Anthony Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of spreading lies after the opposition leader inferred the prime minister’s relationship with the former Qantas boss, Alan Joyce, had resulted in “dinners at the Lodge”.
The prime minister, fresh from returning from G20 summit in New Delhi over the weekend, went on the attack on Monday after the opposition continued to press for further details over Labor’s decision to reject Qatar Airways’ request to run additional flights to Australia.
The ruling, made in the “national interest” by the transport minister, Catherine King in July, was at the centre of sustained pressure by the opposition and crossbenchers during question time last week.
Questions have also been raised about whether Qantas, or its executives, had been involved in lobbying the government to deny the extra flights from competitor airline Qatar Airways, which partners with Virgin Australia.
On Monday, Albanese was asked on what dates had Joyce visited the Lodge or Kirribilli House, or been onboard the prime minister’s private jet, and whether Qatar Airway’s application for further flights had been discussed.
The prime minister said the leaders were sent a bill, paid for flights and were seated together while Albanese had a meeting about the summit in a different section of the plane.
Albanese admitted at the close of question time Joyce, along with a host of other high-profile business leaders, had joined him on his private plane to the Jobs and Skills summit held in Canberra in September last year.
The acknowledgement came after the prime minister used the question to launch against Dutton over comments the opposition leader made on 2GB last Thursday, asserting Albanese had held “dinners” with the long-serving Qantas chief executive.
“The question should go to the Member for Cook [Scott Morrison] because [Joyce] has never been at Kirribilli or the Lodge on my watch, not once,” Albanese told parliament. “Last time [Joyce] was there, Scott Morrison was the prime minister of Australia. The leader of the opposition went on to radio last week and asserted this to be a fact.
“It is a lie, it was a lie from the leader of the opposition and it is typical of what they have done – typical of what they have done, Mr Speaker, because they just want to make anything up.”
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Catherine King and the Qatar request – a full timeline
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The transport minister, Catherine King, has offered eight different reasons for coming to her decision to reject Qatar Airways’ request for 28 additional weekly services into Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce cautions the government against granting the Qatari carrier extra capacity. Qantas claims it could “distort” the recovering market.
King responds to a June letter from the women behind a class action against Qatar Airways over a 2020 incident at Doha Airport where they were escorted off planes at gunpoint and subject to invasive bodily inspections. The women plead with her not to grant the extra capacity. King tells the women “your experience remains in my thoughts” and that the government “is not considering additional bilateral air rights with Qatar”.
Anthony Albanese speaks with Virgin Australia boss Jayne Hrdlicka about Qatar Airways’ request, not knowing King has made her decision.
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King informs Albanese, as well as other ministers, about her decision. The decision was made public on 18 July, with King confirming the rejection in media reports.
King says she “wouldn’t link the decision” with the Doha airport incident. She suggests reducing emissions was a driving factor: “I want more capacity for people to be able to enjoy travel, but equally I want to be able to decarbonise the transport sector.”
King, having provided little insight into the decision, makes her first attempt at providing a reason for the refusal, telling Guardian Australia that allowing the Qatari request would go against Australia’s “national interest”. She provides no further detail.
During question time, King says that under the national interest consideration, there was a concern Qatar’s extra capacity could hurt the aviation sector’s post-Covid recovery, and that the government had also acted to protect “long-term well-paid secure jobs for Australians in the aviation sector”.
King suggests the issue was related to the Qatari government, saying “we determined that in the case of Qatar Airways, owned by the Qatari government, this was not in our national interest”.
At the same press conference, King suggests Qantas’ investment in aircraft was a reason: “Obviously Qantas is increasing its capacity as well as buying new planes which are important to our system as well.”
The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, links the decision to a strategy that “doesn’t destroy the (aviation) industry over the medium and long term”, in comments to the Financial Review. He later says these comments had been “misconstrued” to suggest the government was acting to protect Qantas. He says it is “completely uncontroversial” for a government to want a profitable local airline industry.
Pressure grows on the government to explain its decision, and the influence of Qantas in the decision, following the Australian carrier unveiling a record $2.47bn profit days before a damning consumer watchdog investigation and legal action saw CEO Alan Joyce step down early.
Albanese tells question time he “received no lobbying from Qantas on this issue” and that Joyce did not speak to him about the Qatari request.
Albanese tells question time he had spoken with Virgin Australia’s chief executive, Jayne Hrdlicka, on 13 July about Qatar Airways’s request, but that “during that discussion I did not know that the transport minister had made a decision on 10 July”.
King tells question time: “I do meet routinely with the CEOs of all of the airlines, airports and peak bodies, and from my recollection, the main people lobbying me about Qatar came from Virgin, and a third party [engaged] my office on behalf of Qatar.”
At a press conference at Canberra airport to present the aviation green paper, King says the Doha incident was “a factor” in her decision to reject Qatar’s request, but then walks this back immediately, saying it instead provided “context” for her decision. “Certainly, for context, this is the only airline that has something like that that has happened. And so I can’t say that, you know, I wasn’t aware of it but certainly it wasn’t the only factor,” King says.
Dutton had been asked on radio the previous week about King’s decision on the Qatar Airways request. He raised the possibility of Albanese and Joyce’s relationship as being behind the “sweetheart deal”.
“I don’t know what is fact and what’s fiction but it’s clear the relationship between the prime minister and Alan Joyce – it’s been on display for all to see – their red carpet events and dinners at the Lodge and Kirribilli and the rest of it,” Dutton said on 2GB Thursday.
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King was also again asked to reveal whether she had spoken to Qantas representatives ahead of making the decision against Qatar Airways on 13 July.
The transport minister said, to the best of her recollection, those discussions were around the government’s closing the loophole bill.
“The fact is myself and my office have received more lobbying on behalf of Qatar Airlines (sic) than we did on behalf of Qantas. It might not suit the narrative those opposite, but that is what happened,” King said.
Last Thursday King said the treatment of Australian women subjected to bodily inspections at Doha airport in 2020 provided “context” for the government to reject Qatar Airways’ extra air rights.
She said incident was “a factor” in her decision but it “certainly it wasn’t the only factor”.
The shadow transport minister, Bridget McKenzie will chair a Senate inquiry into the recent decisions relating to bilateral air rights, saying it will “finally get the real answers” behind the ruling.
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