Department briefings to Transport Minister Catherine King on Qatar 'do not exist'
The Transport Minister Catherine King's decision by to reject Qatar Airways' application for more flights to Australia continues to reverberate in Canberra.
The federal Department of Transport and Infrastructure did not provide its responsible minister Catherine King with a single brief on Qatar Airways’ request for additional flights to Australia in the 14 weeks leading up to her decision to reject the application.
The absence of any written briefing suggests King sat on advice for more than three months, or that briefings were being provided to her in an informal manner in the critical period leading up to her decision on 10 July.
A Freedom of Information request by Capital Brief has failed to unearth any briefings provided by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport to King during April, May, June or July.
“I am satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to find documents which would be relevant to your request and that the documents do not exist in the possession of the department,” the department’s legal team said in a letter on Wednesday.
