The Labor government is facing renewed scrutiny over its relationship with Qantas after Transport Minister Catherine King received a lifetime platinum membership.
King publicly declared she had been gifted the status, which came with a travel wallet and bag tag, on Monday.
Transport Minister Catherine King is under scrutiny. Nine
“I received Qantas lifetime Platinum. I declared this on my register of interests, to ensure full transparency,” she said.
“As a Member of Parliament for over twenty-five years, I am required to travel regularly to fulfil both Parliamentary and Ministerial duties.”
A lifetime platinum status is acquired through 75,000 credits over the course of a membership, which is based on the frequency of flights. It offers access to international and domestic lounges, priority international upgrades and priority baggage.
“Lifetime status is awarded based on all of the status credits frequent flyers have earned since they joined the program,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
King is the federal MP for the Victorian regional seat of Ballarat and travels to Canberra for parliamentary sitting weeks.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles came to King’s defence on Tuesday, saying politicians often need to for work.
“This is what happens with airlines. They do this. I don’t think there’s much to see here,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“Catherine King has appropriately declared it, but it’s a function of how much she travels.
“You would want our transport minister, someone in her position who’s been in the parliament for a considerable period of time with great experience to be travelling the country and engaging with Australians all over the nation.”
Labor’s relationship with Qantas has been questioned. iStock
Asked whether he has a lifetime platinum status himself, Marles said he was not sure.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil would not be drawn in on whether King’s lifetime status passed the pub test, instead choosing to defend her colleague for the accruement of points.
“At the end of the day, we have a system in federal Parliament where we have to declare all of our interests,” she told Today.
“The reason we’re discussing this right now is because Catherine King has done the right thing.”
King faced a media storm in the Labor government’s first term over accusations she was helping run a protection racket for Qantas after blocking Qatar Airways from expanding in Australia – a move that would have increased competition and potentially reduced airfares.
At the time, she raised concerns about Qatar Airways’ 2020 strip search of five Australian women at Doha Airport and the domestic aviation sector’s recovery post-COVID.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was also criticised over allegations in Joe Aston’s book The Chairman’s Lounge that he directly contacted former Qantas boss Alan Joyce for personal flight updates – an accusation he denied.
This month, Sport Minister Anika Wells has returned to attending sporting games after taking a hiatus following her taxpayer-funded travel expenses scandal which saw her forced to return $10,000 to the public purse.
Scrutiny over declared expenses, particularly to fly family members and attend events, spread to other federal politicians, which led to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland repaying $8000 and retired Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds repaying $8800.
Analysis of the publicly available register found federal MPs and senators spent $1.1 million on flying and driving their family to Canberra and around Australia in 12 months last year.