Qantas-Qatar flight saga: Anthony Albanese and Catherine King deny they were lobbied by national carrier, but Alan Joyce has already revealed a letter was ‘sent to government’

Recently departed Qantas CEO Alan Joyce made no secret of lobbying the government on the issue of Qatar Airways seeking more flights to Australia.

He told a Senate cost-of-living inquiry on Aug. 28 that Qantas “took its case to the government” and “protested” in a letter in October 2022.

Transport Minister Catherine King formally rejected Qatar’s request in July 2023.

Now she says she doesn’t remember talking to Mr. Joyce about this.

She does recall Virgin lobbying in favor of the request and a “third party” approaching her office on behalf of Qatar, but when it comes to Qantas, she falls short.

On Wednesday, Mrs King said in Parliament that, if I remember correctly, the only issue she spoke to Mr Joyce about at that time was the government’s ‘same job, same pay’ legislation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese categorically excluded himself from receiving the correspondence earlier this week.

The prime minister said in question time that he “has not received any lobbying from Qantas on this issue.” He also revealed that he had “one substantive conversation” about the Qatar decision, but would not elaborate on who that conversation was with.

Both revelations beg the question: who approached Qantas with their concerns about Qatar’s October 2022 request?

Daily Mail Australia has sought clarification on the matter from Qantas, the Prime Minister’s office and Ms King’s office.

Mr Joyce said Qantas had been ‘open’ and ‘clear’ during the inquiry about having lodged protests with the government over Qatar.

“Like everyone else, many airlines and many other parties, we have protested. We’ve been open about that,” he said.

“We have taken our case to the government and said that we have told the government that the capacity will come back.

‘Giving a carrier a doubling of its traffic rights in the short term would lead to disruption.’

Mr Joyce defended the government’s decision and said it is standard practice worldwide.

He told a Senate cost-of-living inquiry on Aug. 28 that Qantas “took its case to the government” and “protested” in a letter in October 2022.

Transport Secretary Catherine King (left) defended blocking Qatar’s expansion with a range of different excuses, including that it was “not in the national interest”. Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones (right) later said allowing more flights to Qatar would ‘make it unsustainable for the existing Australian-based airline’

He added: “Various countries around the world are protecting the national interest.”

Mr Joyce was asked to clarify whether the proposal had been discussed with the Prime Minister or the Transport Minister, but he declined.

“One thing I’ve always done… is to say I never make public the conversations I have with the Prime Minister or any minister.

“I’ve kept that for all seven prime ministers anyway, and I don’t intend to change my approach by making the talks that are taking place public.”

The government claims there was nothing unusual in its decision to reject Qatar’s expansion request.

Ms King simply says ‘it was not in the national interest’, while Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones suggested it would ‘make it unsustainable for the existing Australian-based airline’.

The transport minister claimed when she was in London in July that the decision to block Qatar was made for environmental reasons, saying she wanted to ‘decarbonise the transport sector’.

“I want more capacity so that people can enjoy travelling, but I also want to be able to decarbonise the transport sector,” she said at the time.

“Aviation plays a part in that too, so there’s a mix of things I’m looking at.”

In Question Time, Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie accused the government of running a “protection racket” for Qantas. Qatar Airways flight attendant pictured

The decision to block the move was also initially linked to the 2020 incident at Qatar’s Doha airport, when 13 Australian female airline passengers were among 18 travelers closely scrutinized by investigators after a newborn was found abandoned in a rubbish bin. found.

Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie successfully launched an inquiry into the decision on Tuesday afternoon, questioning Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson and her predecessor Alan Joyce about their conversations with federal ministers.

Labor and the Greens voted against the motion, while the Liberal Party, Nationals, One Nation and David Pocock and the Lambie Network voted in favour. It became 32-31.

Ms McKenzie said of the decision: ‘The Senate has agreed to a short and sharp inquiry into Federal Labor’s decision to restrict flights to major capitals.

“Finally we can get to the bottom of why the government has restricted Australians from having a safe, reliable and competitive aviation industry.”

It will review any “decisions made by the federal government in relation to proposals received in the past 12 months for additional services to Australia’s main airports.”

In the week since Mr. Joyce appeared at the cost of living inquiry, he has elected to step down from his position and take early retirement.

The transport minister claimed when she was in London in July that the decision to block Qatar was made for environmental reasons, saying she wanted to ‘decarbonise the transport sector’.