Dutton said on Monday it was “strange” that Albanese had phoned Joyce about flight upgrades when others did not do so. Dutton denied ever making a similar phone call.
Aston continued his criticism of Albanese on Tuesday, telling 3AW radio that the prime minister’s ties to Qantas had blinded him to the experience of the travelling public as its standards declined post-pandemic.
“Albanese had never had to call up and wait 11 hours on hold to get someone in the Qantas call centre to help him redeem his COVID credit or track down a lost bag,” Aston said.
The prime minister’s office moved early on Tuesday to counter the attacks on Albanese by releasing a list of flights Dutton had taken on the private jet of mining billionaire Gina Rinehart.
The list included a flight in June 2022 and two in October 2022 that Dutton disclosed as being courtesy of Rinehart’s company Hancock Prospecting, according to disclosures in federal parliament, and it also included flights billed to taxpayers that helped Dutton and his staff attend events with the billionaire.
Dutton accepted a Qantas flight upgrade for himself and his wife last December, as well as 14 other complimentary flights and upgrades over a decade. He has disclosed a family trust and an investment company, Dutton Holdings, but the rules do not require him to reveal the assets they hold.
Albanese sought to contrast his flight disclosures with the Opposition Leader’s personal interests.
“Peter Dutton can answer questions about his flights,” Albanese said.
“All of my financial arrangements are completely transparent. I don’t have a trust. I don’t have a family trust. I don’t have any shares. I’ve never had any shares in any company. I have always acted in an open and transparent way.
“And it’s up to others to say why it is that they have trusts, why it is that we don’t know what they own, what they invest in, what income they have all hidden away.
“I have not done that. And in my time in public life, I have acted with integrity, I have acted in a way that is entirely appropriate, and I have declared in accordance with the rules.
“Even when there’s no obligation to do so I have always erred on the side of caution.”
Aston responded within minutes of the prime minister’s press conference on Tuesday to reject the claim his time as a Liberal staffer was not disclosed.
“It is disclosed on the first line of the first page of the book, and has never been a secret,” he said on social media.
The Liberal fundraiser was held in June for Ro Knox, the Liberal candidate for Wentworth and a friend of Aston. The former Australian Financial Review writer, who led its Rear Window column for 12 years until last October, interviewed former prime minister John Howard at the event.
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