He’s Called ‘Airbus Albo’ for Good Reason

They don’t call him “Airbus Albo” for nothing. Anthony Albanese’s literal first act as prime minister was to rush off to get sworn in before boarding closed for his first overseas flight as PM.

The first of many, many, many more. In his first few months in office, Albanese spent more time out of the country than in it. By the middle of 2023, he had spent a third of this time in office overseas.

He was only getting started.

Anthony Albanese spent nearly $4m on VIP flights in just over a year, even before his mammoth travel blitz this year when he visited China, the Cook Islands and the US twice within a month.

The new data released by the Department of Defence on Wednesday showed the Prime Minister spent more than his Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, who came under pressure earlier this year over the number and cost of VIP flights he had taken.

The Australian

On the other hand, his foreign minister – the minister with, one would think, the most reason to incessantly travel – has barely bothered to even get off the couch and take out the bins at her Adelaide home.

Maybe it’s just because Albo is determined to hog all the Frequent Flyer goodies while he can.

Anthony Albanese has to be “a lot more considerate” when it comes to his travel spend, NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said.

“Some of us have quite vast electorates so it’s going to be larger than others but certainly I think the Prime Minister has to be a hell of a lot more considerate when it comes to his VIP jet bill,” Senator Price said on 9 News.

“We have a responsibility to the taxpayer, to ourselves, to make sure we’re spending appropriately those dollars because every single dollar counts.”

The Australian

As far as Albanese’s concerned, though, it’s like the old Depeche Mode song: “everything counts in large amounts”.

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority also published new figures on Wednesday for the first time since the last federal election covering MPs’ expenses between July and September 2022.

It showed Mr Albanese spent more than any other MP in the third quarter of last year on parliamentary expenses, racking up a bill of almost $700,000 after taking on the country’s top job.

Naturally, the whole cabal of troughers in Canberra are furious that the hoi polloi might get an insight into just the sort of taxpayer-funded largesse the political class are rolling in.

Greens justice spokesman David Shoebridge said Labor was not acting in the public interest, warning bland expenditure totals stripped of details did little to inform Australians or do justice to the great majority of public officials who use public funds carefully and respectfully.

Nobody squeals quite so loudly as a fattened pig whose afraid of having their snout dragged out of the trough.

[Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek] spent nearly $162,000 on her office in just three months making her the top spender on office facilities across all parliamentarians. This was followed by Ms Ley (over $160,000) and independent MP Kylea Tink ($158,000) […]

Of all the teal Independents, North Sydney MP Kylea Tink spent the most, with her expenditure coming up to more than $185,200, followed by Zali Steggall who recorded $129,000.

The Australian

And what, exactly, have these wealthy Teal puppets achieved to merit such largesse?

Let alone what “Airbus Albo” has actually done, besides drag Australia’s good name through the mud of antisemitism.