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Joe Aston got the kind of book launch every <br> <br> first time 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, <br> <br> The 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 <br> <br> him being called 'upgrade Albo' - and calls for an inquiry, Aston told Daily Mail Australia his book is 'not a hit <br> <br> job on Anthony Albanese'.<br> <br> <br> <br> Aston insisted he's 'not trying to get a scalp', but reiterated <br> <br> that the Prime Minister 'had a direct line to Alan Joyce'.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> The book claims Mr Albanese got 22 upgrades from economy on Qantas flights by personally requesting them from the airline's <br> <br> 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 funded' and included overseas <br> <br> trips to Rome, London, Los Angeles and Honolulu. <br> <br> <br> <br> But instead of addressing the claim, Mr Albanese chose to shoot the <br> <br> 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 <br> <br> Party staffer… I 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 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 <br> <br> time author dreams of - massive amounts of free publicity online, in newspapers and 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) <br> <br> 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 <br> <br> he worked for then-Liberal MP Bruce Baird, <br> <br> who held the southern Sydney seat of Cook before <br> <br> Scott Morrison. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'My professional history is not a secret or not disclosed, it's in the first <br> <br> line of the first page of the book,' Aston said on Tuesday night, just before <br> <br> his book launch. <br> <br> <br> <br> Though he was grateful for the free publicity Mr Albanese's response gave the book, <br> <br> Aston was still 'staggered' at the untrue claims about him <br> <br> the Prime Minister made. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'He's under enormous pressure and I know, I've seen this many times with public <br> <br> figures and leaders who struggle to see their own part <br> <br> 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> Extravagant Qantas perk Anthony Albanese FAILED to declare is <br> <br> revealed... after two days of denials<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, wonders if the Prime Minister 'even listens to <br> <br> advice at this point'.<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 <br> <br> also taking upgrades (on Qantas flights).<br> <br> <br> <br> 'He's avoiding the only thing that he can't talk about, which is, did <br> <br> you ask Qantas for confirmed upgrades on your private holidays when you <br> <br> were the Transport Minister? The answer is "yes" and <br> <br> he's desperately trying to avoid saying it.'<br> <br> <br> <br> Smelling blood, Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the Prime Minister should refer himself <br> <br> 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 many <br> <br> people are struggling to pay their mortgage or rent, the latest <br> <br> blow to his credibility has led to calls for him to resign.<br> <br> <br> <br> Aston refuses to be drawn on this, though. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'I never expected this (part of the book) to even this part to get this <br> <br> far. I really am shocked at how it's blown up.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is pictured with the then Qantas <br> <br> CEO Alan Joyce<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Anthony Albanese is pictured on August 14, 2023 as Qantas unveiled <br> <br> its Yes23 livery in support of a Yes vote in the Indigenous Voice 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 Tabcorp director David Gallop (pictured)<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Paul Barry (pictured in blue shirt), the host of the ABC's Media Watch show, was <br> <br> also at the launch<br> <br> <br> <br> 'So to the extent that it has, I would say ... anyone who reads the book will learn that this book is not <br> <br> a hit job on Anthony Albanese. This book is about Qantas. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'Anthony Albanese is an example of how Qantas influences politicians on both <br> <br> 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.<br> <br> <br> <br> I'm not here trying to get a scalp. That's not what <br> <br> this book is about and it never was.'<br> <br> <br> <br> But the conversation Daily Mail Australia had with Aston mirrors the <br> <br> 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 freebie mindset <br> <br> 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 <br> <br> pictured pointing for emphasis or to someone they recognise<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> There was no shortage of free alcohol (pictured) available at the launch of Joe Aston's book <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 book <br> <br> The Chairman's Lounge was launched<br> <br> <br> <br> 'And unfortunately for Albanese, he's been in politics a long time and <br> <br> that kind of behaviour is quite normalised to him, is 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 <br> <br> 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 <br> <br> sit in the front row of the International Grand Slam.<br> <br> He's the first Prime Minister who I've ever seen do <br> <br> that.<br> <br> <br> <br> 'That to me is a sign that he doesn't quite get what it looks like <br> <br> to others when he's on the gravy train. And I think (the claims in the book are) just another <br> <br> example of that.'<br> <br> <br> <br> In Australian politics it's regular practise for an MP's travel to be booked in economy, then someone in their office <br> <br> phones the airline and asks if their flight can be upgraded. <br> <br> <br> <br> The difference with the Prime Minister is that 'he had a very direct line to Alan Joyce,<br> <br> ' Aston said.<br> <br> <br> <br> 'The other thing is there's a difference between an upgrade where it's in the booking and if <br> <br> the seat's empty when the flight closes, you'll get upgraded.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> 'This is different. This is a confirmed upgrade <br> <br> where the ticket is converted and you are <br> <br> guaranteed. You're not going to the airport crossing <br> <br> your fingers going "Geez, I hope there is a spare seat".<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> 'You're guaranteed. You turn up knowing you're getting a seat <br> <br> and the only person at Qantas who can issue those types of upgrades is <br> <br> the CEO. No other executive can do that.<br> <br> <br> <br> 'So it is beyond question that Alan joints authorised these upgrades (for Anthony Albanese).'<br> <br> <br> <br> Aston enjoyed many upgrades to the pointy end of planes during his time as a travel journalist, and understands the attraction for politicians <br> <br> to get up there. <br> <br> <br> <br> 'These things are tempting and it's human nature too.<br> <br> Once you've experienced the front of the plane, <br> <br> it's very hard to go back.<br> <br> <br> <br> 'For politicians, they run around with all these staff <br> <br> and they've got chauffeured cars and they fly in business, but they don't get paid like CEOs ...<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> 'They're not in a situation where they can afford to go flying around in the front <br> <br> 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> 'All travel has been appropriately declared and is a matter of public record.'<br> <br> <br> <br> Daily Mail Australia has contacted Qantas for comment.  <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> WHAT IS THE QANTAS CHAIRMAN'S LOUNGE?<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> It has been dubbed 'the most exclusive club in the country' and comes with a distinct black card.<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> Facilities may also include spas, showers and an assortment of books and magazines.<br> <br> <br> <br> Members may bring in two guests at a time. <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> Membership also entitles you to first-class facilities at Qantas partner airlines.<br> <br> <br> <br> Source: Executive Traveller<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Anthony Albanese<br> <br> <br> <br> Look into my web-site: จัดดอกไม้งานศพ - https://bogazicitente.com/219033
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