Albo, or is that Klepto, is not amused:
The cracks in Anthony Albanese’s glass jaw are splintering as he desperately looks for scapegoats and blames others for his own actions in defending accusations over Qantas upgrades and VIP treatment.
Albanese was visibly rattled in a train wreck press conference on Tuesday where he rambled and sought to muddy the waters.
The Prime Minister’s word salad performance was an exercise is trying to discredit a journalist, make it seem like every other politician accepts the same freebies and attack Peter Dutton.
More:
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has attacked author Joe Aston, accusing him of failing to declare he previously worked for Qantas and the Liberal Party, and of “trying to sell a book”.
Joe Aston is having none of it:
It is disclosed on the first line of the first page of the book, and has never been a secret. This is beyond desperate from the PM. pic.twitter.com/nDeisDIym3
— Joe Aston (@mrjoeaston) October 29, 2024
And:
Addressing the 22 Qantas flight upgrades in question, which don’t cover all upgrades Albanese has received since entering parliament in 1996, the Prime Minister didn’t rule-out that for some he had personally discussed them with Joyce but pressed critics to present “specifics”.
“Qantas have a number in terms of bookings that are private bookings, and in terms of the only discussions that I can recall with Alan Joyce, certainly we discussed, not through calls, we discussed the first flight from Australia to Dubai on an A380,” he said.
After accusing the media of taking freebies, Albanese pivoted to a political spray on Dutton, Bridget McKenzie and Paul Fletcher for accepting upgrades and having “access to a private jet on call”.
…“I don’t have a family trust, I don’t have any shares, I’ve never had any shares in any company, I have always acted in an open and transparent way and it’s up to others to say why it is that they have trusts, why it is that we don’t know what they own, what they invest in, what income they have, all hidden away, I have not done that.”
“And in my time in public life, I have acted with integrity.”
Come now, Albo. What of your $4.3m Avoca lovenest with a publicly funded $100 million upgrade to the approach road?
Or these:
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing calls to launch a formal probe into flight upgrades he received as transport minister, as he lashed out at author Joe Aston, accusing him of failing to disclose his previous roles working for Liberal MPs, Qantas and his attendance at a Liberal fundraiser.
Mr Albanese on Tuesday sidestepped questions about claims in Aston’s book, The Chairman’s Lounge, that he would liaise with former Qantas boss Alan Joyce about his travel and received guaranteed flight upgrades.
He also did not address revelations he failed to disclose thousands of dollars in flight upgrades gifted to his former wife, NSW politician Carmel Tebbutt, by Qantas and its partner airline, Emirates. The official rules state upgrades for spouses and dependent children should be notified.
Independent senator David Pocock said a probe under the ministerial code of conduct was “worth doing”, adding there should also be a broader review of the code to make sure it remained fit for purpose. Teal independent MP Allegra Spender backed the call for a broader review.
Hardly setting a stellar example.
The rub:
It’s unfathomable he doesn’t think doing so was wrong on any level. Even though he was the transport minister responsible for the aviation sector when he did it.
And what Albo did was more than likely a breach of the ministerial code of conduct at the time too.
Kevin Rudd set the code up for his ministers in December 2007. It stated that: ‘Ministers are required to exercise the functions of their public office unaffected by considerations of personal advantage.’
How does that square with Albo’s constant requests for flight upgrades while transport minister?
And all of this while protecting Qantas from competition and ensuring all Australians other than himself got downgraded.
