The moment Anthony Albanese and his fiancée Jodie Haydon walked the red carpet with former Qantas boss Alan Joyce does not appear in the newly released details of the Prime Minister’s official diary for 2023.
The prime minister’s series of frequent meetings with big business executives, sports bosses and some of his most outspoken political opponents have been included in the diary.
But the notable exception is the PM appearance that Albanese and his fiancée, Jodie Haydon, made alongside Joyce at a Qantas event in March 2023.
At the time, the Prime Minister shared photos of him and Haydon alongside the then Qantas chief executive celebrating the national airline’s centenary.
But there is no trace of that in the details of the newly published diary, which the Prime Minister’s staff can redact if certain meetings or travel schedules could pose a security threat.
An appearance that Albanese and his fiancée, Jodie Haydon, made at a Qantas event in March 2023 is notably absent from the diary.
Qantas dressed several planes in Yes23 products and publicly supported Voice
At the time, the Prime Minister was desperately trying to present his Indigenous Voice referendum to Parliament to the Australian public.
“It’s wonderful to hear the news that Qantas supports the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our constitution,” he said after the event.
“For another 100 years.”
In turn, Qantas adorned several planes with Yes23 merchandise and publicly supported Voice.
Joyce would face intense criticism for his handling of several crises in Qantas’ top job. He resigned two months before his scheduled September 2023 retirement amid all the backlash.
The Prime Minister caught up with the referendum task force and key figures spread across the agenda, but the highlight is his numerous meetings with resource sector chief executives.
It was quietly handed over to former independent senator Rex Patrick under Freedom of Information laws, offering an insight into the daily requirements of governing the country.
Albanese spoke to BHP boss Mike Henry for 15 minutes in February 2023, as well as Jakob Stausholm of BHP rival Rio Tinto in May.
Albanese’s diary from 2023 was quietly handed over to former independent senator Rex Patrick under freedom of information laws, offering an insight into the daily requirements of governing the country.
Meg O’Neill, chief executive of oil and gas giant Woodside, scored a 30-minute slot with the prime minister in February during a visit to Perth.
Beyond Australia, Albanese met with German energy company RWE CEO Markus Krebber as well as BlackRock Inc CEO Larry Fink.
Outside the resources sector, the Prime Minister has spent a lot of time with sporting bosses.
Gillon McLachlan of the AFL, Peter Vlandys of the NRL, Nick Hockley of Cricket Australia and Craig Tiley of Tennis Australia met with Albanese throughout 2023, as did FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Greens leader Adam Bandt has formally met the prime minister seven times, the same number of times as opposition leader Peter Dutton.
Despite their repeated (and often heated) political fights on camera and in the media, both Dutton and Albanese have indicated that they have a decent relationship behind closed doors.
Despite their repeated (and often heated) political fights on camera and in the media, both Dutton and Albanese have indicated that they have a decent relationship behind closed doors.
Just weeks after winning the election, Albanese said: ‘Peter Dutton, I have to say I have a much better relationship with Peter Dutton than I do with Scott Morrison.
“Peter Dutton has never broken the trust I have had with him.”
It comes after Patrick successfully fought for part of Albanese’s 2022 diary to be published under the same laws, despite opposition from the Prime Minister and his office.
Some 734 meetings and appointments from that period were redacted by government officials and therefore not available to the public, but Daily Mail Australia analyzed the remaining content of the diary on that occasion.
NRL president Peter V’Landys meets PM in 2023
Australia’s tennis boss Craig Tiley also met the prime minister.
Dutton was one of the only figures to have repeated face-to-face meetings with Albanese during that period.
The timeline offers a glimpse into the daily life of a PM. During that period, Albanese regularly worked seven days a week, meeting a wide range of parliamentary colleagues and meeting business sector heavyweights.
But any potentially juicy meetings or dates Albanese attended during that period were not made available to the public because they were considered to be confidential information under article 37 of the Freedom of Information Act.
That section states that revealing such details could “endanger the life or physical safety of any person” or “reveal, or enable a person to determine, the existence or identity of a confidential source of information.”
During Albanese’s first 100 days, the Prime Minister hosted repeated meetings with his inner circle of senior ministers, namely Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.
Both ministers, described by an unnamed Labor insider in a Nine newspaper report this week, are figures so close to Mr Albanese that they resemble “deputy prime ministers”.
Then there’s Mr. Dutton.
The duo first had a brief 15-minute meeting on July 26, according to the newspaper. This was followed by 30 minutes on September 5, again on September 12 and again on October 27, joined on that occasion by Indigenous Australia Minister Linda Burney.
This could well be related to Albanese’s initiative to have an Indigenous voice in Parliament, which failed after Dutton refused to provide bipartisan support for the measure.
A spokesman said: ‘The Government is working constructively across Parliament.
“The Prime Minister regularly meets or holds talks with the leader of the opposition.”
While appearances with the referendum task force and key figures are scattered throughout the agenda, the highlight is his meetings with resource sector CEOs.
The Prime Minister only had one official meeting with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce between May and December 2022, scheduled in his diary.
This meeting took place just a month after Qatar Airways made the now infamous pitch about having more flight routes to Australia.
The pair met from 11am to 11.30am on Wednesday 23 November, in the middle of a busy day for the Prime Minister in which he had breakfast with the Governor-General, followed by five morning meetings with people whose names were redacted. from his diary.
Transport Minister Catherine King received a departmental report the following January, but did not formally block the application until July.
Towards the end of 2023, when the decision became public, King faced intense scrutiny over the decision, and both she and Albanese were questioned about whether Qantas had any influence over the decision.
Amid that scandal and several other public relations crises at Qantas, Joyce resigned from his position.
