The Victorian politicians who have declared membership of Qantas’ exclusive Chairman’s Lounge
Eight Victorian pollies have declared membership of Qantas’ exclusive Chairman’s Lounge — where the Champagne flows and steak dinners are free — including Premier Daniel Andrews.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Eight Victorian MPs have declared membership of Qantas’ exclusive invitation-only Chairman’s Lounge.
They include Premier Daniel Andrews, Treasurer Tim Pallas, and ministers Ben Carroll, Steve Dimopoulos, and Enver Erdogan.
Members enjoy free Champagne, steak dinners and flight upgrades that can be worth thousands of dollars.
It comes amid intense scrutiny over the influence Qantas has over key decision-makers across the country.
Just one non-government MP, David Davis, has declared membership of the lounge.
“I am a member of the Chairman’s Lounge but this has not stopped me, nor will it ever stop me, repeatedly calling for more flights and new entrants into Melbourne, both in parliament and in the community, including informal opinion pieces where I have pushed for a full open skies policy with the explicit aim of advantaging Melbourne, Victorian tourism and business links,” Mr Davis said.
Membership of the club was declared on the publicly available Members of parliament Register of Interests, which were last published in March.
Since that time two MPs who declared membership, Nationals leader Peter Walsh and shadow Attorney-General Michael O’Brien, said they were no longer members of the club.
All Victorian MPs are required to routinely update the register, detailing any membership or association that could cause the perception of a conflict of interest.
Failure to do so could lead to fines, or a suspension from parliament in extreme cases.
The Herald Sun has been told all state ministers are invited to join the club.
On Thursday, Australia’s Federal Court said it would establish a public register for judges to disclose membership of the Chairman’s Club.
It followed revelations that every current judge was a member of the club.
The court is set to consider the ACCC’s claim that Qantas continued selling tickets to 8,000 “ghost flights” even after they had been cancelled.
The Federal Court said that having considered the matter, it did believe that better guidelines for disclosure would be useful.
“It is a matter for each judge whether they consider it appropriate to disclose lounge membership or membership of any frequent flyer program having regard to the nature of the issues raised in a particular case,’’ a spokesperson said.
“However, in the interests of further transparency, the Court will request all judges to indicate whether they have taken up lounge membership for the purpose of publicly disclosing that information going forward.
The Court has no records of whether individual judges have been upgraded and is unaware of the customary flight upgrades to which you refer.”
A Supreme Court of Victoria spokesperson said there was no such register for Victorian judges.
Asked whether government MPs would relinquish their memberships, a spokesperson did not respond before deadline.
More Coverage
Six Melbourne Uni staff sacked for sexual misconduct as complaints triple
Complaints over sexual harassment, stalking, unwelcome advances and inappropriate comments and have hit a record high at the University of Melbourne, with dozens of staff and students investigated.
Architectural oasis with 600 metres of private beach up for sale
A private Victorian coastal sanctuary with 600 metres of exclusive shoreline and breathtaking 270-degree ocean views is set to attract buyers looking for the ultimate escape.