By The Straits Times | Created at 2024-10-31 03:22:03 | Updated at 2024-10-31 05:17:29
2 hours ago
Updated
Oct 31, 2024, 10:56 AM
Published
Oct 31, 2024, 10:56 AM
SYDNEY – Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied personally calling former Qantas Airways Ltd boss Alan Joyce to ask for flight upgrades, as a growing scandal over free perks provided by the national carrier threatens to engulf his government.
Mr Albanese was accused in a book by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston of personally contacting Mr Joyce to ask for perks and receiving more than a dozen free upgrades.
Since the story broke, the prime minister has said he declared all upgrades as well as his Chairman’s Lounge membership.
In a statement on Oct 31, Mr Albanese’s office went further and denied he had contacted Mr Joyce for perks.
“The Prime Minister did not ever call Alan Joyce seeking an upgrade,” a spokesperson said. “All travel has been appropriately declared and is a matter of public record.”
Local media reported that Mr Albanese had also denied texting or emailing Mr Joyce, or Qantas’ government relations representative, to request free flight upgrades.
The airline didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the claim that Mr Albanese solicited upgrades directly from Mr Joyce.
According to a Sky News report on Oct 31, Mr Albanese had a dedicated contact at Qantas who handled his flight upgrades.
Qantas didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the latest report.
The scandal has dominated Australia’s media in recent days, causing a re-examination of the free perks that are provided to politicians by Qantas.
Many Australian lawmakers and some senior government officials are given free access to Qantas’s invitation-only Chairman’s Lounge, described by Mr Joyce as “probably the most exclusive club in the country.”
Even Mr Paul Brereton, commissioner of Australia’s new federal National Anti-Corruption Commission, was gifted a membership by the airline in October 2023, according to the body’s gift and benefits register.
The accusations come as Mr Albanese is struggling to convince voters that he is tackling a national cost-of-living crisis, sparked by high inflation, a housing shortage and interest rates at a 12-year-high.
A Newspoll published in mid-October found Mr Albanese’s centre-left Labor government was trailing the Liberal-National opposition for the first time since coming to office in May 2022. BLOOMBERG
