The Western Australian premier has conceded he failed to disclose his membership of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge to parliament this year, amid growing scrutiny of travel perks made available to federal and state politicians by the national carrier.
The scheme is in the spotlight since a claim emerged last week that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese asked Qantas boss Alan Joyce for free flight upgrades while he held the transport portfolio.
Mr Albanese has denied asking for upgrades, but pressure has been mounting on federal MPs to relinquish their memberships of the invite-only club to avoid any suggestion of conflicts of interest, particularly in light of a recent federal government decision to block Qatar Airways’ bid to open up more Australian routes in direct competition with Qantas.
Now questions are being asked about whether Qantas offers state and territory MPs similar perks and how they are disclosed, as it emerged Premier Roger Cook failed to include his membership in his latest annual return.
Under the rules WA, MPs are required to disclose any gifts worth more than $500 on the register of member’s financial interests.
Since 2021, those disclosures have been tabled in parliament annually since reforms driven by the Labor Party in a bid to increase transparency.
The Qantas Chairman’s Lounge is an exclusive, invite-only perk. (ABC News: Andrew O’Connor)
A review of the WA parliament’s annual disclosures for 2023-2024 revealed WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti, Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley and Housing Minister John Carey, and former WA Nationals leader Mia Davies, declared their membership to the invite-only Chairman’s Lounge.
But despite the premier telling journalists last week, when asked, that he was a member, this was not detailed on his annual disclosure.
‘Ad hoc’ process
A spokesman blamed the “ad hoc” nature of recording ministerial gifts prior to 2021 for the failure to disclose.
“Since 2017, ministers have been advised to disclose any airline memberships upon initial receipt, as these constitute ongoing gifts or hospitality,” the spokesman said.
“Noting the inadequacies of the previous system, and in the interest of full transparency, the premier will again disclose any airline memberships this current financial year.”
On Tuesday morning the premier told ABC Radio Perth he always declared the perk.
“Well I certainly use the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge and I declare it every year as a gift,” he said.
Mr Cook was quick to point out he had “very little decision making in relation to Qantas”.
“In fact, I think you’ll find that I’ve probably been the most critical of Qantas amongst all the premiers, particularly in relation to the ongoing, or prolonged dispute they’ve had with Perth Airport,” he said.
Earlier this year Qantas announced it would finally relinquish its grip on the old Perth Airport terminals 3 and 4, bringing an end to Perth’s confusing split terminal system that arose after the airline refused to transfer its operations after their 30-year lease ended in 2019.
In March Mr Cook accused Qantas of “dawdling” and said its failure to strike a deal was holding the state back from becoming the “western gateway to Australia”.
The new deal, worth an estimated $5 billion, will see Qantas operating out of a new terminal from 2031.
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