2 weeks Ago By Ellen Ransley
Anthony Albanese has emphatically ruled out ever seeking flight upgrades from former Qantas boss Alan Joyce, five days after the bombshell claims first emerged. After his office issued a statement on Wednesday confirming the Prime Minister had never called the former chief executive for flight upgrades — which left open the question of whether he had used other means of contact — Mr Albanese has since denied he texted or emailed Mr Joyce. He has also ruled out ever directly sharing any flight or travel plans with Mr Joyce, or other senior Qantas figures.
In his denial, reported by 2GB host Ben Fordham, Mr Albanese said he hadn’t spoken to Mr Joyce in “a very long time”. “Over 30 years, there could have been a mistake, but we’ve gone through the records and there are none,” Mr Albanese said, according to Fordham. “Why would you call the CEO of Qantas to discuss your flights anyway?” Katina Curtis Mr Albanese has been under mounting pressure this week after a new book by Joe Aston claimed Mr Albanese had secured 22 free flight upgrades, some of which he had sourced directly from Mr Joyce, during his time in parliament — including as transport minister.
The revelations prompted the Coalition to push Mr Albanese to refer himself to the federal corruption watchdog, and called on him to answer questions about whether he acted “on behalf of Qantas” when his Government decided last year to block Qatar Airways bid for more flights Finance Minister Katy Gallagher defended Mr Albanese on Thursday, saying he had declared all flights and “abided by the rules”. “I know how fastitious he is about these rules. The reason we’re talking about them is because they’re declared,” she said.
The Prime Minister’s office has been contacted for comment Ellen Ransley and Dylan Caporn.
