“No,” Albanese replied.
Virgin is a key partner of Qatar Airways and carries passengers in the domestic market to connect with the latter’s international flights. Virgin confirmed its chief executive,Jayne Hrdlicka,spoke with Albanese on July 13.
By that point,however,Transport Minister Catherine King had made a decision in a letter she sent on July 10.
In new details about the timing,Albanese added to his answer in parliament to say he spoke with Hrdlicka by phone.
“During that discussion,I did not know that the transport minister had made a decision on 10 July 2023 – a detail that has only been advised to me after question time today,” Albanese said on Tuesday afternoon.
The government is under fire from the Coalition and the Greens on the move,with Dutton warning that Australians would pay more for their holidays and Greens leader Adam Bandt calling on the government to release documents that explained the impact on customers.
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Coalition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie secured a Senate vote on Tuesday to set up an inquiry into the decision,saying the government had given seven conflicting explanations for its stance and had not defined the “national interest” grounds for blocking the extra flights.
In a flurry of deal-making,the Greens sided with Labor against the Coalition,tying the initial vote at 30:30. But on a recount,the Coalition secured the inquiry by 32 to 31 votes with support from crossbenchers.
The Greens were successful in a separate attempt to gain an inquiry into the Middle Arm port project in the Northern Territory,which is opposed by environmental groups because it could be used to export gas.
“There are many,many questions for the government to answer about why it made the decision to reject the Qatar Airways request,” McKenzie said after the vote.
Labor Party president Wayne Swan has suggested the decision could be reviewed. Labor state governments in Western Australia,Queensland and South Australia have sided with Qatar on the issue.
King hit back at critics of the decision,telling parliament she had made the ruling without any regard to any one company’s commercial interests,in a clear reference to Qantas.
She also claimed the previous government had placed restrictions on Qatar Airways in the past because it was concerned it would “dump” capacity on the Australian market.
“I’ve not based this decision on any one company or any one person’s commercial interest,but on the national interest,” King told parliament.
“This week alone,we are allowing almost 500 flights into Asia and into international hubs where travellers can access the rest of the world,including into Europe.
“I know that Australians are paying too much for their domestic tickets. More international flights from Qatar would not have helped that.”
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