At this point it might be more efficient to compile a list of those close to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who do not enjoy access to one of the most exclusive clubs in Australia: the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge.
The latest, and perhaps most intriguing, member of the club to cross our desk is none other than Albanese’s director of media, Fiona Sugden, who joined the prime minister in early 2024 after a stint working as Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s senior communications executive at Fortescue.
Word is that Sugden was given membership to the Chairman’s Lounge during her time at Fortescue, according to two sources briefed on the arrangement, but retained the perk after joining the Prime Minister’s Office.
Why the intrigue? Well, at least as far as we’re aware, Qantas has historically only offered the prime minister, his chief of staff and principal private secretary the exclusive perk as part of the complement of memberships awarded to the Prime Minister’s Office.
But our efforts to learn more about the arrangement turned up nothing. Qantas declined to comment on how often the membership is renewed and when it was last re-upped, and how many members of staff at the Prime Minister’s Office have Chairman’s Lounge memberships. Sugden also declined to comment, and the Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
If nothing else, Sugden’s Chairman’s Lounge membership offers us a sliver of insight into Albanese’s relatively relaxed attitude following the publication of Joe Aston’s book The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out.
The book contained revelations about the prime minister’s close ties to former Qantas chief Alan Joyce and reported Albanese received at least 22 free flight upgrades worth tens of thousands of dollars while transport minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments.
The book also said Albanese would liaise with Joyce directly about his personal travel. (In 2024, Albanese denied calling Joyce seeking an upgrade and maintained all 22 upgrades were within compliance rules.) It was most likely Albanese’s fellow Chairman’s Lounge member Sugden who was managing his response to the book, which included an attempt to discredit its author.
But Sugden isn’t the only one making the most of Qantas’ corporate hospitality. Albanese is surrounded by Chairman’s Lounge members. Among the senior members of the Labor party room to disclose the perk are Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Deputy PM Richard Marles, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Transport Minister Catherine King, who in 2023 were reportedly joined by Albanese’s son Nathan.
And it’s hard to blame Qantas for peddling its wares – the soft power tactic has been a raging success. Just ask the airline’s competitors.
Julia Gillard launches Lisa Wilkinson’s book
Lisa Wilkinson may have spent the past five or so years keeping a relatively low profile amid Bruce Lehrmann’s failed defamation bid against Network Ten, but on Tuesday evening, just days after the High Court shut the door on a last-ditch effort to challenge the Federal Court’s finding, Wilkinson was already onto other things.
The former Today show co-host drew a little under 300 guests for the launch of her new book, The Titanic Story of Evelyn, at the Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney on Tuesday night, with a headline appearance from former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard, in conversation with Wilkinson.
Among the names on the guest list were Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s wife Jodie Haydon, CBD hears, along with NSW opposition leader Kellie Sloane and Midnight Oil frontman and former environment minister Peter Garrett. Others on the list, we hear, were the ABC’s Laura Tingle, Wilkinson’s high-profile barrister Sue Chrysanthou, and Mamamia co-founder Mia Freedman.
Australian film director Bruce Beresford was also expected to show up in support, as were Future Fund chairman and former ACTU secretary Greg Combet, former journalist Juanita Phillips, Beresford’s fellow film director Gillian Armstrong, Warringah teal Zali Steggall, and Gretel Packer, among many others.
The Titanic Story of Evelyn hit shelves on April 14 and, according to its publisher Hachette, tells the “never-before-told true story” of a young nurse who was the only Australian survivor of the Titanic. Among other things, the book recalls how Evelyn trained in Adelaide as a nurse before travelling as a stewardess on ocean liners.
She learnt to row on the Murray River and preferred to row against the tide to get stronger. She would eventually use that strength to pull Lifeboat 16 away from the sinking ship.
According to Hachette: “Evelyn calmly helped distressed passengers until she was finally ordered into a lifeboat, where she took the oars and helped row against the pull of the sinking ship. While saving herself and others, she was also desperately hoping she would find a way back to her beloved William.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.