The close relationship between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and former Qantas boss Alan Joyce has revived questions about the federal government’s decision to block a rival Qantas bid to expand into Australia.
Albanese categorically denies allegations he personally asked Mr Joyce for upgrades, which has sparked a debate about politicians’ privileges.
The prime minister has announced the promotions he received and in a statement his spokesman added that he “never approached Alan Joyce seeking a promotion”.
But it has revived debate about how the government came to its decision to reject Qatar Airways’ bid to expand its flights in and out of Australia.
As Australia emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, Qatar Airways has applied to add 21 extra weekly flights to Australian airports.
It was hoped to reduce airfares at a time when costs were soaring, but Qantas opposed the request.
The application was ultimately rejected.
The federal government has evaded meetings with Mr Joyce on the issue, and its explanations at the time of why the decision was made have been inconsistent.
Ministers have variously cited the “national interest”, suggested that demand may have been too great, that the government was protecting Qantas’s ability to survive and that the 2020 incident in which women were strip-searched at Doha airport was a factor.
Pushes in parliament for a straight answer have not yielded much.
Now the issue is back in the frame, with the coalition considering whether it can try to bring Mr Joyce back before an inquiry and examine allegations of his relationship with chairman Anthony Albanese.
The Qatar Airways decision comes at a time when Qantas is in a difficult position and customer frustration with the airline is at its peak – not to mention frustration that the government has not taken action that could have reduced fares when people are feeling the pain of inflation and rising interest rates.
The competition watchdog said the Qatar Airways expansion would have reduced airfares, with Ms Hrdlicka saying it could have reduced prices by up to 40 per cent.
Questions remain about how the minister made her decision, what meetings Ms King and Mr Albanese had with Alan Joyce, and whether the Doha incident was justification for rejecting Qatar Airways – as well as a persistent suggestion by the Coalition that the government sided with Qantas in return for the airline’s support in the vote referendum campaign, which Labor is hotly contesting.
The government has pointed to a number of measures it has taken that Qantas has not benefited from as evidence it has not played into anyone’s hands.
National Labor leader Wayne Swan called for a review of the decision to clear the air, but that has not happened.

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