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Joe Aston got the kind of book launch every first time <br> <br> author dreams of - massive amounts of free publicity online, in newspapers and on TV and radio. <br> <br> <br> <br> And it was all thanks to Anthony Albanese's ill-informed attack on Aston over what was written in his book, The <br> <br> Chairman's Lounge - The Inside Story of how Qantas sold us out.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Despite the resultant terrible publicity - which has led to him being called 'upgrade Albo' - and calls for an inquiry, Aston told Daily Mail Australia his book is 'not a hit job on Anthony Albanese'.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Aston insisted he's 'not trying to get a scalp', but reiterated that the Prime Minister 'had a <br> <br> direct line to Alan Joyce'.<br> <br> <br> <br> The book claims Mr Albanese got 22 upgrades from economy on Qantas flights by personally requesting them from <br> <br> the airline's then CEO Mr Joyce - which the Prime Minister has categorically denied.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> According to unnamed Qantas 'insiders', 11 of the 22 flights Mr Albanese got upgrades for were 'privately <br> <br> funded' and included overseas trips to Rome, <br> <br> London, Los Angeles and Honolulu. <br> <br> <br> <br> But instead of addressing the claim, Mr Albanese chose <br> <br> to shoot the messenger and, in turn, shot himself in the foot. <br> <br> <br> <br> He said Aston was using the accusations to sell books and said he was hiding his employment history. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'I don't see declarations that he's a former Liberal Party staffer… I <br> <br> don't see declarations he's a former Qantas employee,' the Prime Minister said. <br> <br> <br> <br> But before the book even gets to the contents page there is a photo of Aston that refers <br> <br> to him as the then-Qantas corporate communications senior adviser. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Joe Aston (pictured) got the kind of book launch every first time author dreams of - massive amounts of free publicity online, in newspapers and <br> <br> on TV and radio<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Anthony Albanese (right) is pictured with his fiance Jodie Haydon (left) and then Qantas CEO Alan Joyce on March 31, 2023 <br> <br> in Sydney, Australia<br> <br> <br> <br> And the first chapter of the book reveals that he worked for <br> <br> then-Liberal MP Bruce Baird, who held the southern Sydney seat of Cook before Scott Morrison. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'My professional history is not a secret or not disclosed, it's in the first line of the first page of the book,' Aston said on Tuesday night,<br> <br> just before his book launch. <br> <br> <br> <br> Though he was grateful for the free publicity Mr <br> <br> Albanese's response gave the book, Aston was still 'staggered' at the <br> <br> untrue claims about him the Prime Minister made. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'He's under enormous pressure and I know, I've seen this many times with public figures and leaders who struggle to <br> <br> see their own part in it, the terrible circumstances that they create,' he said.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Read More<br> <br> <br> <br> <u><b>Extravagant Qantas perk Anthony Albanese FAILED <br> <br> to declare is revealed... after two days of denials</b></u><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Asked if Mr Albanese had been poorly advised in his attack, Aston, who is a former Australian Financial Review columnist, <br> <br> wonders if the Prime Minister 'even listens to advice at this point'.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> 'All he's doing is talking around the issue and he's blaming me and he's blaming other MP's for also taking upgrades (on Qantas flights).<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> 'He's avoiding the only thing that he can't <br> <br> talk about, which is, did you ask Qantas for confirmed upgrades on your private holidays when you were the Transport Minister?<br> <br> The answer is "yes" and he's desperately trying to avoid saying it.'<br> <br> <br> <br> Smelling blood, Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the Prime Minister should refer <br> <br> himself to the anti-corruption commission over the flight upgrades.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Coming on top of Mr Albanese's tone deaf purchase of a $4.3million clifftop mansion while so <br> <br> many people are struggling to pay their mortgage or rent, the latest blow <br> <br> to his credibility has led to calls for him to resign.<br> <br> <br> <br> <b>Aston refuses to be drawn on this, though. </b><br> <br> <br> <br> 'I never expected this (part of the book) to even this part to get this far.<br> <br> I really am shocked at how it's blown up.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <u><b>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is pictured with the then Qantas CEO Alan Joyce</b></u><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Anthony Albanese is pictured on August 14, 2023 as Qantas unveiled its Yes23 livery in support of a Yes vote in the Indigenous Voice <br> <br> to Parliament referendum <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Among the movers and shakers at Joe Aston's book launch in the ritzy Hemmesphere club in Sydney was <br> <br> Tabcorp director David Gallop (pictured)<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <i><u>Paul Barry (pictured in blue shirt), the host of the ABC's <br> <br> Media Watch show, was also at the launch</u></i><br> <br> <br> <br> 'So to the extent that it has, I would say ... anyone who reads <br> <br> the book will learn that this book is not a hit job on Anthony Albanese.<br> <br> <br> <br> This book is about Qantas. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'Anthony Albanese is an example of how Qantas influences politicians on both sides of the aisle, Labor, Liberal, National, you name it.<br> <br> <br> <br> They've been doing it for more than a generation.<br> <br> <br> <br> 'They're the best influence peddler in Australia. I'm not here <br> <br> trying to get a scalp. That's not what this book is about and it never was.'<br> <br> <br> <br> But the conversation Daily Mail Australia had with Aston mirrors <br> <br> the conversations being had across Australia and eventually winds up back on Mr Albanese. