The fact that the Prime Minister doesn’t think there is anything wrong with asking the CEO of Qantas for flight upgrades for personal travel – on no less than 22 occasions – is perhaps the worst aspect of this sorry saga.
Anthony Albanese asked then Qantas CEO Alan Joyce for the business and first class upgrades when Albo was transport minister, shadow transport minister and the opposition leader.
In other words, when he had portfolio responsibilities for Qantas.
Who seriously thinks the Qantas CEO thought he could say no?
How is it OK to personally to request preferment from a business leader who operates within the area your portfolio is responsible for?
Albo hasn’t asked for upgrades since becoming prime minister. I guess he has a taxpayer funded plane of his own now.
But he has certainly repaid the favour Qantas afforded to him, rejecting Qatar’s bid for extra routes to Australia that would have put downward pressure on airfares.
Instead Qantas has happily maintained its market advantage under Albo’s prime ministership.
Anthony Albanese asked then Qantas CEO Alan Joyce for the business and first class upgrades when Albo was transport minister, shadow transport minister and the opposition leader. Above, with Joyce and Mr Albanese’s fiancée Jodie Haydon
Of course the PM will say one thing had nothing to do with the other. What about the perception it might have?
If Albo was a bureaucrat within the Australian Public Service, his actions would be in violation of the Ombudsman’s advice on avoiding ‘apparent’ or ‘potential’ conflicts of interest.
But because he’s a politician and not a public servant, a technical reading of the rules for MPs and Senators allows Albo to keep his snout firmly in the trough, as well as shamelessly claim there is nothing wrong with what he’s done.
I doubt many voters agree.
One of the flight upgrades – less than a year before Scott Morrison’s family holiday to Hawaii on a Jetstar flight – was also for a holiday to Hawaii in 2019.
Only Albo flew Qantas business class, presumably also scoffing down some quality food and beverages in the Chairman’s Lounge before his departure.
Albo says he complied with all disclosure requirements on each and every one of the 22 occasions he sought special help from the Qantas CEO.
What a relief.
Yes, he disclosed the upgrades, that much is true. He didn’t, however, disclose that he personally called the airline CEO to request (demand?) said upgrades.
Technically that’s not required under current disclosure provisions.
It’s also not technically against the rules to request special preferment from an organisation you oversee in a ministerial capacity, believe it or not.
Of course, it absolutely should be.
Albo thinks there is nothing to see here and journalists are unfair to even ask questions on the issue.
He did nothing wrong, rules don’t need to change. Case closed.
He’s got to be kidding.
Even if Albo sailed close to the wind and stayed within the rules, they surely need to be amended to stop future MPs and PMs doing what Albo has done.
It is deeply inappropriate.
The problem with admitting that the rules need changing is that doing so highlights Albo’s personal moral compass was faulty.
He needed rules to stop him doing the wrong thing.
That would be a bad look, so he is sticking to his guns, claiming that the existing rules are fit for purpose when they patently are not.
Scott Morrison and wife Jenny at least flew Jetstar to Hawaii during their ill-timed bushfire overseas holiday
Albo thinks there is nothing to see here and journalists are unfair to even ask questions on the issue
I contacted the PM’s office to seek details on the circumstances surrounding these upgrades.
My request was given to one time Guardian Australia Political Editor, Katharine Murphy, who back in the day did a good job of holding Coalition MPs accountable for their actions.
She now spins for Albo. I never heard back. Nothing, nada, zero.
I’m sure behind closed doors she is counselling Albo to live up to the standards she demanded of other politicians when working in journalism.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers was asked about Airbus Albo’s penchant for flight upgrades at his media conference today.
He made clear that he’s certainly never asked the Qantas CEO for such preferment, and he doesn’t think he’s ever received an unsolicited upgrade either.
Chalmers’ disdain for Albo’s snout in the trough of our national carrier was self-evident.
Albo’s 22 requests for upgrades are the ultimate example of a politician’s entitlement.
This by a PM who simultaneously tries to use his personal back story as evidence that he understands the needs and challenges of mainstream Australians.
Perhaps he once did. But for the past 30 years he’s been an MP, minister and PM enjoying the advantages power and influence affords him.
And he’s so blinded by that privilege he can’t even see what’s wrong with it any more.