No quid pro quo: Bridget McKenzie defends Peter Dutton over private flights

Shadow transport minister Bridget McKenzie insists mining magnate Gina Rinehart expected nothing in return when she let Liberal leader Peter Dutton use her plane for a flight worth at least $40,000.

The Opposition is seeking to keep the heat on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over Qantas upgrades on flights for work and personal travel — including while he was transport minister — by suggesting the gifts influenced his decision-making regarding the airline.

But Senator McKenzie strongly rejected the notion that Mr Dutton was influenced by gifts or benefits.

The Opposition Leader has declared two flights in 2022 paid for by Hancock Prospecting, one a return flight between Perth and the Pilbara and another from Rockhampton to Sydney to Mackay to attend the Bali bombing 20th-anniversary service.

He defended the latter on Thursday by saying he had sought to take a government jet, then costed a charter flight at $40,000 before his office asked Mrs Rinehart to use her company’s plane.

“He actually saved the Australian taxpayer 40,000 bucks,” Senator McKenzie said on Friday morning.

Deputy Opposition leader Sussan Ley said the Government should have granted Mr Dutton’s request for a RAAF flight.

It’s understood this request was made only 24 hours before the flight was needed.

Asked what the billionaire expected in return, Senator McKenzie returned fire: “Are you suggesting that Peter Dutton and his decision-making is influenced by that?”

“I don’t think we need to always think that people assisting has a quid pro quo, and that’s why it’s important to have public declarations and important to look at behaviour.”

Minutes earlier, in relation to Mr Albanese’s upgrades, she pointed out that at the time he was in charge of regulating the aviation sector.

“I think that understanding the influence of gifts on decision-making is where I think the – well, that’s why we declare these things,” she said.

She likened the flights for Mr Dutton to Mrs Rinehart’s sponsorship of Olympic swimming and rowing teams.

“Her expectation was that those young athletes would be supported to represent their country as best they can, and they absolutely did,” Senator McKenzie said.

Reports earlier this year revealed Olympic swimmers had led the way in asking the National Gallery of Australia to remove an unflattering portrait of Mrs Rinehart from an exhibition.

Senator McKenzie has contacted all the airlines she has flown with since being elected to re-examine her travel records after initially this week being emphatic that she had never received any upgrades.

Meanwhile, senior ministers have continued defending Mr Albanese whose office issued a statement that he had never called former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce asking to be upgraded, after spending five days checking his thousands of travel records.

“He can say that with utter confidence – having had his office check his records — bookings are made through the usual channel, upgrades happen in the way they happen for all other MPs,” cabinet minister Mark Butler said.

“He’s been entirely clear about this. The lack of clarity is on the other side.”

In response to the unnamed minister who told Nine newspapers the Prime Minister had had a “massive sook-up” over the issue during a meeting on Wednesday evening, Mr Butler’s message to colleagues was blunt.

“Knuckle down. We’ve got a big job as a government,” he said.