Alan Joyce in hot water over Senate hearing on Qatar Airways
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Not all holidays end well.
As is the case for former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, who will be hot off his European rendezvous when he faces a Senate inquiry with consequences of potential jail time should he refuse to appear.
A stern warning has been issued by Coalition Senator Bridget McKenzie to former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce about the possibility of dire consequences if he doesn’t front a government inquiry on time.
Mr Joyce is the key witness to the Senate inquiry into the blocking of extra Qatar Airways flights into major Australian cities.
The former CEO had conversations with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Transport Minister Catherine King regarding the decision.
'He is the only one that can go to conversations that he’s informally had with…Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister King,’ said Senator McKenzie.
'There is a process within the standing orders and the procedures of the Senate, which will eventually make it very hard for former CEO Joyce to not appear.'
The senator shared that a person had already been jailed in the 1950s for ignoring summons from the government, and she hoped that they would not get to that point.
Currently overseas, Mr Joyce reportedly stated he would be unable to attend the inquiry, whether in person or through a video link, due to personal obligations.
However, Virgin Australia Chief Executive Jayne Hrdlicka was present during the inquiry and told senators that she had a quick discussion with Transport Minister Catherine King for 'five minutes at best' during an hour-long meeting.
According to Hrdlicka, Ms King told her that Joyce was displeased about the Qatari bid and was requesting a meeting.
'Nonetheless, I was left with a very clear impression that the decision to proceed was very compelling and imminent. Based on this conversation, I felt comfortable that Qatar would be granted additional air rights,' said Hrdlicka.
Ms King was also formally invited by Senator McKenzie to attend the inquiry as Coalition senators felt exasperated over the lack of answers from senior transport bureaucrats, who appeared before the inquiry on Thursday where they were asked to answer 'critical' questions about Qantas’s involvement.
Allegedly, briefings from the transport and infrastructure department had been given to Minister King in January about the Qatar Airways application and it was expected they would be granted additional air rights.
But the matter suddenly came to a standstill—for about 6 months—and has left many with more questions than answers.
'Something changed, and that brief sat on Minister King’s desk until July,' Senator McKenzie said.
'For six months, no further consultations were done with affected parties, no information was sought by the department.'
'The government is shrouded of secrecy around this decision, and the fact that it has gagged hardworking public servants from providing evidence to a public inquiry so that the Australian travelling public can understand why they made this decision is unconscionable,' Senator McKenzie said.
'There are three people who can provide that level [of] information about Qantas’s involvement—the Transport Minister, the Prime Minister, and former CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce,' Senator McKenzie said.
This comes after reports that Qantas is facing a class-action lawsuit that sought millions of dollars in refunds and compensation for customers whose flights were cancelled after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Echo Law, a plaintiff law firm, took legal action against Qantas in Federal Court and asserted that the airline deceived its customers regarding refund choices, withheld funds, and consistently engaged in what they deemed to be a 'pattern of unconscionable conduct'.
Qantas reportedly offered customers the option of using 'travel credits with strict conditions' instead of reimbursing their payments—a protocol heavily criticised by Echo Law.
This move comes a month after Qantas initiated a campaign urging customers to use the airline's remaining $400 million in flight credits.
You can read more about this here.
What are your thoughts on this, members? Let us know in the comments below!
As is the case for former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, who will be hot off his European rendezvous when he faces a Senate inquiry with consequences of potential jail time should he refuse to appear.
A stern warning has been issued by Coalition Senator Bridget McKenzie to former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce about the possibility of dire consequences if he doesn’t front a government inquiry on time.
Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce was invited to appear on a senate hearing on Qatar Airways. Image source: X/@qatarairways.
Mr Joyce is the key witness to the Senate inquiry into the blocking of extra Qatar Airways flights into major Australian cities.
The former CEO had conversations with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Transport Minister Catherine King regarding the decision.
'He is the only one that can go to conversations that he’s informally had with…Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister King,’ said Senator McKenzie.
'There is a process within the standing orders and the procedures of the Senate, which will eventually make it very hard for former CEO Joyce to not appear.'
The senator shared that a person had already been jailed in the 1950s for ignoring summons from the government, and she hoped that they would not get to that point.
Currently overseas, Mr Joyce reportedly stated he would be unable to attend the inquiry, whether in person or through a video link, due to personal obligations.
However, Virgin Australia Chief Executive Jayne Hrdlicka was present during the inquiry and told senators that she had a quick discussion with Transport Minister Catherine King for 'five minutes at best' during an hour-long meeting.
According to Hrdlicka, Ms King told her that Joyce was displeased about the Qatari bid and was requesting a meeting.
'Nonetheless, I was left with a very clear impression that the decision to proceed was very compelling and imminent. Based on this conversation, I felt comfortable that Qatar would be granted additional air rights,' said Hrdlicka.
Ms King was also formally invited by Senator McKenzie to attend the inquiry as Coalition senators felt exasperated over the lack of answers from senior transport bureaucrats, who appeared before the inquiry on Thursday where they were asked to answer 'critical' questions about Qantas’s involvement.
Allegedly, briefings from the transport and infrastructure department had been given to Minister King in January about the Qatar Airways application and it was expected they would be granted additional air rights.
But the matter suddenly came to a standstill—for about 6 months—and has left many with more questions than answers.
'Something changed, and that brief sat on Minister King’s desk until July,' Senator McKenzie said.
'For six months, no further consultations were done with affected parties, no information was sought by the department.'
'The government is shrouded of secrecy around this decision, and the fact that it has gagged hardworking public servants from providing evidence to a public inquiry so that the Australian travelling public can understand why they made this decision is unconscionable,' Senator McKenzie said.
'There are three people who can provide that level [of] information about Qantas’s involvement—the Transport Minister, the Prime Minister, and former CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce,' Senator McKenzie said.
This comes after reports that Qantas is facing a class-action lawsuit that sought millions of dollars in refunds and compensation for customers whose flights were cancelled after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Echo Law, a plaintiff law firm, took legal action against Qantas in Federal Court and asserted that the airline deceived its customers regarding refund choices, withheld funds, and consistently engaged in what they deemed to be a 'pattern of unconscionable conduct'.
Qantas reportedly offered customers the option of using 'travel credits with strict conditions' instead of reimbursing their payments—a protocol heavily criticised by Echo Law.
This move comes a month after Qantas initiated a campaign urging customers to use the airline's remaining $400 million in flight credits.
You can read more about this here.
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