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Miércoles, 04 Diciembre 2024 07:10
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
Miércoles, 04 Diciembre 2024 06:50
An invitation to lunch at Caviar Kaspia was, once upon a time, an offer you simply didn't refuse.
Providing, of course, that the bill was on someone
else. Because caviar, smeared on blinis or piled high on baked potatoes, sure didn't come cheap.
There may have been other things on the menu, but no one paid them much
heed. This was all about lashings of the black stuff.
Caviar Kaspia's signature baked potato and caviar:
‘there are few better dishes on earth…only the price, at just under
£150, is ridiculous'
Caviar Kaspia popped her final tin about
two decades back. And that site, hidden down a smart Mayfair mews, was taken over by
Gavin Rankin (who used to be the boss), and transformed into the brilliant Bellamy's.
It prospers to this day. Kaspia, on the other hand, went quiet.
Until last year, when she reopened as a members' club in another Mayfair backstreet.
But a £2,000 a year membership fee proved
hard to swallow, meaning the doors were
opened to the great unwashed.
Which is how we find ourselves sitting in a rather handsome - albeit near empty -
dining room, lusciously lavish, under the stern gaze of a stern painting of a very stern man. The soft,
crepuscular gloom is broken up by the glare of table lamps, indecorously
bright, while a loud soundtrack of indolent,
indeterminate beats throbs in the background. The whole place is scented with gilded ennui.
Our fellow diners are two young South Korean women of pale, luminescent beauty, clad in diaphanous
couture. They don't speak, rather communicate entirely via camera phone.
Pose, click, check, filter, post. Immaculate waiters hover in the shadows.
We sip ice-cold vodka, and eat a £77 caviar and smoked-salmon Kaspia croque monsieur that tastes far better than it ought to.
Next door, a large table fills with a glut of the
noisily, glossily confident.
We're looked after by a wonderful French lady of such effervescent
charm and charisma that had she burst into an impromptu performance of ‘Willkommen', we would have barely blinked.
Baked potatoes, skin as crisp as parchment, insides
whipped savagely hard with butter and sour cream, are a study in tuber art.
A cool jet-black splodge of oscietra caviar, gently
saline, raises them to the sublime. Only the price, at just under £150
each, is ridiculous. But there are few better dishes on earth.
I'd eat this every day if I could. But I can't. Obviously.
That's the problem with caviar. One taste is never enough.
About £200 per head. Caviar Kaspia, 1a Chesterfield Street,
London W1; caviarkaspialondon.com
★★★★✩
My favourite luxury dishes
Tom's pick of the best places to splash the culinary
cash in LondonTom's pick of the best places to splash the culinary cash in London
The Ritz
Beef wellington sliced and sauced at the table (£150) and crêpes suzette flambéed with
aplomb (£62): Arts de la Table is edible theatre at its most delectable.
theritzlondon.com
Otto's
Come to this classic French restaurant for the canard or homard à la presse
(£150-£220 per person); stay for beef tartare (£42), foie gras (£22)
and poulet de bresse rôti (£190, two courses).
ottos-restaurant.com
Sushi Kanesaka
Piscine perfection comes at an eye-watering £420 per person, sans booze.
But this 13-seat sushi bar shows omakase dining at its
very finest.
dorchestercollection.com
Min Jiang
The dim sum is some of the best in town. But don't miss the
wood-fired Beijing duck (£98) - crisp skin first, then two servings of the meat.
Superb.
minjiang.co.uk
Miércoles, 04 Diciembre 2024 06:43
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Miércoles, 04 Diciembre 2024 06:40
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Miércoles, 04 Diciembre 2024 06:28
Hi there, just wanted to tell you, I enjoyed this
blog post. It was inspiring. Keep on posting!
Miércoles, 04 Diciembre 2024 06:16
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Miércoles, 04 Diciembre 2024 06:13
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Miércoles, 04 Diciembre 2024 05:57
Alsace wine or Alsatian wine. It is a French wine produced
in the Alsace region.
Miércoles, 04 Diciembre 2024 05:55
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