Richard Marles has denied he’s “running for cover” over the federal authorities’s Qatar resolution as an exasperated Coalition slams the federal government for ending the week with “more questions than answers”.
Transport Minister Catherine King made the choice on July 10 to disclaim Qatar Airways’ bid to nearly double their flight choices to Australia.
She confirmed on Thursday that on the identical day, she signed a letter to 5 ladies who had been topic to an invasive stripsearch at a Qatar airport in 2020 telling them of her resolution, including that it was a part of the “context” for her resolution however not the only real issue.
Ms King mentioned she informed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier than the matter was made public on July 18, however the Coalition is demanding she affirm the precise date.
The opposition has accused Ms King of constructing a “sweetheart deal” to guard the business pursuits of Qantas, and a senate inquiry into Qatar’s bid rejection is because of begin subsequent week.
Mr Marles – performing prime minister whereas Mr Albanese is abroad – backed Ms King once more on Friday morning, saying she had made the decision as she was entitled to.
“We have a transport minister who made a decision that transport ministers make,” he informed Channel 9.
Asked a minimum of thrice by host Karl Stefanovic about whether or not Mr Albanese knew concerning the resolution, Mr Marles reiterated that Ms King had acted as per standard protocol.
Pressed on whether or not he was “running for cover”, Mr Marles denied the declare.
The Coalition says the Doha airport incident was regarding however has slammed the federal government for hypocrisy.
Labor has informed Qatar in the event that they needed to extend their presence in Australia, they may fly larger planes or add routes to smaller airports.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton mentioned Australians needed a “straight-up answer”.
“(The Doha incident) is not the reason that (Qatar’s bid) was knocked back,” Mr Dutton informed Channel 9.
“Obviously, the Prime Minister is very close friends with Alan Joyce.
“I think after this week, there are more questions than answers.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Liberal chief Sussan Ley has exploded at Education Minister Jason Clare on Sunrise, saying Labor was chaotic and “helping out their mates at Qantas”.
“What this boils down to is the Albanese government has blocked flights coming into Australia that would have made airfares cheaper and we all know Sydney and Melbourne are the main places our commuters want to fly from,” she mentioned.
“They can’t explain the timeline and they can’t explain why they made the decision. It’s dodgy.”
Mr Clare shook his head in disagreement and firmly waved off Ms Ley’s slap-down.
“If Qatar airlines want more flights to Australia, they should fill the flights they’re allowed to fly right now,” he mentioned.
“This argument that Sussan is running – there are 30 different international airlines that fly to Australia right now. Singapore Airlines are putting more flights on, so are Cathay Pacific. You have more airlines flying into Australia, so that argument is rubbish.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
