Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie slams ABC host Patricia Karvelas over Gina Rinehart question

National Senator Bridget McKenzie delivered a stunning rebuke to ABC presenter Patricia Karvelas after she tried to accuse the opposition of being in cahoots with Australia’s richest person, reminding her that a strong mining industry helps fund the national broadcaster.

The opposition’s transport spokeswoman defended leader Peter Dutton after it emerged his office had approached mining giant Gina Rinehart to provide him with a free private plane to a bombing memorial in Bali in November 2022.

“What does Gina Rinehart expect from that generosity?” Karvelas asked Ms. McKenzie on her RN Breakfast show on Friday.

The Nationals Senator rejected the idea that Ms Rhinehart, Australia’s richest person, would expect a ‘quid pro quo’ arrangement.

Instead, she sought to throw the criticism back at the Prime Minister, who is facing damaging accusations that he has received Qantas upgrades on numerous occasions.

“Peter Dutton was given a flight that saved Australian taxpayers $40,000 at a work event commemorating the Bali bombing,” Ms McKenzie said.

“The Prime Minister may or may not have sought flights abroad for his family while he was Transport Minister and protecting Qantas’ market share.”

But Karvelas continued her questions, repeatedly asking if Ms. Rinehart would expect anything in return.

“What does Gina Rinehart expect from that generosity?” Karvelas asked Ms. McKenzie on her RN Breakfast show on Friday

An audibly frustrated Ms McKenzie cut through the ABC presenter, saying: ‘Rinehart is not the problem’ and suggesting it was just an attempt to generate ‘clickbait’.

Ms McKenzie then pointed out that the Coalition made no secret of its desire for a ‘strong, prosperous and sustainable mining industry’.

‘I can be very, very honest with you. The coalition is the friends of our mining and resources industries,” she told Karvelas.

She added: “It is the foundation of our strong economy. It’s the foundation of your public health system and it funds our public education system and things like the ABC.

“Major public institutions that all Australians have free access to are funded because we have such a successful resource industry.

“I don’t think we need Gina Rinehart to influence us as a coalition to very, very clearly express our support for a sustainable resource industry, you know, and I think that’s important to say.”

The ABC received a record $1.137 billion in taxpayer money in the last financial year.

Most of this funding comes from government revenues, which are generated mainly by taxes on wages and, to some extent, by taxes on mining companies, the country’s largest export industry.

The latest ATO Corporate Tax Transparency Report shows that Australia’s mining industry remains the country’s largest taxpayer, paying $43.1 billion in corporate tax for the 2022-2023 period.

The comments came after a week in which the travel benefits scandal dominated political discussion.

A new book called The Chairman’s Lounge by journalist Joe Aston claims Mr Albanese secured 22 economy upgrades on Qantas flights by personally requesting them from the airline’s then chief executive Mr Joyce.

The prime minister denied the claims in a carefully worded statement on Wednesday.

“The Prime Minister never called Alan Joyce for an upgrade,” the statement said.

The scandal has also engulfed the opposition, with Mr Dutton facing questions over his $40,000 free flight from Mr Rinehart.

On Tuesday, the opposition leader told journalists that neither he nor his office had approached Ms Rinehart about a private flight in November 2022, but he backtracked on his response two days later.

Peter Dutton has confirmed that his office has requested a private plane from Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart (pictured together)

Mr Dutton said he was traveling to Rockhampton at the time and had to travel to Sydney for a memorial ceremony in Bali and was unable to arrange a commercial flight to take him to Mackay.

“We asked the government for a RAAF flight, they played games and they didn’t offer that flight, and at that point I think we had a charter estimate of about $40,000 to fly from Rockhampton to Sydney and then back to Mackay. he said.

“I thought that was very expensive and the cheaper option for the taxpayers was for my office to consult with Ms. Rinehart’s office to see if the plane might be available.”

He took a parting shot at Mr. Albanese, saying, “That didn’t cost the taxpayers anything.”

Nationals senator Ms McKenzie has also been caught out, admitting to the ABC she was wrong when she was “so emphatic earlier this week” when she claimed she had never received a flight upgrade.

She has now requested a full database of flights she has taken and has promised to indicate any upgrades.