Greens leader Adam Bandt’s extraordinary response after Qantas perks come to light during tense exchange with ABC journalist

Adam Bandt said people can “make up their own minds” about him enjoying an exclusive and discretionary benefit from Qantas in a tense exchange with a journalist.

The Greens leader has been outed as a member of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge, a series of invitation-only waiting areas and services offered by the airline in what has been dubbed “Australia’s most exclusive club”.

Mr Bandt was challenged on Monday by ABC Radio National stand-in presenter Steve Cannane that he was “enjoying free hospitality from a company that has illegally dismissed hundreds of workers”.

Mr Bandt replied: ‘And I will explain that, so that people can judge for themselves what they think about it.’

Cannane was referring to the Federal Court ruling that Qantas illegally dismissed 1,700 workers at the start of the Covid pandemic in a case brought by the Transport Workers Union.

Commenting on the dismissal in June 2020, Mr Bandt called it a “devastating day for thousands of Qantas employees and their families” in a Facebook post. “We are thinking of you,” he wrote.

Cannane challenged Mr Bandt further, saying: “Don’t you think you should be a little more clean-cut about this and just not accept their (Qantas’) hospitality?”

Mr Bandt said he always made statements on these types of issues and argued that the party’s policy of heavily taxing big companies showed the benefits had no impact on the Greens.

Mr Bandt has been highlighted as a member of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge, a series of invitation-only waiting areas and services presented by the airline dubbed ‘Australia’s most exclusive club’.

Mr Bandt was spotted flying from Melbourne to Canberra in business class in September, sitting next to Senator Jacqui Lambie.

Albanian ministers Tim Watts and Catherine King were on the same flight, but sat with the masses in economy class.

It has previously been reported that Mr Bandt chooses to fly business regularly, despite his party’s core policy of reducing CO2 emissions.

Flying business class emits about three times as much carbon as economy class because the seats take up more space and are empty more often, according to a World Bank study.

Fellow Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather said last year he had shunned membership of the Chairman’s Lounge and refused to travel business class.

Earlier this year, Mr. Bandt’s flying habits sparked controversy.

Mr Bandt’s flying habits have previously been a source of controversy after it emerged that he often opts for business class and has even taken private jets to election events.

Mr. Bandt used two private jets during the 2022 federal election campaign, landing taxpayers with the $23,000 bill.

One flight was between Queensland regional centers of Townsville and Rockhampton on March 7, but he also boarded a $15,000 private jet along the well-traveled route from Brisbane to Canberra to attend the launch of his party’s election campaign .

Mr Bandt is not the only politician to take center stage when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is asked whether he has included both his son and his partner as ‘plus one’ Chairman’s Club members.

He is also asked about free flight upgrades, including an international upgrade he is said to have received from Qantas in the new book The Chairman’s Lounge, written by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston.

The Greens are licking their electoral wounds after the poll in Queensland, where they are battling to hold on to their two seats after declaring they wanted to triple their representation in Parliament.

With 72 per cent of votes counted they appear to have retained the Brisbane seat of Maiwar, but suffered a 4.6 per cent swing to the ALP.

However, they remain behind South Brisbane, which has seen a huge swing of 12.4 per cent to Labor as 64 per cent of votes have been counted.