‘Not going away’: Jacqui Lambie demands PM delivers answers on Qatar

Anthony Albanese will not escape the Qatar flights debacle anytime soon, according to independent senator Jacqui Lambie.

Anthony Albanese faces serious questions over his government’s decision to block extra Qatar Airways flights after returning to Australia this week, with ministers demanding a “clearer picture” on the July move.

A political storm continues over Transport Minister Catherine King’s move to reject a Qatar Airways bid for extra flight services.

Under questions from the Coalition, Ms King last week cited the bodily inspections of Australian women at a Qatar airport in 2020 as a “factor” in the rejection.

Independent senator Jacqui Lambie said on Monday the government “is not looking flash” on the issue and called on the Prime Minister to justify his decision-making.

“They are going to get pounded during the next few weeks during the inquiry,” Senator Lambie said.

“It is not going to go away when it comes to Qatar and what is going, and I still think they are miles behind this on it.”

“He (Anthony Albanese) is standing up for her (Catherine King), so something has gone wrong here, it wasn’t done very well – they need to get on with it.”

Anthony Albanese arrived back in Australia on Monday after attending the G20 summit in Jakarta. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Mr Albanese has previously stated that he did not know about the Qatar decision until after it was made.

Last week, Ms King told parliament that she made her decision to reject the 28 additional weekly flights on July 10, telling Mr Albanese before it became public on July 18.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who was acting prime minister on July 10, also confirmed on Sunday that he was not consulted by Ms King.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said it “beggars belief” that Mr Marles was not notified and the mentioning of strip searches at Qatar should had emerged earlier.

“When we have diplomatic issues, you usually deal with them through diplomatic means and there’s whole raft of escalation processes that are required,” Senator McKenzie said.

“To immediately go to an economic sanction is incredibly rare and concerning if that is the case.”

A senate inquiry tasked to investigate the Qatar decision, which will be chaired by Senator McKenzie, will hand down a report with its findings in October.

The denial of Qatar Airways’ request is expected to remain an ongoing issue, with parliament set to sit for another week from Monday before it breaks up ahead of the Voice to Parliament referendum.

Originally published as ‘Not going away’: Jacqui Lambie demands PM delivers answers on Qatar