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Prime Minister in firing line for ‘inappropriate’ free Qantas upgrades
There are calls for former Qantas chief Alan Joyce to face a Senate inquiry over his links to current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Albanese is feeling the heat over claims of numerous free upgrades approved directly from Joyce while Albanese was regulating the airline as transport minister.
There are claims he had a direct line to Joyce and requested and received at least a dozen free upgrades on Qantas flights.
It amounts to several thousand dollars.
It is particularly damaging as the Albanese government blocked rival Qatar Airways’ proposal to increase flights to Australia last year
Joyce needs to explain their relationship to the Senate committee, says shadow transport minister Bridget McKenzie to see if they had a ‘quid pro quo; agreement.
The claims were made in a new book and have not been denied.
Albanese says all upgrades were declared at the time.
This hasn’t satisfied most lawmakers.
“It’s completely inappropriate behaviour, and the Prime Minister hasn’t given a good explanation,” Nationals Senator Matt Canavan told Sky News.
“I do think there are real questions that need to be asked now.”
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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