Queensland Premier Steven Miles has sparked outrage by chartering two private planes to travel simultaneously to the same destination, just days after passing a bill calling for a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Thousands and their staff flew on one plane, while Police Minister Mark Ryan and Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski used another for a trip to Townsville to hold a press conference on youth crime.
The private jets, which cost about $6,500 an hour to rent, left Brisbane within 15 minutes of each other on Monday afternoon for a 2,800 kilometer round trip.
Miles and his staff flew in an Embraer Phenom 300, while Ryan and Gollschewski traveled in a Cessna Citation CJ2+, the mail reports.
After holding the press conference touting new measures to tackle Queensland’s youth crime epidemic, the trio returned to their separate planes and flew to Cairns.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles criticized for flying two planes to the same destination
Miles took a separate plane to visit Police Minister Mark Ryan and Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski (pictured) despite the planes taking identical routes on the 2,800km round trip.
Miles appeared on breakfast television on Tuesday morning before the trio returned to Townsville and traveled down the coast to Hervey Bay.
The planes finally returned to Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon with plans for the Prime Minister to return to Cairns on Wednesday.
A government spokeswoman said commercial flights were used where possible but they were not suitable for such a trip and it was important for him to visit regional centres.
“Labor is a government for all of Queensland, not just the south-east, so it is vital that the premier, ministers and commissioner travel to those regions,” he said.
It comes just weeks after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Energy Minister Chris Bowen were criticized for taking separate planes to the same destination and just days after a new emissions law was passed.
Two bills were passed in Queensland state parliament on Thursday: the Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Bill and the Clean Economy Jobs Bill.
The bill sets emissions reduction targets of 50 percent by 2030 and 75 percent by 2035.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seen boarding a private jet with his fiancée Jodie Haydon.
An eagle-eyed local revealed two Royal Australian Air Force planes waiting on the tarmac at Scone Airport on Thursday, sparking the saga (pictured).
The reforms also set a renewable energy generation target of 80 percent by 2035 and strengthen public ownership of energy assets.
Miles said in a post for X on Thursday that the passage of the new legislation was a “historic day for the Sunshine State.”
“For me, it is the combination of more than 16 years of work, first as an activist, then as a minister and now as the chief minister of the state,” he said.
“Just as previous generations used our natural resources to ensure the prosperity we enjoy today, we can use our renewable energy resources with deep storage to provide that same type of prosperity for future generations.”
Albanese and Bowen took separate planes to attend a billion-dollar climate announcement late last month.
Bowen said the runway at Scone Airport was not strong enough for the Prime Minister’s largest plane.
He said the number of staff accompanying the couple on the trip also had to be reduced due to weight restrictions.
“The Prime Minister always travels with the Royal Australian Air Force… that’s for security reasons and it’s quite appropriate,” Mr Bowen said.
“The runway at Scone was not strong enough to support the large aircraft, so the Air Force recommended and made the decision to use two small aircraft.”