The Qantas upgrades saga is a tale about personal integrity and trust – for the opposition leader as much as the prime minister.
Nothing can offend an Australian voter quite like a politician who claims to stand up for battlers while enjoying special favours from a wealthy elite. So there should be no surprise that Anthony Albanese is exposed to lasting damage from days of questions about his Qantas flight upgrades and his contact with the airline’s former boss, Alan Joyce.
But the superficial politics are only part of this story. Yes, there is a perception problem. What matters is the deeper question about personal integrity. Did Albanese trade his integrity for a comfortable seat at the front of the plane? Should voters worry that the prime minister is corrupt?Dutton has set this as the test. He said on Tuesday that Albanese should refer himself to the National Anti-Corruption Commission over the upgrades. That is the momentjumped the shark.
Abbott is a man of principle and conviction. The idea he would do a deal for an upgrade is laughable: when Qantas wanted a debt guarantee in 2014, Abbott turned it down. But the upgrades were and are commonplace. On flights, Albanese is being held to a standard never applied to Abbott, the last prime minister to take power from opposition.,” he says. He is revealing the cosy club of politicians who enjoy the Chairman’s Lounge. Almost every federal politician is in this club.
Albanese is also defending the “same job same pay” legislation that requires Qantas to treat workers as employees rather than contractors. This costs the airline money, so it wants it repealed. Dutton says he will repeal it. This is the most glaring evidence that Albanese has not traded his integrity for a cushy seat at the front of the plane.
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