By Andrew Brown in Canberra

Opposition MPs have denied there is a double standard after attacking the prime minister over flight upgrades while also having declared similar travel perks.

Anthony Albanese had come under fire after revelations he received 22 flight upgrades from Qantas, some of which coming when he was a transport minister, and that he would liaise personally with the airline’s former boss Alan Joyce for them.

The prime minister has rejected the allegations, saying he never contacted Mr Joyce for upgrades.

The political storm about the upgrades has led Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to defend his office asking for a free flight from mining billionaire Gina Rinehart.

The coalition’s transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie, one of the most vocal critics about the travel arrangements, has also been forced to concede she was wrong about having declared all of her upgrades and launching an investigation into it.

However, Senator McKenzie said there was a difference between her own upgrades and that of Mr Albanese.

“It was wrong of me to be so emphatic earlier this week … I don’t probably believe I should be subjecting other people to standards I’m not prepared to subject myself to,” she told ABC Radio on Friday.

“The difference between myself and the prime minister is the prime minister was the minister for transport. He was actually in charge of regulating the aviation sector.”

Senator McKenzie said the free flights offered by Ms Rinehart to the opposition leader was different to the upgrades received by the prime minister, rejecting concern over the influence of the mining billionaire as “clickbait”.

“(The opposition leader) actually saved the Australian taxpayer $40,000, and I think that if more people sought to save Australian taxpayers money, the budget bottom line would look a lot better,” she said.

“I don’t think we need Gina Rinehart to influence us to be very, very clear as a coalition to state our support for a sustainable resource industry.”

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said the furore about the upgrades had been a distraction and that the opposition attacks had come back to bite the coalition.

“The Liberal Party has wasted a week of the nation’s life, which we’re not going to get back. All they’ve done is try and throw mud and most of it’s ended up on their own face,” he told Nine’s Today program on Friday.

“We need to get back to the cost of living.”

Mr Shorten defended the prime minister, saying Mr Albanese had been upfront in declaring his travel arrangements.

“This stretches back 20 years, the prime minister is under an obligation to declare these matters, he literally has,” he said.

“Instead, we’ve had the opposition carry on like they are a choir of angels. They’ve put themselves up to a higher standard, and let’s face it, it’s just blowing up in their face.”

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the attacks against Mr Dutton’s flight was disappointing and that the prime minister had more explaining to do.

“He’s been avoiding the question completely. Six days, six different answers, this is something we need to take further, because it’s not good enough,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program.

Education Minister Jason Clare said it had taken the prime minister several days to release a statement on the upgrades because of due diligence.

“If you’ve been in parliament for a long time, you want to make sure you go through all those records that are more than a decade long. He’s done that,” he told Sunrise.

“That’s the difference between the prime Minister and Peter Dutton. Peter Dutton was asked the same question and he lied.”

The perks that chip away at public trust in politicians