“As the government has made clear,air services agreements are not commercial arrangements but treaty-level agreements between countries,” King said in the letter to Labor senator and minister Murray Watt,in response to the motion from the Coalition and the Greens for the production of documents in relation to her call.
“The production of documents falling within the scope of these orders would,or might reasonably be expected to,disclose the nature of bilateral relations with Australia’s foreign partners that we have given undertakings to protect.
“There is a public interest in not disclosing such discussions so the government’s negotiations over air services agreements with a range of countries can continue unimpeded. As such,I claim public interest immunity over documents subject to the orders.”
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Greens leader Adam Bandt told a press conference in Parliament House on Friday that the public deserved to know what advice the government got before King made her decision over Qatar,labelling her refusal to disclose the documents “disappointing”.
“That’s our position ... we want to know what the advice was,” he said.
Coalition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie released a statement accusing the government of hiding its reasons for rejecting Qatar and “blocking more competition in the aviation sector and cheaper airfares”.