The Senate inquiry into the call to block extra Qatar Airways flights into Australia has recommended the government review that decision, but has been undermined by dissent and accusations of political antics from its own senators.
In releasing its final report today, the Senate inquiry called on the Commonwealth to "immediately" review its rejection of Qatar's application for 28 extra flights per week to the east coast.
Committee chair and opposition Senator Bridget McKenzie accused the government of making the decision to protect Qantas.
"At a time of a cost-of-living crisis in Australia the government has made decisions that have protected Qantas' market share and kept the cost of airfares higher for Australian families and exporters," McKenzie said.
Qantas last week warned the government against reviewing the decision.
Also among the ten recommendations was a proposal that the government direct the ACCC to establish an inquiry into potential anti-competitive behaviour in the aviation industry.
It also recommended the introduction of "consumer protection reforms as soon as reasonably practicable to address significant delays, cancellations, lost baggage and devaluation of loyalty programs".
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However, the call to review the Qatar decision was not made unanimously by the entire committee.
Labor Senators Tony Sheldon – a long-time Qantas critic – and Linda White released a dissenting statement, as did Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne.
Sheldon and White claimed that while holding the inquiry was warranted, the "inaccuracies and obvious bias" of the committee members meant it made no proper contribution to the industry.
"It is perhaps understandable that the Senate established the Select Committee on Commonwealth Bilateral Air Service Agreements, given widespread disillusion with Qantas in the public domain," they wrote.
"However, it is disappointing this committee did not seek to make a meaningful contribution to the public debate, but rather descended quite quickly into political antics.
"Hardworking public servants were verballed, pressured into answering questions they should never have been asked, and in one particularly egregious example asked to comment on opinion polling."
