Airline inquiry will summon Joyce for questioning
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The news: A Senate inquiry into airline service agreements will again call former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce to give evidence, after government department responses underwhelmed the inquiry committee this morning.
The numbers: Inquiry chair and Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie produced a Redbridge poll suggesting 56% of Australians either supported or strongly supported adding more Qatar Airways flights to Australia.
The context: Qatar has requested clarification from the federal government on the decision to block the airline from adding 28 services a week to Australian airports. Today the inquiry interrogated representatives from the federal transport department, DFAT, Tourism Australia, Treasury and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Qantas chair Richard Goyder and the airline's new CEO Vanessa Hudson gave evidence to the committee yesterday.
What they said: "We will be summonsing Alan Joyce — as he seems to be the only one that can answer so many of this committee's inquiries — on his return to Australia," McKenzie said before closing the hearing.
"They're unsatisfactory answers," committee member Simon Birmingham said, adding, "it's unsatisfactory preparation by PM&C, and it creates a type of risk in terms of how Senate committees may respond in future."
The source: Australian Parliament House
