Afternoon Update: Dutton questions PM’s ‘strange’ flight upgrades; greenwashing case against Santos begins; and a celebration of long dogs

Want to get this in your inbox every weekday? Sign up for the Afternoon Update here, and start your day with our Morning Mail newsletterGood afternoon. Peter Dutton has questioned the “strange arrangements” of Anthony Albanese allegedly seeking free Qantas flight upgrades directly from Alan Joyce while serving as transport minister and opposition leader, as the Coalition sought to cast scrutiny on Labor’s relationship with the airline and its controversial former chief executive.The reports, published over the weekend in extracts from a new book, state that Albanese declared flight upgrades on about 20 Qantas flights between 2009 and 2019 while he occupied various positions including transport minister, shadow transport minister and opposition leader.Woman faces court over alleged Lidia Thorpe assault | Lawyers for Ebony Bell, charged with allegedly assaulting the independent senator outside a Melbourne AFL match in May, told the court the accused could only appear via video link because of “recent threats”.Investigation begins into Sydney plane collision | Tributes have been paid to pilots Gary Criddle and Khadervali Gagguturu, who died with one other person after two small planes crashed in midair near Oakdale on Saturday, as they were flying through uncontrolled airspace.Greenwashing case against Santos begins in federal court | Shareholder group the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility alleged Santos’s failure to disclose anticipated growth in emissions from oil and gas exploration constituted misleading or deceptive conduct, in the first case to challenge the veracity of a company’s net zero emissions plan. Continue reading...

Good afternoon. Peter Dutton has questioned the “strange arrangements” of Anthony Albanese allegedly seeking free Qantas flight upgrades directly from Alan Joyce while serving as transport minister and opposition leader , as the Coalition sought to cast scrutiny on Labor’s relationship with the airline and its controversial former chief executive. The reports, published over the weekend in extracts from a new book, state that Albanese declared flight upgrades on about 20 Qantas flights between 2009 and 2019 while he occupied various positions including transport minister, shadow transport minister and opposition leader.

“According to Qantas insiders,” the book claims, “Albanese would liaise with Joyce directly about his personal travel.” Dutton, who said he took up to 190 flights a year, accepted he had occasionally accepted flight upgrades since joining parliament in 2001, but “none of [them] happened as a result of me calling my best friend Alan Joyce at Qantas”. Albanese and senior Labor ministers have sought to downplay the reports, saying the perks had been disclosed on parliamentary interests registers as per longstanding rules.

Top news Woman faces court over alleged Lidia Thorpe assault | Lawyers for Ebony Bell, charged with allegedly assaulting the independent senator outside a Melbourne AFL match in May, told the court the accused could only appear via video link because of “recent threats”. Investigation begins into Sydney plane collision | Tr.