Threat of jail if former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce fails to front Senate inquiry into Qatar Airways’ flight block

Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has been threatened with jail if he doesn’t front a Senate inquiry into the Qatar Airways decision.

A Senate inquiry into bilateral air rights took evidence from senior public servants on Thursday.

Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has been threatened with jail if he doesn’t front a Senate inquiry into the decision to deny Qatar Airways more flights into Australia.

Frustrated by the lack of transparency around the federal government decision and Qantas’s role in that, inquiry chair Bridget McKenzie said a summons would be served on Mr Joyce as soon as he returned to Australia.

It’s understood Mr Joyce travelled to Ireland after exiting Qantas two months early, to be with his mother who is seriously ill.

After hearing evidence from senior public servants with the Department of Transport on Thursday, Senator McKenzie said it was clear Mr Joyce and Minister Catherine King held the answers the committee was seeking.

“(Mr Joyce) will be summonsed on touchdown and he will be required to attend to the Committee’s questions,” she said.

“I think the House of Representatives jailed someone in the 1950s who refused the summons. Let’s hope we don’t get there.”

Minister King was also invited to appear before the Committee to provide more information about her decision.

Her office said it was yet to receive an invitation.

The inquiry heard Ms King’s decision was made on July 10, and relayed in a letter to five women sexually assaulted at Hamad International Airport in 2020.

The committee was told Qantas and Virgin Australia were the only two of 57 stakeholders in the matter asked to make submissions on Qatar’s application.

Transport Minister Catherine King is under pressure to face a Senate inquiry into the Qatar Airways decision. Picture: AAP

Other stakeholders identified by Ms King’s department but not asked to provide formal input included tourism organisations, airports, Austrade, Tourism Aus­tralia and the Border Force.

Qantas’s submission was made in October opposing the granting of further air rights on the basis it would distort the market at a time other international airlines were recovering.

Virgin Australia was firmly in favour, given the airline’s partnership with Qatar Airways and the opportunity that extra flights presented to Velocity frequent flyer members.

A month after Qantas’s submission, Ms King met the airline’s then CEO Alan Joyce.

There were no further records of formal meetings between Qantas representatives and the minister in the months before the Qatar decision was made.

On Wednesday, Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said Ms King had indicated to her at their January 20 meeting that Mr Joyce was seeking to meet on January 23 to express his displeasure over the proposed bilateral negotiations.

Public servants were unable to tell the committee if that meeting went ahead.

Adding to the committee’s frustration, was a “public interest immunity” order over documents and correspondence related to the Qatar Airway’s application and Ms King’s decision.

The PII order meant no details could be provided about the department’s advice to Ms King, or advice given by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at the request of Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Senator McKenzie said Minister King had effectively “gagged” departmental officials from providing evidence to the Senate committee on the real reason Qatar was blocked.

“We know (from) the evidence we’ve heard through this committee that the decision would have meant cheaper airfares through the Middle East to Europe, a greater choice of destination for the Australian travelling public, our freight task would be better handled and more efficient and cheaper for our exporters and primary producers,” she said.

“This decision has cost our economy $3bn over the next five years.”

Liberal senator Simon Birmingham said a decision had been taken to call Ms King to appear before the inquiry.

Senate committee rules allowed for members of the lower house to be invited to appear, but they could not be “summonsed”.

It was expected the committee’s final report due on October 9, would be delayed as a result of the invitation to Ms King and summons of Mr Joyce.