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Joe Aston got the kind of book launch every first time author
dreams of - massive amounts of free publicity online, in newspapers and on TV and
radio.
And it was all thanks to Anthony Albanese's ill-informed attack
on Aston over what was written in his book, The Chairman's Lounge -
The Inside Story of how Qantas sold us out.
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'.
Aston insisted he's 'not trying to get a scalp',
but reiterated that the Prime Minister 'had a direct line to Alan Joyce'.
The book claims Mr Albanese got 22 upgrades from economy on Qantas flights by personally requesting
them from the airline's then CEO Mr Joyce - which the Prime Minister has categorically denied.
According to unnamed Qantas 'insiders', 11 of the 22 flights Mr Albanese got upgrades for were 'privately funded' and included overseas trips to Rome, London, Los Angeles and Honolulu.
But instead of addressing the claim, Mr Albanese chose to shoot the messenger and, in turn, shot
himself in the foot.
He said Aston was using the accusations to sell books and said he was hiding his employment history.
'I don't see declarations that he's a former Liberal Party staffer… I don't see declarations he's a former Qantas employee,' the
Prime Minister said.
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.
Joe Aston (pictured) got the kind of book launch every first time author dreams of - massive amounts of free
publicity online, in newspapers and on TV and radio
Anthony Albanese (right) is pictured with his fiance Jodie Haydon (left) and then Qantas
CEO Alan Joyce on March 31, 2023 in Sydney, Australia
And the first chapter of the book reveals that he worked for then-Liberal MP Bruce Baird, who held
the southern Sydney seat of Cook before Scott Morrison.
'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, just
before his book launch.
Though he was grateful for the free publicity Mr Albanese's
response gave the book, Aston was still 'staggered' at the untrue
claims about him the Prime Minister made.
'He's under enormous pressure and I know,
I've seen this many times with public figures and leaders
who struggle to see their own part in it, the terrible circumstances that
they create,' he said.
Read More
Extravagant Qantas perk Anthony Albanese FAILED to declare is revealed...
after two days of denials
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 advice at this point'.
'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).
'He's avoiding the only thing that he can't talk about, which is,
did you ask Qantas for confirmed upgrades on your private holidays when you
were the Transport Minister? The answer is "yes" and he's desperately trying to avoid saying it.'
Smelling blood, Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the Prime Minister should refer himself
to the anti-corruption commission over the flight upgrades.
Coming on top of Mr Albanese's tone deaf purchase of a $4.3million clifftop
mansion while so many people are struggling to
pay their mortgage or rent, the latest blow to his credibility has led to
calls for him to resign.
Aston refuses to be drawn on this, though.
'I never expected this (part of the book) to even this part to get this far.
I really am shocked at how it's blown up.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is pictured with the then Qantas CEO Alan Joyce
Anthony Albanese is pictured on August 14, 2023 as Qantas unveiled its Yes23 livery in support
of a Yes vote in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum
Among the movers and shakers at Joe Aston's book launch in the ritzy Hemmesphere club in Sydney
was Tabcorp director David Gallop (pictured)
Paul Barry (pictured in blue shirt), the host
of the ABC's Media Watch show, was also at the launch
'So to the extent that it has, I would say ...
anyone who reads the book will learn that this book is not a hit job on Anthony Albanese.
This book is about Qantas.
'Anthony Albanese is an example of how Qantas influences politicians on both sides of the aisle, Labor, Liberal, National, you name it.
They've been doing it for more than a generation.
'They're the best influence peddler in Australia. I'm not here trying to
get a scalp. That's not what this book is about and
it never was.'
But the conversation Daily Mail Australia had with Aston mirrors the conversations being had across Australia and
eventually winds up back on Mr Albanese.
'Even I've underestimated how fed up the public is
with the freebie mindset of politicians,' he said.
Guests at Joe Aston's book launch on Tuesday night are pictured pointing for emphasis or to someone they recognise
There was no shortage of free alcohol (pictured) available at the launch of
Joe Aston's book
Joe Aston is pictured in the exclusive Hemmesphere club in Sydney, where his book The
Chairman's Lounge was launched
'And unfortunately for Albanese, he's been in politics a long
time and that kind of behaviour is quite normalised to him, is what
I've seen.
