Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I fully understand that, Mr Speaker, and I've given you the background as to why this issue needs to be dealt with in this chamber, why the question needs to be answered appropriately by this incompetent minister. The ruling that you've provided, Mr Speaker, should be dissented from because it allows this minister to continue to escape proper scrutiny in this chamber. She's a member of the executive. She refuses to say, in response to questions, whether or not she met or spoke with Mr Alan Joyce.

The relationship between Mr Alan Joyce, the Prime Minister and this minister is well documented. This is a murky situation at best. The minister's integrity is seriously in question. The Prime Minister had to come back into this chamber yesterday to correct the record when he misled this parliament. And why we need to move dissent in your ruling is obvious, because the question could not have been tighter. The circumstances could not be clearer. And the minister could not be more evasive. We need to hear from this minister, in a very direct way, whether or not she met with or spoke with Alan Joyce prior to making a decision to stop Qatar flying into our country which was of commercial benefit to Mr Joyce and to Qantas, and clearly to the detriment of the Australian flying public.

This government—and this is why your ruling needs to be dissented from—is costing, through this decision, Australians thousands of dollars through their airfares when they seek to travel internationally. Not just internationally, Mr Speaker. As we have seen from Virgin, who have an alliance with Qatar, if those inbound international flights are coming in and feeding the Virgin network, you will see a reduction in domestic airfare prices as well.

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