The opposition has turned up the heat on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, amid accusations he directly lobbied the former Qantas boss for free upgrades and other perks.

Senior Labor ministers defended Albanese on Monday, after the Nine newspapers reported that he called former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce to request free upgrades on his flights.

There are also reports Albanese received more upgrades, including while he was federal transport minister.

The claims are made in a book, titled The Chairman’s Lounge, by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston.

The flights were all declared and it common for Qantas to offer perks to politicians through its Chairman’s Lounge program.

“We’re expected to declare any gifts or upgrades and that’s what happens. I just want to be very clear about the Prime Minister – he has been diligent over many years and transparently declaring whatever he receives. As is the standard that’s expected of all of us,” cabinet minister Bill Shorten said on Monday.

“Let’s go to the heart of the matter, has the Prime Minister complied diligently, transparently, consistently about declaring any upgrades? Yes, he has, and I know from personal experience that the Prime Minister is a fundamental believer in transparency.”

But Opposition Leader Peter Dutton – who has also enjoyed free Qantas upgrades – questioned Albanese’s “strange arrangements” with Joyce.

“I average 180, 190 flights per year. None of these happened when I was transport minister because I have not been the transport minister and none of it happened as a result of me calling my best friend, Alan Joyce, at Qantas,” Dutton said.

“When you’re talking about having a personal phone call to ask for an upgrade, as the transport minister or shadow transport minister, [then] I presume the Prime Minister will answer questions about … strange arrangements when you can pick the phone up to the CEO and ask as a transport minister for an upgrade.”

Dutton said he had had 15 complimentary upgrades on flights since entering Parliament in 2001.

Opposition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce, who is a former transport minister, said the phone calls put the upgrades in a different category.

“A lot of people that fly generally get offered upgrades and take them. We all do that,” he told Seven’s Sunrise on Monday.

“I acknowledge 100 per cent that a lot of politicians get upgrades, me included. It’s whether you solicit it, especially if you ring up Alan Joyce. That’s the issue. That’s the issue Mr Albanese has to explain.”

Elsewhere, independent MP Allegra Spender also took aim at Albanese. She said his “cosy relations” with the former airline boss raised questions about the federal government’s handling of competition.

The Albanese govt hasn’t been serious about airline competition.
Qatar Air and foot dragging on Sydney landing slots mean higher prices for Australians.
His flight upgrades and cosy relations with Alan Joyce create a perception of conflict (whether they influence him or not) pic.twitter.com/ky7vM8iFNn

— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) October 27, 2024

The Albanese government has previously faced questions about its handling of accusations of hoarding of landing slots at Sydney airport and Qatar Airways’ bid to increase its flight frequency to Australia.

There was also more defence of Albanese from another government minister on Monday. Queensland senator Murray Watt said Nine’s claims were “unsourced rumours”.

“I encourage people to look at Anthony Albanese’s record as the transport minister, leader of the opposition and prime minister when it comes to Qantas, where he hasn’t played favourites,” he said.

“When he was the transport minister more than a decade ago, when Qantas grounded their fleet and went after unions, Anthony Albanese took Qantas on about that.

“In opposition, when Qantas illegally sacked their workforce despite receiving nearly a billion dollars in JobKeeper, Anthony Albanese and Labor took Qantas on about that … we’ve brought in same job, same pay laws, which have already helped Qantas labour hire workers get pay rises of more than $30,000 in some cases.”