Call to haul ex-Qantas boss Alan Joyce into probe over Anthony Albanese’ free flight upgrades

A senior Coalition figure has demanded former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce explain whether Anthony Albanese directly solicited flight upgrades.

A senior Coalition figure has demanded former Qantas boss Alan Joyce front a parliamentary inquiry as furore grows around claims Anthony Albanese directly solicited free flight upgrades from the airline chief.

The Coalition’s transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie said Mr Joyce should be brought before an inquiry to answer questions about his relationship with the Prime Minister.

“We really do need to understand the influence that the Prime Minister’s personal and financial gain through these upgrades for he and his family have had on his personal intervention in protecting Qantas from competition,” she said.

She listed examples, including Labor rejecting an application from Qatar airways to increase its flight routes and excluding the aviation industry from a competition review.

It’s understood for Mr Joyce to appear before a probe, the Coalition would have to call for a new inquiry which would be subject to a vote in the Senate.

A new book claimed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese personally asked Qantas chief Alan Joyce to upgrade his personal flights. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Senator McKenzie said she wanted to see a full “financial gain” that he and his family received when he was transport minister in the Rudd government.

“The fact is that as transport minister, which he has been, you oversee the regulation of the aviation sector,” she said.

“So on every single measure where Qantas has not wanted to see the regulatory environment changed to protect their market share against the best interests of Australian travellers, Albanese and his government have backed the Qantas position over the Australian customer.”

While a parliamentary interests registers shows she disclosed a Qantas flight upgrade and a complimentary flight provided from Rex Airlines in February 2018, Senator McKenzie said that “to the best of my knowledge” she has never solicited a upgrade freebie from the national carrier.

At the time she held the ministerial portfolios for rural health, sports and regional communications in the Turnbull government.

Senator McKenzie’s demand follows revelations in The Chairman’s Lounge by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston, which claimed Mr Albanese personally solicited the free flights from Mr Joyce.

Altogether, the book claims Mr Albanese received about 22 free upgrades.

Senator Bridget McKenzie said Alan Joyce should reappear before a Senate inquiry. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman

ALBO DIDN’T DECLARE GIFTED UPGRADES TO EX-WIFE

Questions have also been raised over why Mr Albanese didn’t declare upgraded flights taken by both him and his then-wife Carmel Tebbutt, which went against regulations placed on MPs.

The Australian Financial Review reported Mr Albanese and Ms Tebbutt received the gifted upgrades from economy to business class to Europe, Los Angeles and Honolulu during his stint as transport minister between 2009 to 2013.

While Mr Albanese recorded the upgrades on his declaration form, he did not disclose that Ms Tebbutt also received the freebies, despite MPs being required to log gifts given to spouses.

A spokesman for Mr Albanese said both himself and Ms Tebbutt – who was a NSW state Labor minister – made the “relevant disclosures in their parliaments,” which are “all a matter of public record”.

According to current disclosure logs which are available online dating back to 2010, Mr Albanese accepted a flight upgrade to business class from Honolulu to Sydney on December 29, 2012 and accepted upgrades from Emirates “travelling unofficially to and from Europe” on July 10 and July 31, 2011.

He also got upgraded tickets for “personally funded flights” with Qantas on November 30, 2013 travelling from Sydney to London, plus flights from Rome to Sydney on December 5 2013.

Mr Albanese also said he accepted an upgrade on return flights to Singapore from June 5 and 8, 2011, however it’s unclear if the trip was made for official or personal reasons.

While the trips were respectively declared by Mr Albanese and Ms Tebbutt, federal guidelines require MPs to also declare gifts given to their spouses. Picture: Supplied

PM LASHED OVER FLIGHT UPGRADES

Mr Albanese has continued to come under fire after reportedly asking former Qantas boss Alan Joyce for free flight upgrades on personal overseas trips.

Speaking on Monday morning, opposition leader Peter Dutton said the alleged act was “a bit strange”, while former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce declared it “doesn’t pass the pub test” if the upgrades were requested as reported.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton described the Prime Minister’s actions as ‘a bit strange’. Picture: NewsWire/ Damian Shaw

The Opposition Leader said Mr Albanese needed to explain the conversations around the upgrades.

“When you’re talking about having a personal phone call to ask for an upgrade as the Transport Minister or the shadow transport minister, I presume the Prime Minister is going to answer questions about that,” he said.

Mr Dutton also defended his own free upgrades, which he said he publicly declared and were based on cabin availability.

“I average about 200 flights a year, and you’re saying I’ve had 15 upgrades over 23 years, none of which happened (as transport minister) and none of which happened as a result of me calling my best friend, Alan Joyce at Qantas,” he said.

Nationals firebrand Barnaby Joyce has said while politicians receiving flight upgrades wasn’t out of the ordinary, Mr Albanese reportedly soliciting free upgraded flights does not “pass the pub test”.

“I think if every person who gets an upgrade is in trouble, then we’re going to have a lot of people in trouble … I acknowledge 100 per cent that a lot of politicians get upgrades, me included,” he told Seven.

The Opposition has claimed Mr Albanese’s actions do not ‘pass the pub test’. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman

“It’s whether you solicit it … especially if you ring up Alan Joyce, that’s the issue. That’s an issue that Mr Albanese has to explain.”

As it stands, Mr Albanese has defended the upgrades and said he had publicly declared the gifts, however has not addressed the alleged conversations between himself and Mr Joyce which led to the upgrades.

“From time to time, members of parliament receive upgrades. What’s important is that they are declared. All of mine have been declared,” he told reporters on Sunday.

“I note that a range of them go back a long, a long period of time [and] that they have all been declared as appropriate.”

Facing multiple questions on the topic, Jim Chalmers said he had never asked Mr Joyce for an upgraded flights, but wasn’t able to rule out whether he had been given a free upgrade.

However he declined to comment whether there should be stronger checks for politicians receiving gifts from stakeholders which are affected by politically sensitive decisions.

“I think it’s appropriate that there are robust arrangements for it, and that includes some kind of declaration,” the Treasurer said.

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten also defended Mr Albanese.

“He has been diligent over many years and transparent declaring whatever he receives, as is the standard that’s expected of all of us,” he said.

Originally published as Call to haul ex-Qantas boss Alan Joyce into probe over Anthony Albanese’ free flight upgrades