Inside the exclusive Qantas hideaway for the nation's movers and shakers, where secret deals can be done - and which could now bring down Anthony Albanese
- Qantas Chairman's Lounge is at centre of political furore
- Membership of elite club includes the PM and cabinet
- Public servants, TV stars and actors are among the 6000
The existence of an exclusive hideaway for the country's movers and shakers where secret deals were done in private luxury first exploded into the public eye back in 2007.
Back then, the fact that Qantas spent hundreds of thousands of dollars wining and dining the nation's political elite in ultra-exclusive VIP lounges was relatively unknown.
It was a time before Alan Joyce's tenure as the CEO of Qantas had even started, when he was boss of the comparatively lowly budget airline, Jetstar.
And unlike Anthony Albanese's current slide in the polls leading up to an election in next year, the prospects back in 2007 were rosy for Labor.
The election that was looming was the 'Kevin 07' landslide that would see Kevin Rudd become prime minister and John Howard lose his own seat.
The issue which blew open the 'guilty secret' of the Chairman's Lounge then wasn't about a prime minister's privileges, although John Howard and Kevin Rudd were certainly both members during their terms as PM.
But when broadcaster Steve Price - himself a long time Chairman's Lounge member - revealed a politically charged remark made within the club's hallowed walls, the cat was out of the bag.
The political revelation - a comment by ex-rock star turned senator Peter Garrett that Labor would change the policies it campaigned on if it won government - did not deter his party from romping in on election day.
The exclusive Qantas Chairman's Lounge (above) has been a well-kept secret for years, but it exploded into the public conscience in 2007 as the result of a political furore
Broadcaster Steve Price revealed he had been a Chairman's Lounge member since 2002 during a row before the 2007 election won by Kevin Rudd which let the cat out of the bag about the VIP club
The existence of the lounge was so little known back in 2007 that in defending his disclosure of Garrett's remark, Steve Price had to explain what the private enclave actually was.
In a first person piece he wrote: 'The Chairman's Lounge is a separate frequent flyers lounge away from the crowded normal Qantas Club.
'As its name implies, the people given access to it are approved by the Qantas chairman, Margaret Jackson.
'I have been a Chairman's Lounge member since 2002.'
In his opinion piece, Price also revealed TV entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins was also a member of lounge.
Wilkins had also been inside at the time and was his only witness to the remark Price said Garrett had made.
Other prominent media figures, such as 60 Minutes reporters, actors and performers, and well-known writers and sports people are said to be among the lounge's exclusive membership of around 6000.
Price went on to defend himself for reporting what some claimed was a confidential conversation in a private place, but which exposed him to criticism over his own membership for allegedly promoting Qantas on his radio show.
Back in 2007, Alan Joyce (left) was boss of the comparatively lowly budget airline Jetstar, and then Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon (right) had the power over who made the cut to the Chairman's Lounge
One observer has described the relationship bet6ween leading politicians such as PM Anthony Albanese and the former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (above) as 'alarmingly cosy'
'Why on earth is Qantas giving a controversial shock jock membership of its Chairman’s Lounge, which is supposedly to enable our elite politicians and business leaders some privacy from the hoi polloi?' demanded Crikey reporter Stephen Mayne at the time.
'The Chairman’s Lounge is meant to be all about discretion and confidentiality,' he said, accusing Price of breaking 'a confidence'.
The following year, before he was succeeded as Qantas CEO by Alan Joyce, Geoff Dixon was the sole gatekeeper of entry into the club's hushed confines.
Qantas Chairman's Lounge membership was 'so exclusive that you have to be personally invited by the airline's chieftain', Nine newspapers reported in 2008.
'A marvellous benefit of lounge membership is that the mega rich and powerful avoid having to mingle with the riffraff who will be travelling cattle class.
'Having said that, members of the ultra-exclusive club have included Pauline Hanson.
'Another lounge member is Brad Cooper, who is currently enjoying a prolonged exposure to cattle-class in Kirkconnell Correctional Centre.' (Cooper was the former HIH insurance executive jailed for eight years on fraud and bribery offences).
