November 5th 2024.
The recent news about Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie's alleged failure to report receiving over a dozen free flight upgrades from Qantas and Virgin since her time in parliament has been downplayed by the Coalition. The Australian Financial Review broke the story last night, citing anonymous sources. It was later revealed that Senator McKenzie had reached out to the airlines to verify if she had indeed received any undisclosed upgrades, as was reported by the sources. This move was made in an effort to be transparent and maintain the integrity of the parliamentary disclosure rules.
According to the sources, both Qantas and Virgin have responded to Senator McKenzie's inquiry, providing details of her upgraded flights in both domestic and international business class. When questioned about the situation on ABC's Radio National Breakfast this morning, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor stated that the allegations against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for soliciting upgrades from the former Qantas boss were a separate issue altogether. He emphasized that the real concern is the prime minister's alleged active pursuit of personal upgrades during his time as transport minister, which is deemed inappropriate.
Taylor continued by saying that any other upgrades received in different circumstances should still be declared, and he is confident that the matter will be resolved appropriately. The controversy surrounding politicians receiving free upgrades from airlines has been a hot topic in the news for the past two weeks, with both sides of politics facing accusations of misusing these perks. It all began with former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston's claims in his book, The Chairman's Lounge, that Prime Minister Albanese had personally contacted the former Qantas boss to secure upgrades for his personal travel. However, Albanese has denied these allegations.
The issue has also affected Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who came under fire for his office's request to use billionaire Gina Rinehart's private jet for a memorial service. Amidst all the chaos, Senator McKenzie has yet to make a statement regarding the airlines' response to her inquiry about the upgrades she received. It's worth noting that the senator had previously called for an investigation into the allegations made in Aston's book but later changed her stance, stating that she doesn't want to hold others to a higher standard than she holds herself. She also highlighted the difference between herself and the prime minister, who was transport minister when he received the upgrades.
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