[Peetwo]

Airbus Albo dodges Dai Le Fuel Excise QWN: 13/11/23

Watch Airbus Albo firstly dodge the question then deploy the cowardly tactic to sit down and end his answer to independent MP Dai Le's point of order on her fuel excise QWN - Hansard extract:

Ms LE (Fowler) (15:13): Prime Minister, families are paying over $2 per litre at the pump today, which is increasing costs and inflation across the supply chain. It's one of the reasons interest rates have increased, which is hurting working Australians immensely. Fuel prices will go up and down, but a cut to fuel excise would lower costs and reduce inflation now. Why won't the government reduce the fuel excise at a time when it has a budget surplus and provide instant cost-of-living and mortgage relief to families, especially in Western Sydney?

Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (15:14): I give the call to the Prime Minister. I thank the member for Fowler for her question, and I certainly acknowledge that so many people, including in her electorate, are doing it tough at the moment as a result of a range of factors, not the least of which is what has happened with oil, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine but also, we know, with the Middle East crisis, which is being undertaken—

The SPEAKER: The member for O'Connor is warned. If he interjects one more time, he'll leave the chamber. The Prime Minister will be heard in silence.

Mr ALBANESE: We inherited, when we came to office, a decision of the former government that they put in their budget in March 2022—a limited-time pause on fuel indexation. They put that limited period there because, when it comes to the issue of petrol indexation, one of the concerns in the economy, including from the Reserve Bank, which feeds into interest rates is how much cash there is in the economy. So we have purposefully targeted cost-of-living relief through the increase in payments, which the Minister for Social Services spoke about earlier today and the Minister for Health and Aged Care also spoke about, with cheaper medicines and the tripling of the bulk billing incentive. We have very consciously targeted the relief at families, through child care relief as well. We will always look at measures to—

The SPEAKER: Order, the Prime Minister will pause. There's far too much noise. The member for Fowler on a point of—the Prime Minister has concluded his answer.

AA has form in cowardly dodging questions pertaining to his responsibilities as a Minister of the Crown. Rewind to August 2013 and the AA non-response to the serious findings of the Senate PelAir report:

References: Senators Slam Government over Report Silence https://www.australianflying.com.au/news...rt-silence

Remember that Airbus Albo had $250k reasons not to address the PelAir report: Tenth Anniversary of the Senate PelAir report and what's changed??
https://auntypru.com/forum/showthread.ph...9#pid13679

And now we have Miniscule Dicky King running interference on her decision to block Qatar Airways application for extra flight access to the 4 major Australian airports. Via the Oz/SkyNews Oz:

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King discusses why her department blocked from releasing to Sky News a departmental submission recommending action over Qatar Airways’ application for additional flights into Australia. The Department of Foreign Affairs warned the document’s release would “damage” Australia’s “international relations” with the Qatar government. “These are bilateral agreements between governments; they are not commercial arrangements; they are bilateral agreements between governments and that information is important that governments are able to talk with each other about those bilateral agreements,” Ms King told Sky News Australia. “They are bilateral agreements between governments, and we don’t generally release that advice. “We don’t release advice between two governments, we don’t release that, that is the same reason it wasn’t released in the Senate.” Ms King said she “stands by the decision” to block Qatar Airways’ application to expand flights into Australia on July 10.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King discusses why her department blocked from releasing to Sky News a departmental submission recommending action over Qatar Airways’ application for additional flights into Australia. The Department of Foreign Affairs warned the document’s release would “damage” Australia’s “international relations” with the Qatar government. “These are bilateral agreements between governments; they are not commercial arrangements; they are bilateral agreements between governments and that information is important that governments are able to talk with each other about those bilateral agreements,” Ms King told Sky News Australia. “They are bilateral agreements between governments, and we don’t generally release that advice. “We don’t release advice between two governments, we don’t release that, that is the same reason it wasn’t released in the Senate.” Ms King said she “stands by the decision” to block Qatar Airways’ application to expand flights into Australia on July 10.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King discusses why her department blocked from releasing to Sky News a departmental submission recommending action over Qatar Airways’ application for additional flights into Australia.

The Department of Foreign Affairs warned the document’s release would “damage” Australia’s “international relations” with the Qatar government.

“These are bilateral agreements between governments; they are not commercial arrangements; they are bilateral agreements between governments and that information is important that governments are able to talk with each other about those bilateral agreements,” Ms King told Sky News Australia.

“They are bilateral agreements between governments, and we don’t generally release that advice.

“We don’t release advice between two governments, we don’t release that, that is the same reason it wasn’t released in the Senate.”

Ms King said she “stands by the decision” to block Qatar Airways’ application to expand flights into Australia on July 10.

MTF...P2 

PS: PASSING STRANGE?? - In follow up to this post:  Miniscule Dicky King trainwreck interview: Skerritt the panacea for Transport Safety agencies?? I note that there is still not a Skerritt of an official announcement/Media Release by the Miniscule in relation to the 24 October Department initiated ' Australian Transport Safety and Investigation Bodies Financial Sustainability Review'...