Everything has been declared, and I’ve had no upgrades as Prime Minister,” Mr Albanese said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) is weathering claims he solicited free flight upgrades from ex-Qantas boss Alan Joyce (right). Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard
The opposition has said it would use senate estimates this week to poke and prod bureaucrats over an Albanese government decision to block Qatar Airways from running extra flights in Australia.
Senior Coalition Senator Jane Hume said there were questions to be answered on whether Mr Albanese’s ties to Qantas influenced the decision.
“The issue here is about soliciting upgrades when you are in a position of influence over an industry and that’s exactly what Anthony Albanese did when he was transport minister,” the opposition finance spokeswoman told Sky News.
“He solicited upgrades and gifts not just for himself but also for his family members and this is while he was in a position to make decisions about the airline industry that would affect all Australians.”
Coalition senator Jane Hume says there are questions to answer about the Albanese government’s decision to block Qatar running extra flights in Australia. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Her latest comments followed a week dominated by fiery exchanges between the Albanese government and the opposition, with both sides accusing the other of getting travel perks through dodgy dealings.
Education Minister Jason Clare admitted on Sunday that he requested a free flight upgrade in 2019 after he had a cancer cut out of his leg.
Mr Clare said he “probably” made the request through Qantas’ government relations team.
“What we want to know in this week’s senate estimates is whether those decisions, whether that benefit that Anthony Albanese received back when he was transport minister had an influence over his decision to deny Qatar Airways an additional 21 slots at Sydney and Melbourne airports that would have increased competition in the airline industry and reduced prices for all Australians,” Senator Hume said.
Parliamentarians on both sides have been scrambling to get their declarations in order before the House of Representatives this week amid the heightened scrutiny sparked by the claims against Mr Albanese.
Coalition senator Bridget McKenzie, who has led the opposition’s charge against Mr Albanese, confirmed herself last week that she was probing her own travel records.
Meanwhile, expenses data showed Peter Dutton billed taxpayers $200,000 for chartered flights in the space of six months despite having cheaper viable options.
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