Shadow Transport Minister Bridget McKenzie has conceded she made an error in being "so emphatic" about her own flight upgrades as she defended Peter Dutton's travel on Gina Rinehart's private jet. 

Politicians from all sides have been engulfed in the controversy over claims the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accepted free upgrades from Qantas, scrambling to check their own logs and declarations were up to scratch.

Speaking with ABC's RN Breakfast, Senator McKenzie admitted she'd been wrong to say she had never received an upgrade and has since launched her own audit to ascertain if there were any more. 

"I think 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 said.

Under parliamentary rules, all MPs and senators are required to update their register of interests to place on record anything, including gifts, that could be seen as a conflict of interest within 28 days of receipt.

When asked if there should be any consequences for her failure to update her record, Senator McKenzie said there was a difference between herself and Mr Albanese.

"The difference between myself and the prime minister is that the prime minister was the minister for transport. He was actually in charge of regulating the aviation sector," she said.

Senator McKenzie stressed she knew what it was like to take accountability for a perceived conflict of interest, as she resigned from her cabinet position during the so-called sports rorts affair back in 2020.

The Coalition frontbencher also defended the opposition leader after he made his own concession that his office had asked Gina Rinehart for use of her private jet to assist him to attend a Bali bombing memorial service in Sydney, despite previously saying that wasn't the case.

"I don't think we need to always think that people assisting has a quid pro quo, and that's why it's important to have public declarations and important to look at behaviour," she said.

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said the furore surrounding the flight upgrades had "wasted a week of the nation's life" as he tried to steer focus back to the cost of living.

It comes as Mr Albanese sought to reassure his ministry that he hadn't done anything wrong following the accusations he personally contacted the former Qantas boss to secure upgrades for flights.

The revelations came to light last week, after the Nine Newspapers published an excerpt of author Joe Aston's book alleging Mr Albanese liaised personally with Alan Joyce.

Mr Albanese has rejected the allegations.

Health Minister Mark Butler, who was in attendance at the meeting in Melbourne, came to the defence of the prime minister on Friday morning, denying claims Mr Albanese's address to colleagues was a "sook-up".

"I'm a bit of a traditionalist. I think cabinet and ministry meeting confidentiality is a really important part of our government system, not particularly a political point," Mr Butler said.

"I will say, as someone who's known Anthony for a very long time and worked closely with him, the last thing I'd call him is a sook. You can't be a sook and get to the prime ministership of the country, or frankly, to the position of leader of the opposition."

Mr Butler called on his colleagues to "knuckle down" and stop leaking from cabinet meetings.

"It's ill-disciplined. It makes me cross," he said.