Federal Transport Minister Catherine King has accepted a lifetime Platinum status from Qantas. This astonishingly generous perk, accrued over a quarter of a century of taxpayer-funded travel, exposes a political class fundamentally divorced from the reality of everyday Australians.

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When challenged on the appalling optics of accepting such a lavish gift, the government deployed "the Anika Wells defence". Colleagues argued that because the minister declared the gift there is nothing to see here. But merely declaring an outrageous conflict of interest does not neutralise it.

Housing Minister Clare O'Neil suggested the lifetime benefit was somehow earned because politicians spend a third of their time away from their families. Liberal senator Michaelia Cash offered a similarly tone-deaf bipartisan shield, noting that federal politicians do a lot of flying.

Try selling that logic to the fly-in, fly-out mine workers who slog through long shifts far from home.

Did the government learn nothing from the outrage following the publication of Joe Aston's book The Chairman's Lounge?

Try explaining the burden of time away from family to the parents working second jobs or evening side hustles to keep a roof over their heads. Everyday Australians endure immense sacrifices without a lifetime pass to the first-class lounge waiting for them at the end.

And who footed the bill for this luxury? Ms King certainly put in the hard hours travelling to Canberra and across the country. But........

© Canberra Times