Catherine King and the former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce met at least twice at Parliament House in recent months amid intense scrutiny into whether the airline chief’s influence quashed a rival’s bid, documents reveal.
The federal transport minister has so far refused to reveal any dates and details of meetings with the long-serving airline chief, sidestepping direct questions over the number of times she has met with Joyce and other airline bosses.
The opposition has repeatedly pressed King to provide clear reasons why she ruled in July against a request from Qatar Airways to double its flights to major Australian cities – a decision that benefited Qantas over the gulf carrier and its domestic airline partner, Virgin Australia.
King has previously said the decision was made in the “national interest”, referencing the Doha airport incident, boosting local jobs, decarbonising the transport sector and Qantas’s recent purchasing of new planes as factors.
Documents released to Guardian Australia through a freedom of information request show King met with Joyce at Parliament House on 10 May 2023, two months before she ruled against Qatar Airways’ bid.
King and Joyce met again on 9 August 2023 along with then incoming boss Vanessa Hudson after the ruling King made in the “national interest” became public.
Hours after the meeting at Parliament House, King again defended her decision in question time, saying the government had also acted to protect “long-term well-paid secure jobs for Australians in the aviation sector”.
The documents also show King had a phone call with the Virgin chief executive, Jayne Hrdlicka, on 1 May 2023, confirming the airline boss’ previous testimony.
The shadow transport minister, Bridget McKenzie, said the engagement between the two “was significant”.
She added the fresh details generated more questions than they answered.
“Minister King needs to come clean about how many times she spoke with Alan Joyce between receiving her department advice to begin negotiations for Qatar Airways additional flights and her ultimate rejection of that advice more than six months later,” McKenzie said.
The department had completed a brief on the Qatari request and sent the advice to King’s office on 4 January. Negotiations did not take place with Qatar over the request. King then formally rejected the request six months later on 10 July.
A spokesperson for King’s office said her comments had remained “consistent” and referred to previous statements on the public record.
“The minister has said that as minister she meets with the CEOs of airlines,” the spokesperson said.
“She has also talked in parliament and in the media about the impact of those meetings on her decision making in relation to the decision about the bilateral aviation agreement with Qatar.”
Hrdlicka earlier told a Senate inquiry she had also met with King earlier in January.
The two had discussed the Qatari bid for “five minutes at best” during the one hour discussion, where King informed Hrdlicka that former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce had been in touch with the minister’s office to speak with her as he was “not happy”.
Department of infrastructure and transport officials had also been asked at the inquiry for details of King’s discussions with airline officials, such as Joyce.
Marisa Purvis-Smith, the transport department’s deputy secretary, said her team had asked King’s office if they could provide the details of her calendar in relation to questions about a meeting with Joyce on or about 23 January, but were told the department should not answer.
Purvis-Smith said a text passed to her from the minister’s office read: “The MO [minister’s office] view is not for the department to answer re the minister’s diary. The question should be directed to the minister”.
While the saga surrounding the Qatar Airways decision has thrust King’s meetings with airline chiefs into the spotlight, industry leaders across her infrastructure and transport portfolios have flagged difficulties in securing meetings with the minister.
Several sources expressed frustration at King’s availability generally and said it had become worse as she came under mounting political pressure in recent months.
“She clearly has been going into her shell over the past couple of months, it’s been difficult to get a meeting,” an industry source said. “It fuels a frustration, because it isn’t a very business friendly strategy where the industry needs clarity”.
Others have criticised a “decision paralysis” from her.
“You’re waiting and waiting and waiting for a decision,” another source said. “Dealing with her feels different to other ministers.”
Another figure observed King had not attended several industry events in recent months, instead sending pre-recorded video greetings that ran for only a few minutes. They said this was frustrating for smaller players who are unable to get meetings with her.
“When she doesn’t get out and about, you’re not learning from the people in the industry,” they said.
