Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has attacked author Joe Aston, accusing him of failing to declare he previously worked for Qantas and the Liberal Party, and of “trying to sell a book”.

Albanese on Tuesday sidestepped questions about claims in Aston’s book, The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, that he would liaise with former chief executive Alan Joyce directly about his travel and receive guaranteed flight upgrades.

“The only discussions I can recall with Alan Joyce, certainly we discussed – not through calls – we discussed the first flight from Australia to Dubai on an A380,” he said.

He later added that he also had direct discussions about a Qantas flight to Perth.

“I have said very clearly that I recall direct discussions with Alan Joyce over the flights. The Emirates Qantas flight to Dubai and of course the first flight to Perth. They are the only times I was on a plane with Alan Joyce.”

Albanese did not address reports in The Australian Financial Review that he failed to declare thousands of dollars in business class flight upgrades gifted to his former wife, NSW politician Carmel Tebbutt, by Qantas and its partner airline, Emirates. Tebbutt reported the flights on her NSW parliament register.

He also sought to muddy the waters over the growing controversy, saying Peter Dutton had questions to answer over flights on a private jet owned by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, which were disclosed.

Albanese also said MPs using trusts should face questions about any secret income they have.

“I have always acted in an open and transparent way, and it’s up to others to say why it is that they have trusts, why it is that we don’t know what they own, what they invest in, what income they have all hidden away,” he said.

Attacking Aston, Albanese said he had not seen declarations that he worked for former Liberal MPs Joe Hockey and Bruce Baird, or Qantas. He also said Aston was a guest at a Liberal Party fundraiser in June.

The opening line of Aston’s introductory chapter states that he worked for federal Liberal MP Bruce Baird. The same chapter disclosed he worked for Joe Hockey and Qantas. The chapter is based on his experience in those roles.