'I mean, he loves the free concert tickets and sitting at the front row of the
Australian Open Tennis.
'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).
'Those tickets are worth thousands of dollars to sit
in the front row of the International Grand Slam. He's the first Prime Minister who I've ever
seen do that.
'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.'
In Australian politics it's regular practise for an MP's travel
to be booked in economy, then someone in their office phones the airline and asks if their flight can be
upgraded.
The difference with the Prime Minister is that 'he had a very direct line to Alan Joyce,' Aston said.
'The other thing is there's a difference between an upgrade where it's in the booking and if
the seat's empty when the flight closes, you'll get upgraded.
'This is different. This is a confirmed upgrade where the ticket is converted and you are guaranteed.
You're not going to the airport crossing your fingers going "Geez, I hope there is a spare seat".
'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. No other executive can do that.
'So it is beyond question that Alan joints authorised these upgrades (for Anthony Albanese).'
Aston enjoyed many upgrades to the pointy end of planes during his time as a travel journalist,
and understands the attraction for politicians to get up there.
'These things are tempting and it's human nature too.
Once you've experienced the front of the plane, it's very hard to go back.
'For politicians, they run around with all
these staff and they've got chauffeured cars and they fly in business, but they don't get
paid like CEOs ...
'They're not in a situation where they can afford to go flying around
in the front of the plane on personal travel.
'A normal person would say "Therefore I won't (fly business class). But (for politicians) it's a culture of entitlement.'
Aston is careful to point out that most people would say politicians are 'very well paid compared to the average worker'.
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.
Late on Wednesday night, a spokeswoman Mr Albanese said 'The Prime Minister did not ever call Alan Joyce seeking an upgrade'.
'All travel has been appropriately declared and is a matter of public record.'
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Qantas for comment.
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
WHAT IS THE QANTAS CHAIRMAN'S LOUNGE?
The Qantas Chairman's Lounge is an invitation-only club approved by the company chairman, with the guest list a closely-guarded secret.
It has been dubbed 'the most exclusive club in the country' and comes with a distinct black card.
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.
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.
Inside you will find expensive wood and brass furnishings, wool carpet and marble flooring, all bathed in natural light.
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.
Facilities may also include spas, showers and an assortment of books and magazines.
Members may bring in two guests at a time.
Lounge attendants personally alert you when your flight is ready to board, and your personal preferences are logged for each flight.
Membership also entitles you to first-class facilities at Qantas partner airlines.
Source: Executive Traveller
Anthony Albanese -
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Briton Matthew Smith, the partner of former Abercrombie
& Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries, leaves court in Central Islip, New York on December
3, 2024
The partner of the ex-CEO of the Abercrombie and Fitch clothing line pleaded not guilty Tuesday in US federal court to charges of sex trafficking and
interstate prostitution and was released on $10
million bond.
Briton Matthew Smith, the ex-CEO Mike Jeffries and their
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groom aspiring male models to attend sex parties at which victims were plied
with alcohol and drugs.
After his arrest in October in Florida with Jeffries, Smith
was held in custody in New York. Smith appeared in court Tuesday in Central Islip on Long Island, to the east of New York City.
Smith pleaded not guilty and was released on a $10 million bond put up by
Jeffries and his family, said a statement from the US attorney's office for the
eastern district of New York.
An AFP photographer saw Smith leave the
courthouse with what appeared to be a large electronic surveillance bracelet attached to his ankle.
Le Britannique Matthew Smith, compagnon de l'ancien patron de l'enseigne américaine de mode Abercrombie & Fitch, Michael Jeffries,
sort du tribunal fédéral de l'est de l'Etat de New York, à Central Islip, le 3 décembre 2024, après avoir plaidé non coupable
de trafic sexuel et proxénétisme
Another hearing is scheduled for December 10 for Smith, Jeffries and Jacobson.
Jeffries, 80, was released on a $10 million bond in late October.
Jeffries, who served as CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch from 1992 to 2014, is accused
of creating and maintaining a ring that recruited young men to
have sex with him and Smith.
Prosecutors allege that between December 2008 and March 2015 Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson used a combination of "force, fraud and coercion" to traffic men in a sprawling prostitution enterprise.
