Six ways Catherine King has tried to justify her Qatar decision
The minister offers a smorgasbord of vague, ill-defined considerations because she never expected to have to explain her verdict. Now that she does, she’s trying to find one that lands.
After cycling through half a dozen different reasons for why the government knocked back Qatar’s bid to fly into Australia’s major capitals more often, Transport Minister Catherine King is back where she started.
She told a press conference on Thursday that the strip-searching of women at Doha Airport in October 2020 was “a factor” in the decision, while at the same time stressing that Qatar “should be flying here into Canberra airport … They could fly into Darwin … into Adelaide … into Cairns, and they could fly into the Gold Coast … they are choosing not to do so.”
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Myriam Robin is a senior writer based in the Melbourne newsroom. She has previously been a Rear Window columnist and editor, and before that reported on financial markets and media. Connect with Myriam on Twitter. Email Myriam at myriam.robin@afr.com
