عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Australian Prime Minister Defends Himself from an Accusation That He Asked for Free Flight Upgrades

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks as QANTAS unveil their Yes23 livery being carried on some of their aircraft at Sydney Domestic Airport in Sydney, on Aug. 14, 2023. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image via AP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks as QANTAS unveil their Yes23 livery being carried on some of their aircraft at Sydney Domestic Airport in Sydney, on Aug. 14, 2023. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image via AP)
TT
TT

Australian Prime Minister Defends Himself from an Accusation That He Asked for Free Flight Upgrades

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks as QANTAS unveil their Yes23 livery being carried on some of their aircraft at Sydney Domestic Airport in Sydney, on Aug. 14, 2023. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image via AP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks as QANTAS unveil their Yes23 livery being carried on some of their aircraft at Sydney Domestic Airport in Sydney, on Aug. 14, 2023. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image via AP)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said he had always “acted in a transparent and appropriate way” after a new book claimed that he had repeatedly requested free upgrades for personal flights on Qantas Airways.

Albanese, who was transport minister in a previous government, was accused in a book released Monday of developing an inappropriately close relationship with Alan Joyce, who was Qantas chief executive for 15 years until 2023.

Qantas is Australia's largest airline and was state-owned until the 1990s. The Sydney-based airline is the country's flag carrier and must by law remain at least 51% Australian owned.

“According to Qantas insiders, Albanese would liaise with Joyce directly about his personal travel,” a published extract of the book said. The insiders were not named.

Albanese said he had declared 22 free Qantas upgrades in a register of gifts to lawmakers valued at more than 300 Australian dollars ($197). He noted opposition lawmaker Paul Fletcher had declared 69.

“I’ve declared everything in accordance with all of the rules,” Albanese told reporters.

“I have, at all times — at all times — acted in a transparent and appropriate way,” he added.

Albanese said on Tuesday he only recalled two conversations with Joyce about flights. Those flights did not involve personal travel.

“There’s no accusation being made with any specifics at all about any of this. None. None,” Albanese said.

Albanese noted the book's author, Joe Aston, was a former opposition party staffer and former Qantas employee. The book is titled “The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out.”

Joyce could not be immediately contacted for comment. Qantas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Australian newspaper reported Albanese might have been in breach of the then-government’s code of ministerial conduct when he was transport minister from 2007 until 2013.

The code explicitly banned ministers from seeking or encouraging any form of gift in their personal capacity.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton on Monday described the accusation that Albanese contacted Joyce to solicit free upgrades as “a bit strange.”

“I’m not aware of anyone else having done it,” Dutton told reporters.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Snow Forecast Next Week on Mt Fuji, at Last

A sign with a photo of Mount Fuji covered in snow is seen at a view point as Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 metres, looms in the background in Gotemba, Shizuoka prefecture on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)
A sign with a photo of Mount Fuji covered in snow is seen at a view point as Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 metres, looms in the background in Gotemba, Shizuoka prefecture on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)
TT
TT

Snow Forecast Next Week on Mt Fuji, at Last

A sign with a photo of Mount Fuji covered in snow is seen at a view point as Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 metres, looms in the background in Gotemba, Shizuoka prefecture on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)
A sign with a photo of Mount Fuji covered in snow is seen at a view point as Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 metres, looms in the background in Gotemba, Shizuoka prefecture on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)

Japan's Mount Fuji, snowless for the longest since records began 130 years ago, is expected to finally get its famous white cap back next week, a local forecaster said on Thursday.

Snow on average begins forming on Japan's highest mountain on October 2 and the latest it had been detected before this year was in 1955 and 2016, when it fell on October 26.

"Rain is likely to fall temporarily near Mount Fuji on November 6," forecasting website tenki.jp, run by the Japan Weather Association, said on Thursday.

"Cold air will move in and change from rain to snow near the summit," it said. "The weather will gradually clear up, and the first snow on the mountain may be observed on the morning of the 7th."

Another company Weather News also said Wednesday that "the first snowfall is likely to be pushed back to November".

At Lake Kawaguchi, a favorite viewing spot for the volcano, French visitor Hugo Koide told AFP it was "quite shocking to see at this time of year there's no snow."

The 25-year-old, who used to visit the area in autumn in his childhood, said he remembered how Fuji "was always covered by snow."

"I'm rocking up in T-shirt and shorts. It kind of doesn't feel the same," said Australian traveler Jason Le.

"I think that across the globe it is kind of affecting everybody. We're from Australia and what you are seeing is it is getting hotter in the summer months and it's getting colder earlier," he told AFP.

Last year snow was first detected on Fuji on October 5.

Yutaka Katsuta, a forecaster in the town of Kofu's meteorological office, told AFP on Monday climate change may play a role in delaying snowfall, with this year being the latest since comparative data became available in 1894.

"Temperatures were high this summer, and these high temperatures continued into September, deterring cold air (bringing snow)," Katsuta told AFP.

Japan's summer this year was the joint hottest on record -- equaling the level seen in 2023 -- as extreme heatwaves fueled by climate change engulfed many parts of the globe.

Warm weather has been affecting other snowy regions across the globe, with many ski resorts increasingly being forced to confront the realities of a warming climate.

In Japan the city of Sapporo in the normally chilly northern island of Hokkaido, has begun discussing scaling down its famous snow festival due to a shortage.