By Angus Thompson
Transport Minister Catherine King has claimed public interest immunity as she withholds documents from parliament over her decision to reject Qatar Airways’ bid for more flights in Australia.
In a move branded disappointing and shocking by the Greens and the Coalition, King said on Thursday that disclosing the material could reveal the sensitive details about relations between countries.
Transport Minister Catherine King is facing criticism across the political spectrum.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“As the government has made clear, air services agreements are not commercial arrangements but treaty-level agreements between countries,” King said in the letter to Labor senator and minister Murray Watt, in response to the motion from the Coalition and the Greens for the production of documents in relation to her call.
“The production of documents falling within the scope of these orders would, or might reasonably be expected to, disclose the nature of bilateral relations with Australia’s foreign partners that we have given undertakings to protect.
“There is a public interest in not disclosing such discussions so the government’s negotiations over air services agreements with a range of countries can continue unimpeded. As such, I claim public interest immunity over documents subject to the orders.”
Greens leader Adam Bandt told a press conference in Parliament House on Friday that the public deserved to know what advice the government got before King made her decision over Qatar, labelling her refusal to disclose the documents “disappointing”.
“That’s our position ... we want to know what the advice was,” he said.
Coalition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie released a statement accusing the government of hiding its reasons for rejecting Qatar and “blocking more competition in the aviation sector and cheaper airfares”.
“It is shocking that Transport Minister Catherine King waited until parliament rose to tell us that she will now not be disclosing advice from her department on why she blocked more Qatar Airways flights based on ‘public interest immunity’,” McKenzie said.
King is going on two weeks’ leave, arranged months ago, after a torrid fortnight of political scrutiny over her Qatar decision, inflamed by widespread resentment of Australian airline Qantas, which has been accused of having outsized influence on government decisions, which King has denied.
A Senate inquiry into King’s decision is due to begin next week, and is expected to hear from Qantas’ controversial former chief executive Alan Joyce.
Earlier this week, Qantas lost a High Court appeal over the illegal sacking of 1700 workers in 2020, and is being pursued by the consumer watchdog over selling tickets to cancelled flights.
Both subjects are expected to be canvassed in addition to the Qatar decision, and McKenzie, the inquiry chair, told 2GB radio station on Friday morning that Joyce would be appearing before the inquiry and witnesses would be summoned if they declined the committee’s invitation to attend.
She said the decisions of the former Coalition government would be scrutinised by the inquiry as well, given the previous government had also denied an earlier Qatar application for increased flights.
“That’s why this committee is actually going to look at past decisions, what played into those and the most recent decisions, so we can make some serious recommendations about opening up one of those most consolidated aviation markets in the world,” McKenzie said.
She told 2GB host Ben Fordham that while former Coalition transport minister and Nationals colleague Michael McCormack wouldn’t be called, departmental officials would be.
Qantas declined to comment.
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