Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended receiving dozens of free Qantas upgrades and his relationship with former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce.
Nine newspapers reports Mr Albanese received at least 22 free upgrades over more than a decade.
Mr Albanese told reporters all his upgrades had been declared.
“From time to time, members of parliament receive upgrades. What’s important is that they are declared. All of mine have been declared,” he said.
“I note that a range of them go back a long, a long period of time [and] that they have all been declared as appropriate.”
Joe Aston’s book reportedly claims the prime minister dealt directly with Alan Joyce on several occasions, and that he asked Mr Joyce to make his son Nathan a member of the Chairman’s Lounge in 2022 after the federal election.
Mr Albanese’s relationship with the former Qantas boss has been under scrutiny since the government made a decision not to allow Qatar Airways more flights into Australia.
He said he had the same relationship with Mr Joyce as he had with the former Virgin CEO John Borghetti.
When asked whether politicians should stop taking airline upgrades, Mr Albanese said: “It’s a matter for them.”
Opposition Transport Minister Bridget McKenzie said the prime minister had more questions to answer.
“The Australian public needs to be told exactly how many private and public upgrades were provided to Mr Albanese and his family and what the total value of those upgrades are,” she told the ABC.
She is calling on the prime minister to provide a log of all Qantas upgrades he and his family have received.
Mr Albanese was transport minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments and was the shadow transport minister from 2013 to 2019.
Senator McKenzie said that raised more questions.
“He used to be the shadow minister for transport and in charge of the Labor Party’s policy on aviation competition,” she said.
“The fact that he’s enjoyed these privileges is not the problem, it’s what influence did they have on his decision-making.”
Centre for Public Integrity director Geoffrey Watson SC said it was an issue for any politician receiving benefits with their Chairman’s Lounge membership.
“It’s a real problem when you’ve got the politicians responsible for regulating Qantas … also receiving these rather stupendous benefits,” he said.
Mr Watson also believes the prime minister should be more transparent about how he received the upgrades and whether they had any influence on his government’s decisions.
“These sorts of advantages have been acquired,” he said.
“It’s not enough just to write them on a list somewhere. What was given in return?”
