Opposition sceptical over Labor’s $200m Virgin lifeline

Airline bailout offer met with scepticism over alleged links between Virgin boss and senior Palaszczuk government ministers.

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad landed in hot water over a free stay at Virgin CEO Paul Scurrah’s $7.2m Canadian ski lodge. Picture: Annette Dew

The Queensland government has been accused of favouritism over its $200 million funding to help rescue Virgin Australia, with taxpayers warned to be “highly dubious” about the deal because of alleged conflicts of interest.

Minister for State Development Cameron Dick announced the funding on Saturday, saying it would be conditional on similar funding from the federal government, debt restructuring, shareholder support, ongoing regional flights, and that the carrier’s headquarters remain in Brisbane.

But the announcement has been met with scepticism because of alleged close, personal links between Virgin CEO Paul Scurrah and senior Palaszczuk government ministers — in particular, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and Employment Minister Shannon Fentiman, who in August last year got into hot water over a free stay at a $7.2 million luxury Canadian ski lodge owned by Mr Scurrah and his wife Nicole.

Queensland MP Shannon Fentiman and Jackie Trad’s former chief-of-staff Matt Collins at Whistler. Picture: Instagram

“Queensland taxpayers would be highly dubious about any deal between Labor and Virgin,” Queensland LNP Deputy Leader Tim Mander told The Weekend Australian.

“No one disputes the need to protect Queensland jobs or ensure competition exists for consumers. But there are several conflicts of interest exposing the likes of Jackie Trad and Shannon Fentiman and their luxurious trip to Whistler last year when they were personal guests of the Virgin CEO. At a minimum any deal must be fully transparent and needs to protect jobs and provide decent and affordable services for Queenslanders, particularly in regional areas.”

When asked about the five-bedroom property, located in one of Whistler’s most exclusive enclaves, in an estimates hearing last year, Ms Trad said: “I am not sure about the luxury apartment reference, but anyway.”

The luxury Whistler home owned by Paul Scurrah. Picture: Supplied

Photos of the property emerged later, depicting its modern Scandinavian design complete with a wine cellar and hot tub.

“Jackie Trad and Shannon Fentiman must stand aside from having any involvement in this decision,” Mr Mander said.

“Anything less is a blatant waste of taxpayers money and a special deal for Labor mates.”

Ms Trad and Ms Fentiman stayed at the property several months before Mr Scurrah became Virgin chief executive.

Ms Trad said on Thursday she had withdrawn from any discussions about Virgin. Ms Fentiman is not involved in any decision-making around Virgin because those decisions are made by the Cabinet Budget Review Committee, of which she is not a member.

Nicole Scurrah was chief of staff to former Labor premier Anna Bligh and was last year hired by Ms Trad as a consultant to help the Palaszczuk government cut back on consultancy costs.

Ms Trad has previously failed to declare a conflict of interest — the purchase of a Woolloongabba house by her family’s trust — which led to the state’s corruption watchdog recommending changes to the law.

Ms Trad and Ms Fentiman stayed at the Whistler property with their partners. Picture: Supplied

The proposed legislation, which is yet to be debated in parliament due to the coronavirus outbreak, would see Queensland government ministers jailed if they intentionally fail to declare conflicts of interest.

Virgin Australia has asked for a $1.4 billion loan from the Commonwealth to help it through the coronavirus pandemic, but this was rejected. The federal government has offered Virgin a share of $165 million guaranteed payment for domestic flight routes and is advising shareholders may need to bail the company out.

In announcing the funding on Saturday, Minister Dick said — while he was yet to liaise with his counterparts in other states or territories — his commitment was to try to save the 5000 Virgin workers in Queensland.

He urged the federal government to ramp up its support of the struggling airline.

“If we’re going to have two national airlines at the other side of this pandemic, all governments need to come together to ensure that is the case … we need a national response,” he said.

With AAP