Treasury and Trade departments ‘not consulted’ on Qatar call

Trade and Treasury officials weren’t asked for advice on the decision to block Qatar Airways’ bid for more flight access.

Anthony Albanese, in question time on Tuesday, remains under fire from the Coalition over the government’s decision to block Qatar Airways’ bid for extra flights into Australia. Picture: Martin Ollman / NCA NewsWire

The key departments of Trade and Treasury were not asked for advice on the decision to block Qatar Airways’ bid for more flights into Australia, which the Coalition claims will cost the economy $1bn a year.

In response to a demand from the Senate, Jim Chalmers and Trade Minister Don Farrell have both reported that Treasury and Trade were not asked for advice from Transport Minister Catherine King about the airline’s bid for 28 extra flights into Australia.

The Treasurer and Senator Farrell have publicly said they were not consulted about the July 10 ruling by Ms King, and Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have said they were not consulted until after the decision.

Senator Farrell told the Senate: “I can confirm no documents exist that are within the scope of the request as no advice, briefs or submissions have been provided to me.”

The Prime Minister was drawn into the controversy over the decision amid allegations the government had “run a protection racket” for Qantas and had to correct the parliamentary record over his knowledge of the decision.

Ms King has repeatedly said it was her decision although she consulted “relevant ministers” and was aware of the views of relevant airlines. Mr Albanese told parliament on Monday it was not necessary for Ms King to notify him of the decision because it wasn’t important.

In the Senate, opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie said Ms King had failed to consult relevant ministers.

“If the Treasurer of this country isn’t the relevant minister to be consulted with a decision like this, then I am not sure who is. I find it incredible that the Transport Department didn’t talk to the Treasury or the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission particularly on the economic issues,” Senator McKenzie said. “The cover-up continues over the Albanese government’s decision to block Qatar Airways’ request for more flights.”

Opposition trade and tourism spokesman Kevin Hogan said Australia needed more air travel to boost tourism’s recovery and the Qatar decision does the opposite of what’s needed to support the $166bn sector and speed up its post-Covid comeback.

Mr Hogan said statistics released on Tuesday show Australian tourism is “still lagging other countries around the world who have returned to and exceeded pre-Covid levels”.

The Albanese government has stopped 700,000 additional seats from Europe and the Middle East each year, flights that would have significantly boosted our tourism industry and could cost the economy $1bn a year, Mr Hogan said.

“Professor Rico Merkert, chair in Transport and Supply Chain Management and deputy director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at the University of Sydney, today estimated the decision to block the additional Qatar flights would cost the Australian economy $1bn per year,” Mr Hogan said.

Senator Wong, the government Senate Leader, said: “All Australians were shocked by the events” of the 2020 strip-search incident involving several Australian women at Al Hamad airport in Qatar. “We appreciate the state of Qatar’s efforts following the incident to investigate, apologise and ensure it is never repeated, including establishing the taskforce to review airport procedures and protocols,” she said.

Qatar State Minister Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi met Australia’s new ambassador, Shane Flanagan, in Doha to discuss “co-operation between the two countries” amid criticism of the Albanese government’s decision to block more Qatar Airways flights to Australia.