Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has defended the prime minister, saying he is not being “shady” about his flight upgrades.
Asked on Nine’s Today show why it took Anthony Albanese five days to say he hadn’t rung former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce for an upgrade, and why he was being “like Slim Shady”, Gallagher said the PM had followed the rules.
Slim Shady is a reference to the alter ego of rapper Eminem.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“Well, he’s not Slim Shady at all,” Gallagher said.
“He’s declared all of these flights, he’s abided by the rules. This guy, I work with him very closely. I know how fastidious he is about these [rules]. The reason we’re talking about them is because they’re declared.”
Asked whether the prime minister, who has denied calling Joyce personally, had solicited upgrades from anyone else at Qantas, Gallagher echoed Albanese’s comments.
“Look, the answer the PM has given, and he’s answered a lot of questions on this … is any changes to bookings were they made … were made in the normal way as every other MP would.”
It comes after Sky News last night reported Albanese had a dedicated senior executive contact within Qantas who personally upgraded his flights, but also after the PM issued a follow-up denial to 2GB radio where he ruled out contacting other people at Qantas to request upgrades.
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