LABOR’S DAY OF SHAME ON QANTAS COVER UP

Media Releases

SENATOR THE HON BRIDGET MCKENZIE SHADOW MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEADER OF THE NATIONALS IN THE SENATE SENATOR FOR VICTORIA SENATOR THE HON SIMON BIRMINGHAM SHADOW MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA SENATOR DEAN SMITH SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMPETITION, CHARITIES AND TREASURY SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA 18 October 2023 Media Release LABOR’S DAY OF SHAME ON QANTAS COVER UP Today Prime Minister Albanese revealed that he is prepared to put the interests of arrogant and greedy corporates like Qantas ahead of the interests of everyday travelling Australians. “Mr Albanese disgracefully shut down an extension of the Senate Committee, which would enable it to call former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce,” Senator McKenzie said. “This is the day Mr Albanese revealed his true self – backing his crony capitalist mates against millions of Australians including loyal customers, staff and shareholders who have been treated badly by Mr Joyce’s Qantas.” Voting to extend the Senate Select Committee inquiry into Commonwealth Bilateral Air Service Agreements would have enabled the former Qantas CEO Mr Joyce to appear before it. “Instead, the Labor Party, in a cabal of a coverup with the Greens and Senator David Pocock refused to allow the Committee the opportunity to seek legitimate and serious questions about the cost impacts on travellers from Mr Joyce’s personal and political relationship with the Prime Minister,” Senator McKenzie said. “This shows the extent of the disrespect the Government has for the Australian travelling public. “This inquiry was first set up to find out the real reason why the Albanese Government has contributed to keeping the cost of airfares high by blocking Qatar Airways’ request for additional flights, and while the inquiry has made serious recommendations to make our aviation industry more competitive, this question still hasn’t been answered,” Senator McKenzie said. “Mr Joyce is one of only three people who know why Qantas has received preferential treatment at the hands of the Albanese Government and now we will not be able to bring him before the Senate Committee to answer legitimate and serious questions about his personal and political relationship with the Prime Minister.” Shadow Assistant Competition Minister, Senator Dean Smith said Labor had proved themselves to be the enemy of competition and transparency. “Shamefully, thanks to Labor, we may never know why the government acted so contrary to the public interest in blocking Qatar Airways’ application. “Aviation is one of the most critical industries in our country – we can’t catch a train from Perth to Sydney for a business meeting, a loved one’s birthday, or a medical appointment. “It needs competition, and Australians deserve a Prime Minister and Transport Minister who understand this,” Senator Smith said. Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Senator Simon Birmingham said Australia’s consumers, exporters and tourism industry were paying the price for the Albanese Labor Government’s cover ups. “This Labor Government is the monarchs of denial. After denying Qatar Airways more flights into Australia and then refusing to give any reasonable explanation it is refusing to allow the Senate from pursuing the truth behind these decisions,” said Senator Birmingham. “Labor has created a cabal of cover up to maintain a protection racket around Minister King and Qantas and is standing in the way of Australians enjoying the cheaper airfares that would flow from greater competition in the aviation market.” Senator McKenzie said the Albanese Government are working directly against delivering the transparent governance they committed to prior to the election. “The Opposition will keep working to find out the real reason why Labor have kept airfares high on behalf of the Australian public.” ENDS.

PM’s desire to create a legacy has left our country fractured

Media Coverage, Updates and Videos, Opinion

The resounding No vote in Saturday’s referendum is not cause for celebration. This applies not only to those who voted and campaigned for the Voice, but for the majority such as myself who voted No. Sadly, for many Australians, 2023 has been the year where families, friends, and colleagues were pulled apart by the opposing sides of a bitter debate. And while the country dusts itself off, it would be naive to pretend that this separation will not be a long one, or in some cases even permanent. This concern for the wellbeing of our nation – comprised as it is of the families, friendship groups, and workplaces where this debate has taken place just as forcefully as on television and in the newspapers – was at the heart of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s warning that this was a referendum that had already divided Australians. But Anthony Albanese, pumped up by a narrow circle of advisers and advocates, and desperate for his own Wattie Creek or Redfern moment, ploughed on with Saturday’s vote regardless. In doing so, he fractured Australia. Despite claiming the referendum was about an “idea” and not an “individual”, it was the Prime Minister whose actions led directly to this point. It was Anthony Albanese who alienated any chance of the referendum’s success by refusing to hold a constitutional convention – a significant break from precedent. It was Anthony Albanese whose hand-picked referendum advisory council contained activists whose divisive agenda made a proposal the public could embrace impossible. It was Anthony Albanese who refused to disclose details about how the Voice would work, including information as basic as the extent of its powers and composition. Those wishing to appropriately inform themselves were denigrated as “fearmongers”. Taking advantage of the nationwide support for constitutional recognition and closing the gap, the Prime Minister politicised a universal sentiment by insisting that the only road to these goals was through his rushed and secretive proposal. The rejection of Labor’s Voice was particularly emphatic in WA. Only two of the State’s 15 Federal electorates voted Yes, and one of those – Curtin – could return a final vote of No as the counting of postal votes is finalised. Nor were Indigenous communities unanimous in their support for the Voice. The Pilbara, Kununurra and Derby, where Indigenous disadvantage is at its most acute, voted in line with the national trend. These results should give us hope that support for a colourblind Constitution is felt across the country, irrespective or origin or ethnicity. I said October 14 was no cause for celebration for No voters. It is, nonetheless, a source of relief. It is a relief for those who never wavered in their conviction that the Australian people possess a collective judgment based on fairness and common sense. It is a relief that, after a campaign funded by the country’s biggest companies, supported by public broadcasters, major sporting codes and universities, the spirit of independence and a scepticism of authority remain alive among Australians. It is a relief for those who, recognising the Australian Constitution as the bedrock of the free and stable country we have inherited, know it cannot be bought, or altered on the basis of a vibe. Finally, it is a relief for those who believed that, after quietly shaping our country’s fortunes for more than a century, the Constitution can continue to do so free from the shadow of racial division. Now the work begins. As Peter Dutton said this week, the Coalition remains committed to a royal commission into child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities, and an audit into spending on Indigenous programs. My Coalition colleagues and I also remain committed to the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But we believe this can, and will, be done in a way that unifies the country and affirms our civic equality. As I said in my speech to the Senate opposing the Voice back in June: There is no shame in defeating a bad idea but only if there is a resolution to soldier on and find a better way, a way born from genuine co-operation and that will enjoy the widest possible community endorsement. It is a promise I and my colleagues have every intention on following through with.