Pocock, Albanese government strike deal over ACCC airline flight and price monitoring

The monitoring regime by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which includes airline profit margins, was introduced by the former Morrison government in 2020. However, it lapsed in June under the Albanese government.

In return for the government's support to reinstate the monitoring, Senator Pocock voted against bringing back a senate committee, inquiring into the government decision to block extra Qatar Airways flights into Australia, to hear from former Qantas chairman Alan Joyce.

The 34 votes to 31 defeat, with the Greens also voting against the committee's reconstitution, stunned the Coalition who described it as a "cabal of cover-up".

Senator Pocock said the lack of competition in the aviation sector severely impacts Canberra, pointing to the Canberra-to-Sydney and Sydney to Canberra being Australia's number 1 and number 5 most cancelled routes.

"We have a dire lack of competition in Australia's airline industry but also more broadly across the economy," Senator Pocock said in a statement.

"I welcome all measures that will enhance transparency and competition and thank the government for agreeing to reinstate this monitoring."

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Under restarted monitoring, the Albanese government will direct the ACCC to keep an eye on domestic air passenger services, to complement the ACCC's monitoring role in relation to certain airports.

The monitoring will recommence before the end of the year and continue for three years with quarterly reporting.

"We want a safe, sustainable and efficient aviation sector that provides a high standard of service, good prices and better consumer protections for Australians," Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Transport Minister Catherine King said in a joint statement.

"A competitive airline industry helps to put downward pressure on prices and deliver more choice for Australians facing cost-of-living pressures."

Ahead of the deal being announced, opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie condemned the lack of support for the committee as it planned to pursue Mr Joyce over what involvement his company had in the decision to block extra Qatar flights.

"A deal's being done. I mean, why else? Would you be sitting on that level on the other side of the chamber? Why wouldn't you be backing the millions of Australians that want an affordable aviation industry?" she told reporters in Canberra.

"The senators that sat and voted against bringing Alan Joyce back to answer serious questions are the senators who've done the deal."

The opposition's Senate leader Simon Birmingham is accusing the government of a cover-up.

"Today the Senate had the choice of asking the minister but in, the cabal of cover-up, we saw Labor, Greens and Senator David Pocock vote to maintain a protection racket around Catherine King, around Qantas, around those who are standing in the way of Australians getting cheaper airfares and our tourism industry getting more seats to Australia," he said.

Earlier this month, the Coalition-dominated inquiry called on Ms King to "immediately" review the decision to block Qatar's application for more flights.