Trvalý odkaz Pridané používateľom Anonymný (bez overenia) dňa So, 12/14/2024 - 14:00
Anthony Albanese has tried to claim his relationship with Alan Joyce was a strictly professional one between a Prime Minister and a corporate <br>
<br>
titan, as he battles claims the Qantas boss was his 'personal travel agent' for free flights and upgrades.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
However that characterization of the relationship was at odds with that made by Mr Joyce, who said he was 'good mates' with Mr Albanese and had been 'for years'.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
In the wake of the explosive claims that the Prime Minister had Mr <br>
<br>
Joyce arrange free tickets and upgrades, Mr Albanese distanced himself from the <br>
<br>
Qantas chief.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
When asked about about their relationship on Sunday Mr Albanese implied it was purely in a professional capacity, having been Transport <br>
<br>
Minister and shadow transport spokesperson before becoming <br>
<br>
Prime Minister. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
'He (Joyce) was the CEO of the national airline ...<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
I had the same relationship with him that I have with John Borghetti as <br>
<br>
the CEO of Virgin,' Mr Albanese said.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
That assessment was at odds with the many photos showing Mr <br>
<br>
Albanese and Mr Joyce apparently greatly enjoying each other's <br>
<br>
company. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Mr Albanese and Mr Joyce were pictured in high spirits on the red carpet at the Qantas 100th Gala Dinner in March last year.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
In photos from the event, Mr Joyce proudly walks the red carpet with one <br>
<br>
arm around the prime minister and the other around Mr Albanese's partner,<br>
<br>
Jodie Haydon.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Just five months later, in August, a smiling Mr Albanese attended Qantas's unveiling of <br>
<br>
it's special 'Yes 23' emblazoned airplanes for the Voice referendum.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce jovially walked the red carpet <br>
<br>
with one arm around the prime minister and the other around his <br>
<br>
partner, Jodie Haydon for a special anniversary event last <br>
<br>
year<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<strong>Mr Joyce was seen touching Mr Albanese's arm, with the PM bursting into <br>
<br>
laughter.</strong><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Even when Scott Morrison was PM, Mr Joyce enjoyed an apparently close relationship with Mr Albanese as the pair stood close together at the launch of <br>
<br>
the Qantas' landmark Perth to London flight in March, 2018. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
During a Senate hearing in September 2023, Mr Joyce said he had been 'friends for years' with Mr <br>
<br>
Albanese.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Asked about why he gifted Mr Albanese's son Nathan a membership to the prestigious and <br>
<br>
exclusive Chairman's Lounge Mr Joyce refused to confirm or deny but talked up his relationship with the <br>
<br>
Prime Minister.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<strong>'I've been good mates with Albo for some time,' Mr Joyce <br>
<br>
said. </strong><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
However, the then Qantas CEO refused to say whether he lobbied the Prime Minister on the controversial decision to lock <br>
<br>
competitor Qatar Airways out of domestic routes.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
It has since emerged in a new book about Qantas, The Chairman's Lounge,<br>
<br>
by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston that Ms Haydon is <br>
<br>
also a Chairman's Lounge member. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Mr Albanese and Mr Joyce also appeared to greatly enjoying each other's company at a Qantas <br>
<br>
event in August last year<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Read More<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Anthony Albanese fires up and launches a brutal personal attack on book author</b><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Reports have emerged in a new book Mr Albanese received 22 upgrades <br>
<br>
from economy from Qantas and he would liaise personally with the former airline boss <br>
<br>
for them. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Aston also alleged Mr Albanese directly contacted Mr Joyce while in his various parliamentary jobs to <br>
<br>
ask for special upgrades for himself or his <br>
<br>
family.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
According to unnamed Qantas 'insiders' 11 of the 22 flights <br>
<br>
Mr Albanese received upgrades for were 'privately <br>
<br>
funded' and included overseas trips to Rome, London, Los Angeles and <br>
<br>
Honolulu, with some being for holidays.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Mr Albanese insisted on Tuesday that the London flights was for work purposes and all were <br>
<br>
'declared in the appropriate way'. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has leapt on the accusations describing Mr Albanese <br>
<br>
as being the 'best friend' of Mr Joyce. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Mr Dutton told Sky News on Monday night it was 'strange' Mr Albanese <br>
<br>
had directly contacted Mr Joyce to request upgrades while holding a regulatory position in the <br>
<br>
transport sector.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
'If you're the Transport Minister and you're picking up the phone to <br>
<br>
one of the most important stakeholders in the portfolio <br>
<br>
asking for a free upgrade, then again, I think the Prime Minister would be able to answer those questions more effectively than anyone else because I'm not aware of anyone <br>
<br>
else having done it,' Mr Dutton said.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>It has since emerged that Ms Haydon also has membership of the Qantas <br>
<br>
Chairman's Lounge</b><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
The Prime Minister denied frequently asking Mr Joyce for upgrades <br>
<br>
on Tuesday at press conference in the NSW city of Newcastle.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
'The only discussions that I can recall with Alan Joyce certainly were not <br>
<br>
