Why Labor is so concerned about Albo’s relationship with Alan Joyce: As Qantas stumbles from crisis to disaster – here’s the photographs showing how close they are

The special friendship between Anthony Albanese and Alan Joyce has been thrown into the spotlight as Qantas stumbles from one public controversy to the next – with Labor insiders now concerned that the damage to the government is beginning to level off.

Labor MPs would not have liked to hear Mr Joyce confirm that he had been friends with Mr Albanese for ‘years’ during his meeting with the Senate’s Cost of Living Committee on Monday, with those two words effectively confirmed how close the two men were. had become.

At the hearing, Mr Joyce also declined to answer questions about his decision to grant the Prime Minister’s son a membership in the prestigious Chairman’s Lounge and was asked if he felt “embarrassed” about his $24 million salary as the airline was Australia’s most complained company.

But the biggest outcry over his Senate appearance was the admission that the airline owed at least $150 million more in flight credits to customers than previously estimated.

When Qantas said on Thursday they would refund the credits, it emerged that the airline was facing legal action from Australia’s consumer watchdog, the ACCC, for knowingly selling more than 8,000 tickets on flights between May and July 2022 that were already cancelled.

Labor MPs are reportedly concerned that their leader is associatively linked to the growing outrage over Qantas.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton again drew attention to their camaraderie on Friday when we said they were ‘too close’.

“The relationship between Alan Joyce and Anthony Albanese is well documented,” Dutton said on the Today Show on Friday.

Anthony Albanese hasn’t found a red carpet yet that he doesn’t want to trot on with Alan Joyce.

“That’s just the reality of their relationship.”

In slightly happier times for Qantas, Mr Albanese and Mr Joyce were cheerfully pictured on the red carpet at the 100th Qantas gala dinner in March.

In photos from the event, Mr Joyce proudly walks the red carpet with one arm around the Prime Minister and the other around his partner, Jodie Haydon.

Just five months later, in August, a smiling Mr Albanese attended Qantas’ unveiling of its special ‘Yes 23’ aircraft, while Mr Joyce announced the airline’s support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Mr Joyce was touched on Mr Albanese’s arm, while the Prime Minister burst into laughter.

Even when Scott Morrison was Prime Minister, Mr Joyce had a close relationship with Anthony Albanese, with the pair first seen together during the launch of the historic flight from Perth to London in March 2018.

Mr Dutton went further when he said Australians were asking ‘all sorts of questions’ about the relationship between the Prime Minister and Mr Joyce.

“It is clear that Qantas has been very supportive of the Yes campaign,” he said.

“You know, there are a lot of questions here, and the prime minister just brushes them aside. He promised an open and transparent government. He’s doing the exact opposite.’

Mr Dutton accused Mr Albanese of striking a ‘cute deal’ with the CEO following a decision to limit Qatar Airways’ expansion in Australia.

Qatar’s application to add 21 flights to its existing 28 was rejected last month, a move critics say was made to protect Qantas from competition.

“It’s inflationary and it’s unfair to many Australians who may have worked hard… to travel abroad,” Dutton said.

“Under (this deal) they will pay thousands more for airline tickets.”

Mr Dutton said Qantas had some “serious questions to answer” after the airline initially imposed a December 31 deadline for $370 million in credits for customers who booked tickets for flights that had already been reportedly cancelled.

This move prompted the consumer watchdog to take legal action against Qantas, with the airline backtracking on its expiration decision in spectacular fashion this week.

The rollback will allow customers whose flights are canceled before October 2021 to keep flight credits indefinitely for refund, Qantas confirmed on Thursday.

“I certainly welcome the announcement made today,” Albanian said in Tasmania on Thursday.

“Something I’ve been calling for in recent days as Qantas recognized the need to look after people who had bookings on flights that were canceled to prevent those credits from expiring, to be able to receive a refund or use of their flights . ‘

The close relationship between Mr Albanese and the outgoing Qantas CEO was also called into question due to revelations that the Prime Minister’s son, Nathan, 23, had been given access to the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge.

The Chairman’s Lounge, which is by invitation only, is reserved for MPs, celebrities and business people who can enjoy plush leather sofas, à la carte steaks or a party buffet, and a complementary bar serving Perrier Jouet champagne.

At this week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Mr Joyce was asked if he has spoken to the Prime Minister about granting his son access to the Chairman Lounge.

“Again, I’m not going to comment on membership in the Chairman’s club, I have privacy concerns where we don’t want to comment on who’s in, who it’s been offered to and why they’re there,” he replied.

“I won’t comment on that, confirm or deny it.”

Mr Joyce also declined to confirm whether family members of MPs had been offered free membership to the Chairman’s Lounge, following continued questioning by Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne, the deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee.

“Again, I will not comment on the Chairman’s Lounge, I will not comment on who is or is not there,” he said. “There are privacy issues with that.”

When questioned by reporters about the 23-year-old’s access to the lounge, Mr Joyce told reporters: ‘I’m not denying it and not confirming it at the same time’.

“I’ve been good friends with Albo for a while,” he said.

Earlier this year, Qantas reported an underlying profit of $2.47 billion for the past fiscal year, compared to a loss of nearly $2 billion the year before.

In the wake of the results to repay money it received from the federal government at the height of the pandemic.

Despite this, the Albanian government said the airline would not have to return the money.

“When these funds were provided by the previous government, there was no arrangement or agreement that they would be reimbursed in any form,” said treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Joyce said the government’s JobKeeper money went to its employees.

“When we make money, we pay corporate taxes and get there faster,” he told ABC’s 7:30 program.

“Do our people who got the money for JobKeeper have to pay it back?

“I’d say no because that’s asking to pay it back in a tough time, so what money are we paying back exactly?”