‘Could not be more evasive’: Dutton targets King over Qantas

afr.com:

Transport Minister Catherine King says she does not recall being lobbied by former Qantas boss Alan Joyce before she blocked more Qatar Airways flights, which the Coalition says commercially benefited Qantas.

In a fiery question time on Wednesday again dominated by Qantas and a rare dissent motion against the Speaker, Peter Dutton used Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s absence to hone the opposition’s attacks on Ms King and question the government’s relationship with Qantas and Mr Joyce.

Transport Minister Catherine King: “The main people lobbying me about Qatar came from Virgin and a third party on behalf of Qatar.” Alex Ellinghausen

“The relationship between Mr Alan Joyce, the prime minister and this minister is well documented. This is a murky situation at best… [and] the minister’s integrity is seriously in question,” Mr Dutton said.

The decision to reject Qatar Airways’ application has left Labor split amid calls from regulators, tourism bodies and the Queensland and West Australian governments to reconsider in a bid to increase competition and drive down the cost of airfares. It is also now the subject of a Senate inquiry that will call a range of witnesses relating to the decision.

Ms King repeatedly said her department “undertook consultation with relevant aviation stakeholders” and she was “well aware of different stakeholder views”. But she sidestepped directly saying if she met Mr Joyce before deciding to block Qatar Airways’ bid for 28 extra flights into Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth each week.

“I do meet routinely with the CEOs of all of the airlines, airports and peak bodies, and from my recollection the main people lobbying me about Qatar came from Virgin and a third party on behalf of Qatar,” she