2 weeks Ago By David Crowe
Federal MPs are vowing to quit the VIP lounges at Qantas and Virgin after a furore over flight upgrades and special treatment, heightening political pressure on others who want to keep their free entry to the exclusive clubs. Independent MP Allegra Spender said she would end her membership of Qantas’ Chairman’s Lounge and Virgin’s Beyond Lounge and wanted all MPs to stop being given free flight upgrades because they undermined public trust. Wentworth MP Allegra Spender.
Credit: Alex Ellinghausen “Parliamentarians should not be taking free upgrades from Qantas or Virgin,” she said. “The public is understandably losing trust in politicians to make those decisions impartially when they’re being given free upgrades from the companies they’re supposed to regulate. “The best way to restore public trust is to simply end the upgrades.
” Independent MP Helen Haines has also started the process to withdraw from the Chairman’s Lounge, the Qantas club that is offered to all federal MPs and top public servants. An extract of The Chairman’s Lounge by Joe Aston, published in Good Weekend on Saturday , said Albanese had received at least 22 free Qantas upgrades over the past decade, and that he liaised directly with Joyce over upgrades. Albanese admitted last week that he spoke to former Qantas chief Alan Joyce about two non-commercial trips with Qantas but said these had also included Liberal ministers and media companies.
He said he did not ever ask Joyce for an upgrade and his office said this denial meant there were no calls, texts, emails or other communications to the former Qantas boss. Loading Asked on Monday morning whether anyone in his office had asked for an upgrade on his behalf, Albanese said: “Not to my knowledge, no.” Albanese acknowledged that he had received about 29 upgrades since he entered parliament in 1998.
“Everything has been declared and I’ve had no upgrades as Prime Minister. But [I have had] one a year around about for every year that I’ve been in office,” he said. The secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Jim Betts, told a Senate estimates inquiry that senior public servants received membership of the Qantas lounge but were able to manage any conflict of interest.
“Also, in extremis, there are channels where our own staff could report any concerns about conflicts of interest not being appropriately managed,” Betts said when asked by Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie. “We think we’ve put processes in place to make sure that there is transparency here and that there are controls through formal delegations.” More to come.
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License this article Political leadership Anthony Albanese Allegra Spender Helen Haines Qantas David Crowe is chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Connect via Twitter or email . Most Viewed in Politics Loading.
