October 31st 2024.
There has been quite a stir in Parliament lately regarding the topic of flight upgrades. It seems that the Opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has found himself caught up in the controversy after it was revealed that he had previously requested a flight upgrade from billionaire Gina Rinehart. Dutton had previously stated that he had accepted flights offered by Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, but he had never personally asked to use her private jet.
However, things took a turn when Dutton was forced to backtrack on his statement and admit that his staff had in fact spoken to Rinehart's office about using the jet for a trip from Queensland to Sydney. This trip was for a memorial service in Bali. It's interesting to note that Dutton's initial request was to save taxpayers from the hefty $40,000 fee of flying on a RAAF plane. He saw it as a more cost-effective option for the public's money.
Dutton explained, "I thought that was very expensive and the cheaper option for the taxpayer was for my office to speak to Mrs Rinehart's office as to whether the plane might be available. That was at zero cost to the taxpayer." It seems that other MPs are also taking a closer look at their own flight records and upgrades to ensure they have followed the rules and declared everything appropriately.
Shadow Transport Minister Bridget McKenzie has also stated that she will be reviewing her own travel records after being questioned about not declaring all of her upgrades. She had previously declared one flight upgrade in 2018, but now plans to reach out to three airlines to double-check if there were any others that were not declared. McKenzie admitted, "I was wrong earlier this week to be so emphatic... I don't like to hold others to a standard I'm not prepared to subject to myself."
The root of this controversy appears to stem from the Coalition's accusations towards Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about his alleged involvement in receiving Qantas flight upgrades during his time as transport minister. It has been claimed that Albanese personally called former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce to secure these upgrades for himself and his family. These accusations were brought to light in a book by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston.
Albanese has strongly denied any wrongdoing and has stated that he has declared every flight and upgrade he has ever received. He also denied ever making a personal call to Joyce regarding upgrades. It seems that this situation has caused quite a commotion in Parliament, with MPs on both sides being urged to carefully review their own records and ensure that they have followed all protocols.
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