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.
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.
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.
‘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.
‘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
This post was originally published on here