Membership of the elite lounge is confined to about 6000 Australians including politicians from both sides, senior public servants, TV stars and actors
The 'scandal' currently engulfing Anthony Albanese about his Chairman's Lounge membership and that of his ex-wife Carmel Tebbutt, and their son Nathan could bring down the prime minister (above the PM with partner Jodie Haydon and ex-Qantas CEO Alan Joyce)
The report noted that politicians declaring membership of the lounge 'which most of their spouses got too' in their pecuniary interests that year included Liberal MPs of the day, Philip Ruddock, Bob Baldwin and Andrew Southcott.
Labor MPs with lounge privileges included Tanya Plibersek, Bob McMullan, and Sharon Grierson, and Martin Ferguson declared a bottle of Grange hermitage as a gift from Qantas, as did Liberal, Christopher Pyne.
Asked if all MPs got the captain's pick from Geoff Dixon, the airline's spokesperson told Nine: 'We like to retain a bit of mystery. Membership is by invitation only and it is reviewed periodically.'
Qantas and the Albanese government recently denied the 'very, very high-end perk' gives the airline a disproportionate level of influence over the country's politicians.
A Daily Mail Australia audit of the members' interest registers - in both Federal Parliament's House of Representatives and the Senate - revealed almost 93 per cent of the nation's leaders have been 'gifted' membership to the lavish, all-inclusive lounge.
At a press conference this week, he repeated that all of his upgrades 'have been declared as appropriate. What's appropriate is transparency.'
Apart from the PM, members include every one of his 22-person Cabinet, his seven-person Outer Ministry and all 12 assistant ministers.
PM Anthony Albanese and every member of his 22-person Cabinet, his seven-person Outer Ministry and all 12 assistant ministers are members of the exclusive Chairman's Lounge
Entry to the country's six opulent VIP clubs are suitably discreet, but once inside, the designer lounges offer free à la carte fine dining, table service and a discreet army of dedicated lounge attendants
On the Coalition side of parliament, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, deputy leader David Littleproud and former deputy Barnaby Joyce are also among the swathes of politicians who have disclosed they have taken up free membership to the contentious club.
Bill Shorten is a member, Tanya Plibersek is still a member and so is Teal MP, Zali Steggall.
Last year it was reported that Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb and Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Joe Longo and some of their deputies are members of the Chairman’s Lounge despite regulating the airline.
Senior public servants in the club included Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Glyn Davis, deputy secretaries Nadine Williams, Liz Hefren-Webb, Rachel Bacon and ambassador to Beijing, Scott Dewar.
Other Qantas freebies bestowed on members include numerous business class flight upgrades, model Qantas aircrafts, frequent flyer points, and tickets to sporting and entertainment events.
Touted as 'the most exclusive club in the country', membership to the Chairman's Lounge is still veiled in secrecy.
The new book The Chairman's Lounge by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston (above) has stirred up the controversy
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb and Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Joe Longo are members despite regulating the airline
Even the entrances to each of the country's six opulent VIP clubs - in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth airports - are suitably discreet.
Once inside, however, the designer lounges are noticeably luxurious, with free à la carte fine dining, table service, a decadent selection of wines and Champagne and a discreet army of dedicated lounge attendants.
Virgin Airlines has its own version of the VIP enclave, the 'Beyond' lounge.
Only a handful of federal politicians have relinquished their membership to the Qantas Chairman's Lounge in the wake of the furore.
The select few to take a principled stand on the issue include South Australian senator Barbara Pocock and former Wallabies star turned ACT senator David Pocock, along with MPs Stephen Bates, Queensland Green Elizabeth Watson-Brown, and Monique Ryan, a Teal from Victoria.
Geoffrey Watson SC, a former counsel assisting the Independent Commission Against Corruption and a director of the Centre for Public Integrity, has implored all politicians and policymakers to follow suit.
'There are certain positions in life where you cannot take Chairman's Club membership,' he said.
'You're taking public money for the job and you are supposed to represent the public. Why not sit with them while you're waiting for a plane?'
