Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended receiving free Qantas upgrades and obtaining a prized Chairman’s Lounge membership for his son, as the government comes under increasing pressure to end the airline’s stranglehold on taxpayer-funded flights for federal politicians and public servants.
A new book by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston has revealed Albanese received at least 22 free Qantas upgrades from economy class, including some for his family and for personal travel, which amounted to tens of thousands of dollars worth of gifts.
The prime minister received the upgrades when he was transport minister, opposition transport spokesman and opposition leader, according to The Chairman’s Lounge, an extract of which was published in this masthead’s Good Weekend magazine.
Albanese said he had the same relationship with former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce as he did with the boss of rival airline virgin Australia.Credit: AAPIMAGE
Speaking about the book’s allegations for the first time, Albanese said on Sunday that he would not need to make any additions to the parliamentary register of interests because he had declared all the upgrades he received.
“Every single thing has been declared, every single thing has been declared, which is why it has been reported on, and it is appropriate that those declarations occur,” he said at an event with the Italian community in Leichhardt, in his inner-west Sydney electorate of Grayndler.
“From time to time, members of parliament receive upgrades; what’s important is that they are declared.
“All of mine have been declared, I note that a range of them go back a long period of time.”
Asked whether politicians should stop taking upgrades from airlines, Albanese said it was “a matter for them”.
Qantas insiders told Aston that Albanese would liaise with former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce directly about his personal travel, highlighting the close relationship between Albanese and the former airline boss.
Albanese, who returned from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa late on Saturday night, said he had the same relationship with Joyce as he had with John Borghetti, the former chief executive of Qantas’ main rival, Virgin Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had appropriately declared all travel upgrades from Qantas.Credit: Steven Siewert
Albanese said his son, Nathan, received access to Qantas’ exclusive Chairman’s Lounge when he and former wife Carmel Tebbutt separated.
“I put out a media release when my marriage ended; you can’t be more transparent than that,” he said.
“My plus-one became my son.”
Aston fired back at Albanese, saying: “He’s backed himself into a corner and is playing word games ... Just because something is disclosed doesn’t make it appropriate.”
Aston said Albanese had disclosed to parliament that partner Jodie Haydon was listed as his spouse on his Chairman’s Lounge membership in October 2022, with son Nathan also gaining access to the lounge.
MPs from across the parliamentary spectrum have disclosed free upgrades from Qantas and other airlines on their register of interests, although only some specify the class of travel.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, for example, disclosed an upgrade from business to first class on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne in February, while Aged Care Minister Anika Wells was upgraded on a flight from Lyon to Dubai in September 2023.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton disclosed an unspecified upgrade for himself and wife Kirilly on a Qantas flight from Brisbane to Sydney in December 2023, while Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce received an upgrade to premium-economy for a trip to the United States last year.
Greens leader Adam Bandt’s disclosure form says he receives “occasional upgrades from economy to business class on Virgin and Qantas”.
The influence of Qantas came to the fore last year when the government blocked a request by Qatar Airways to expand its flights into Australia, a move that financially benefited Qantas and partner airline Emirates.
Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie said it was outrageous that Qantas received 80 per cent of federal taxpayer-funded travel even though it commands only a 63 per cent share of the domestic market.
Speaking from her own experience booking taxpayer-funded flights, McKenzie said politicians were routinely only offered Qantas flights by the government’s travel procurement service, even though it has a policy of purchasing the “lowest practical fare”, and Qantas flights are on average $280 higher than its rivals.
The imbalance is a “huge problem” and a “waste of taxpayer money”, McKenzie said.
“It is in the national interest for there to be a competitive aviation sector, and that means the public sector spend should be pro-competitive, not pro one big airline,” she said.
McKenzie said she had no intention of giving up her Chairman’s Lounge membership as it had not prevented her from regularly criticising Qantas for its flight credit policy, flight cancellations and delays.
The vast majority of federal politicians are members of the invitation-only Chairman’s Lounge but some, including Labor Senator Tony Sheldon, some teal independents and several Greens MPs have declined membership.
Transport Minister Catherine King committed to a review of government travel bookings by the end of the year by the Finance Department as part of the government’s aviation white paper process in August.
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