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'Even I've underestimated how fed up the public is with the <br> <br> freebie mindset of politicians,' he said.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Guests at Joe Aston's book launch on Tuesday night are pictured <br> <br> pointing for emphasis or to someone they recognise<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <b>There was no shortage of free alcohol (pictured) available at the launch of Joe Aston's book </b><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Joe Aston is pictured in the exclusive Hemmesphere club in Sydney, where his <br> <br> book The Chairman's Lounge was launched<br> <br> <br> <br> 'And unfortunately for Albanese, he's been in politics a long <br> <br> time and that kind of behaviour is quite normalised to him, is <br> <br> what I've seen. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'I mean, he loves the free concert tickets and sitting at the front row of the Australian Open Tennis. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'I went to the Australian Open Tennis as a journalist almost every year for 12 years and he was the only Prime Minister (I saw there).<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> 'Those tickets are worth thousands of dollars to sit in the front row of the International Grand Slam.<br> <br> <br> <br> He's the first Prime Minister who I've ever seen do that.<br> <br> <br> <br> 'That to me is a sign that he doesn't quite get what it looks like to others when he's on the gravy train. And I think (the claims in the book are) just another example of that.'<br> <br> <br> <br> In Australian politics it's regular practise for an MP's travel <br> <br> to be booked in economy, then someone in their office phones <br> <br> the airline and asks if their flight can be upgraded. <br> <br> <br> <br> The difference with the Prime Minister is <br> <br> that 'he had a very direct line to Alan Joyce,' Aston said.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> 'The other thing is there's a difference between an upgrade where it's in the booking and if the seat's <br> <br> empty when the flight closes, you'll get upgraded.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> 'This is different. This is a confirmed upgrade where the ticket is converted and you are guaranteed.<br> <br> You're not going to the airport crossing your <br> <br> fingers going "Geez, I hope there is a spare seat".<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> 'You're guaranteed. You turn up knowing you're getting a seat and the only person at Qantas who can issue those types of upgrades is the CEO.<br> <br> No other executive can do that.<br> <br> <br> <br> <b>'So it is beyond question that Alan joints authorised these <br> <br> upgrades (for Anthony Albanese).'</b><br> <br> <br> <br> Aston enjoyed many upgrades to the pointy end of planes during his <br> <br> time as a travel journalist, and understands the attraction for <br> <br> politicians to get up there. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'These things are tempting and it's human nature too. Once <br> <br> you've experienced the front of the plane, it's very hard to go <br> <br> back.<br> <br> <br> <br> 'For politicians, they run around with all these <br> <br> staff and they've got chauffeured cars and they fly in business, but <br> <br> they don't get paid like CEOs ...<br> <br> <br> <br> 'They're not in a situation where they can afford to go flying <br> <br> around in the front of the plane on personal travel. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'A normal person would say "Therefore I won't (fly business class). But (for politicians) it's a culture of entitlement.'<br> <br> <br> <br> Aston is careful to point out that most people would say politicians are 'very well paid compared to the average worker'.<br> <br> <br> <br> But that doesn't stop some MPs from desperately seeking a free ride, whether it's a flight upgrade, concert tickets or the executive box at sporting events. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Late on Wednesday night, a spokeswoman Mr Albanese said 'The Prime Minister did not ever call Alan Joyce seeking an upgrade'.<br> <br> <br> <br> <i><u>'All travel has been appropriately declared and is a matter of public record.'</u></i><br> <br> <br> <br> <u><i>Daily Mail Australia has contacted Qantas for comment.  </i></u><br> <br> <br> <br> The Chairman's Lounge - The Inside Story of how Qantas sold us out, by Joe Aston, is available now in bookshops and from online retailers<br> <br> <br> <br> <b>WHAT IS THE QANTAS CHAIRMAN'S LOUNGE?</b><br> <br> <br> <br> The Qantas Chairman's Lounge is an invitation-only club approved by the company chairman, with the guest list a closely-guarded secret.<br> <br> <br> <br> <b>It has been dubbed 'the most exclusive club in the country' and comes with a distinct black card.</b><br> <br> <br> <br> Members include senior-ranking MPs such as ministers, state premiers and the Prime Minister, leaders of major unions and sporting groups, Qantas ambassadors, selected A-list celebrities, major corporate figures and high-profile media personalities.<br> <br> <br> <br> The clubs can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide airports but are not signposted - you have to know where to look.<br> <br> <br> <br> Inside you will find expensive wood and brass furnishings, wool carpet and marble flooring, all bathed in natural light. <br> <br> <br> <br> Members enjoy fine à la carte dining with a complimentary premium array of beers, spirits and Australian wines. Wine bottles are often given as departing gifts.<br> <br> <br> <br> <u><b>Facilities may also include spas, showers and an assortment of books and magazines.</b></u><br> <br> <br> <br> <strong><u>Members may bring in two guests at a time. </u></strong><br> <br> <br> <br> Lounge attendants personally alert you when your flight is ready to board, and your personal preferences are logged for each flight. <br> <br> <br> <br> <b>Membership also entitles you to first-class facilities at Qantas partner airlines.</b><br> <br> <br> <br> <u>Source: Executive Traveller</u><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Anthony Albanese<br> <br> <br> <br> My web site <a href="https://online-learning-initiative.org/wiki/index.php/Desire_A_Thriving_Enterprise_Focus_On_%E0%B8%8A%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%81%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%89%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2">ส่งดอกไม้ทั่วกรุงเทพ</a>
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