Ministers gifted Qantas upgrades after blocking rival airline

The seven Labor Ministers and Assistant Ministers were given the Qantas upgrades after the Albanese Government decided to stop Qatar from expanding into Australia.

Seven Labor Ministers and Assistant Ministers were gifted complimentary flight upgrades from Qantas in the months after the Albanese Government blocked a rival airline from expanding in Australia.

The upgrades, which included international trips, are contained in the recent MP declarations for Mark Butler, Bill Shorten, Mark Dreyfus, Anika Wells, Pat Conroy, Matt Keogh and Andrew Giles.

They were provided after Labor’s controversial decision to prevent Qatar Airways from offering an additional 21 flights per week, a move which experts believed would have reduced the overall cost of airfares.

The Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler at the Marion Medicare Urgent Care Clinic. Picture: RoyVphotography

IN 2023 NDIS and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten was upgraded to first class. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

It has since emerged that former Qantas boss Alan Joyce met with Mr Albanese and his Transport Minister Catherine King on several occasions in the lead up to Qatar being blocked.

Ms King decided to prevent Qatar Airways from expanding on July 10, 2023, without taking the proposal to cabinet, claiming it was “not in the national interest.”

A few weeks after her decision - Health Minister Mark Butler accepted a Qantas business class upgrade for a private flight.

In August 2023, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten declared a “complimentary and unsolicited upgrade to first class” on an international journey with Emirates, Qantas’ international partner.

Sports Minister Anika Wells and her Chief of Staff both managed to score Qantas upgrades in Europe during September, 2023.

Pictured is Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. Picture: NewsWire/Tamati Smith.

Pictured is Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, during a press conference showing the Ghost Shark prototype at Garden Island on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

In November last year, Matt Keogh, the Assistant Minister overseeing Veterans’ Affairs, was given a “complimentary upgrade from business to first class” on a Qantas flight between London to Singapore.

Former Immigration Minister Andrew Giles also received three separate domestic upgrades in November 2023.

The Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, was bumped up on a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney a month later.

Finally, in February 2024, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus was moved to first class when he flew from Los Angeles to Melbourne.

Pictured is Anika Wells. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Pictured is Matt Keogh. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

All seven Labor MPs were approached for comment.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Mark Butler told Sunrise: “we fly all the time. We fly Qantas and Virgin. We fly several times a week. These happen in weeks after decisions that are made by governments that impact airlines all the time. They have for years and years. That’s why we have a rigorous system of declaration. I’ve complied with that.”

In further comments on the Today Show Mr Butler said: “I think I’ve received four upgrades in the last ten years. I’ve declared them within the rules that have been in place for a very long time. Yes I received an upgrade last year on a Melbourne to Adelaide flight. We fly several times a week. These things are sometimes provided as we are literally walking into the airport. I’m not quite sure whether it’s a load airport on planes.”

This follows revelations Anthony Albanese has received two dozen flight upgrades and gifts from Qantas since 2010.

Speaking on Tuesday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said there are “lots of questions about Mr Albanese’s credibility and integrity in relation to the Qatar decision.”

“If Qatar was in today, if Prime Minister Albanese hadn’t decided to support his mate Alan Joyce, I think we would find ourselves where we would have lower airfares.”

Independent MP Dai Le slammed the revelation, telling The Daily Telegraph “it certainly doesn’t sit right with me. What Qantas does is up to Qantas as a business. But as an MP, they should have declined. We have the ability to pay for our own upgrades.”

A Senate Committee into the Qatar saga found there was a “lack of clarity” from the Albanese Government as to the reasons for declining the request to increase capacity and that the decision should be “immediately” reviewed.

The Committee also noted that Qantas officials “were unable to answer questions regarding the extent and content of lobbying of Ministers.”

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister simply said: “the government makes decisions about aviation policy in the national interest.”

Originally published as Ministers gifted Qantas upgrades after blocking rival airline