What we learned: Monday 26 February
And with that, I am going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
The Greens motion to end Australian support of Israel’s Gaza invasion was voted down.
Barnaby Joyce is set to take a week off from parliament after footpath incident
Independent MP Helen Haines urged the Albanese government to stamp out pork barrelling, saying it’s happening again in the Dunkley byelection.
It came as former prime minister John Howard joined the donation drive for the byelection.
The Greens announced they will be voting against Labor’s shared equity housing scheme, Help to Buy, in the House of Representatives.
Australia announced sanctions on Russians ‘involved in the mistreatment of Alexei Navalny.’
Question time focused on immigration, defence spending, air quality and fuel efficiency standards.
Andrew Forrest gave the National Press Club address today, where he called for a rapid transition to green energy sources.
An attempt to haul the former Qantas boss Alan Joyce before a Senate committee has failed, after senators voted against reviving a short-lived inquiry examining the airline’s influence in government decisions.
Updated
Government blocking answers on Qatar decision: opposition
The opposition has accused the Albanese government of acting to block transparency around Qantas’ influence in Canberra, after Labor, Greens and independent senator David Pocock voted down an attempt to haul the former Qantas boss Alan Joyce before a Senate committee
On Monday, a motion from Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie to revive the Senate select committee on bilateral air service agreements – set up to examine the rejection of Qatar Airways’ request to almost double its flights into Australia’s major airports – failed.
Opposition senators had hoped that by reviving the committee, they could bring Joyce before the committee, who did not appear at last year’s hearings because he was still overseas travelling following his early exit from the Qantas top job.
McKenzie, the chair of the committee, also wanted it revived to bring forward “government affairs representatives from Qantas, noting that Qantas’ answers to questions on notice from senators were unsatisfactory”.
After the motion failed, McKenzie said:
“Last year’s aviation inquiry was set up to find out the real reason why the Albanese Government has chosen to keep the cost of airfares up to 30% higher by blocking Qatar Airways’ request for additional flights to Australia.”
She noted a report released this month from former ACCC Chairman Prof. Allan Fels said “In essence Qatar offered a solution to the extremely high prices that were being charged for international travel.” and that Fels found “Quite clearly it was acting in the interests of Qantas.”
“Mr Joyce is one of only three people who know why Mr Joyce, in his time at Qantas, received preferential treatment at the hands of the Albanese Government and Labor, the Greens and Senator Pocock are blocking the ability to bring him before a Senate Committee to answer legitimate and serious questions about his personal and political relationship with the Prime Minister and the Government.
Thanks to Labor and the Greens, Australians may never know why the government acted so contrary to the public interest in blocking Qatar Airways’ application and refuses to hold the chief witness in the flight credit saga to account.”