Charging documents detail 15 anonymous victims, but prosecutors suggest the scale was probably much larger and
have appealed for witnesses and victims to come forward.
Prosecutors say young men were taken to the New York home of Jeffries and Smith and
to hotels in Britain, France, Italy, Morocco to have sex with them.
Jeffries faces the prospect of life in prison if convicted.
Jacobson also pleaded not guilty to the same charges as the other defendants and was released
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Do Greens and crossbenchers who claim that transparency and integrity is at the heart of their reason for entering Parliament in the first place hear themselves?
In the past few days they have mounted self-serving arguments against proposed electoral reforms that the major parties look set to come together to support.
The reforms include caps for how much money wealthy individuals can donate, caps on the
amount candidates can spend in individual electorates to prevent the
equivalent of an arms race, and a $90million limit on what any party can spend at an election - actually less than the major parties currently spend.
The proposed new laws also include lower disclosure thresholds for donations, thus increasing
the transparency of who makes political donations in the first place.
So the wealthy wont be able to hide behind
anonymity while using their cash to influence election outcomes - and the extent to which they
can use their wealth at all will be limited.
The bill will further improve transparency by also increasing the speed
and frequency that disclosures of donations need to be made.
At present we have the absurd situation in which donations get
made - but you only find out the details of who has given what to whom
many months later, well after elections are won and lost.
In other words, what is broadly being proposed will result in much greater transparency
and far less big money being injected into campaigning
by the wealthy.
Teal Kylea Tink claimed the major parties were 'running scared' with the
policy and warned the reform would 'not stop the rot'
Greens senate leader Larissa Waters (left) fired a warning shot - saying if
it serves only the major parties 'it's a rort, not reform'. Teal independent ACT senator David Pocock
(right) said: 'What seems to be happening is a major-party stitch-up'
Anyone donating more than $1,000 to a political party, as opposed to $16,000 under the current rules,
will need to disclose having done so. And how much they can donate will be
capped.
Yet the Greens and Teals have quickly condemned the proposed new laws,
labeling them a 'stitch-up', 'outrageous' and
'a rort, not a reform'.
They have lost their collective minds after finding out that Labor's proposal just might secure the support of the
opposition.
I had to double check who was criticising what exactly before even starting to
write this column.
Because I had assumed - incorrectly - that these important transparency measures
stamping out the influence of the wealthy must have been proposed by the
virtue-signalling Greens or the corruption-fighting Teals, in a united crossbench effort to
drag the major parties closer to accountability.
More fool me.
The bill, designed to clean up a rotten system, is being
put forward by Labor and is opposed by a growing cabal of crossbenchers.
It makes you wonder what they have to hide. Put simply, the Greens and Teals
doth protest too much on this issue.
Labor is thought to be trying to muscle out major political
donors such as Clive Palmer
Another potential target of the laws is businessman and Teal
funder Simon Holmes à Court
The Greens have taken massive donations in the past, contrary to their irregular calls to tighten donations rules
(Greens leader Adam Bandt and Senator Mehreen Faruqi are pictured)
The major parties have long complained about the influence the likes of Simon Holmes
à Court wields behind the scenes amongst the Teals.
And we know the Greens have taken massive donations from the wealthy in the past, contrary to their irregular calls to tighten donations rules.
Now that tangible change has been proposed, these bastions of virtue are running a mile from reforms
that will curtail dark art of political donations.
The Labor government isn't even seeking for these transparency rules to take effect immediately,
by the way. It won't be some sort of quick-paced power play before the next election designed to catch
the crossbench out.
They are aiming for implementation by 2026, giving everyone enough time to absorb and understand the changes before preparing for them.
Don't get me wrong, no deal has yet been done between Labor and the Coalition. I imagine the
opposition want to go over the laws with a fine tooth comb.
As they should - because it certainly isn't beyond Labor to
include hidden one-party advantages in the proposed design which would create loopholes only the unions are capable
of taking advantage of, therefore disadvantaging the Coalition electorally in the years
to come.
But short of such baked-in trickiness scuttling a deal to get these proposed laws implemented, the
crossbench should offer their support, not cynical opposition, to what is being advocated for.
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