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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Butler

Fight or flights: the six days it took Albanese to deny he contacted Alan Joyce for Qantas upgrades

Anthony Albanese and the former Qantas chief executive in August last year. On Thursday the prime minister insisted he never contacted Joyce directly, nor through an intermediary, to seek flight upgrades
Anthony Albanese and the former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce in March last year. On Thursday the prime minister insisted he never contacted Joyce directly, nor through an intermediary, to seek flight upgrades. Photograph: James D Morgan/Getty Images

It has taken six days for Anthony Albanese and his office to finally rule out ever having contacted the former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, or anyone else at the airline, to request flight upgrades.

Over the course of nearly a week, the prime minister has batted away questions, downplayed the growing controversy, and eventually answered the question that had been asked of him since Saturday.

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