discussed through calls - we discussed the first flight from Australia to Dubai on the A380,' he said.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<strong><u>'I've declared everything in accordance with all of the rules.'</u></strong><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Aston was asked on Monday night by ABC interviewer Sarah Ferguson about how confident he was that Mr Albanese had made calls personally <br>
<br>
to Mr Joyce for upgrades.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<u>'I am very comfortable with my sourcing,' Aston said.</u><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Asked whether he thought Mr Albanese had been influenced by Mr <br>
<br>
Joyce's lobbying to block UAE airline Qatar domestically <br>
<br>
Aston said it was 'implausible' to think that the Prime Minister's <br>
<br>
office had nothing to do with the decision.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Mr Albanese's son Nathan, 24, has reportedly also been granted access to the Qantas Chairman's Lounge (pictured, Mr Albanese and son Nathan in May, 2022)<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
'It's very hard to imagine a decision of any <br>
<br>
political sensitivity in the Albanese government that would not go through the Prime Minister's office,' Aston replied.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
He noted the opening up of the Australian domestic market Qatar had seemingly been sailing through with Transport <br>
<br>
Minister Catherine King speaking warmly about the proposal until 'everything changed' to stop <br>
<br>
it dead in tracks. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Ms King repeatedly denied in parliament the decision to block Qatar was due to Qantas <br>
<br>
lobbying her or any Labor colleagues.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Despite Mr Albanese claiming he declared every upgrade <br>
<br>
received from Qantas the Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday <br>
<br>
that he failed to do for his former wife Carmel Tebbutt when the two traveled <br>
<br>
together.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has questioned the alleged personal requests Mr <br>
<br>
Albanese made to Mr Joyce while in his various parliamentary jobs<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Even when Scott Morrison was prime minister, Mr Joyce appeared to have a close relationship with Mr Albanese (the <br>
<br>
pair are pictured at an event in 2019)<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Sky New host Sharri Markson on Monday night labeled Mr Joyce as 'basically Albanese's personal travel agent.'<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
'This is all a question of integrity. Most Australians struggle to <br>
<br>
afford even an economy airfare. They'd never be able to afford the <br>
<br>
luxury of business class. It's out of our reach,' she said.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
'Can Albanese truly be impartial when it comes to making decisions about Qantas when he's been getting tens of <br>
<br>
thousands of dollars worth of free upgrades to business class?<br>
<br>
The revelations puts the decision he made as transport minister and prime minister <br>
<br>
under a cloud.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
'Aside from the integrity issues, this revelation is also politically <br>
<br>
lethal. Albanese took care to curate a self-image of a housing commission boy who made it.<br>
<br>
But now the perception is cementing of a long-term pollie enjoying the perks <br>
<br>
of public office.'<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Another awkward paradox of Mr Albanese's apparent <br>
<br>
close relationship with Mr Joyce is that the Labor leader in a trade <br>
<br>
unionist advocate while Qantas attempted to break the power of the Transport Workers Union by <br>
<br>
sacking 1700 staff during Covid. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
The sacking has since been ruled illegal by Federal Court in a case brought by the union with Qantas facing possible hundreds of <br>
<br>
thousands in compensation payouts. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
The friendship however did find one perhaps unlikely defender in semi-retired 3AW radio star <br>
<br>
Neil Mitchell. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<b><u>'Quick test: upgrade Albo is a bad look,' Mitchell wrote on X.</u></b><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
'But does anybody believe he was seriously compromised <br>
<br>
by having Alan Joyce as a bestie? Time to rewrite rules governing politicians.' <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<strong>WHAT IS THE QANTAS CHAIRMAN'S CLUB?</strong><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
The Qantas Chairman's Lounge is an invitation-only club approved by the company chairman, with the guest <br>
<br>
list a closely-guarded secret.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
It has been dubbed ¿the most exclusive club in the country¿ <br>
<br>
and comes with a distinct black card.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Members include senior-ranking MPs including ministers, <br>
<br>
state premiers and the Prime Minister, leaders <br>
<br>
of major unions and sporting groups, Qantas ambassadors, selected A-list celebrities, major corporate figures and high-profile media personalities.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
The clubs can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane,<br>
<br>
Perth and Adelaide but are not signed, you have to know where to look.<br>
<br>
<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.<br>
<br>
<a href="https://maps.google.ae/url?q=http://budtrader.com/arcade/members/cyclehill7/activity/3606198/">ขาย wine</a> bottles are often given as departing gift<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Facilities may also include spas, showers and an assortment of books and <br>
<br>
magazines.</b><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<u><i>Members may bring in two guests at a time. </i></u><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Lounge attendants personally alert you when your flight is to <br>
<br>
board and your personal preferences are logged for each flight.<br>
<br>
Membership also entitles you to first-class facilities at Qantas partner airlines.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
free upgrades where they are available and a hotline to Qantas's <br>
<br>
customer service for any and all travel needs. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<u><strong>Source: Executive Traveller</strong></u><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
LondonAnthony AlbaneseQantas
Anthony Albanese has tried to