Albo’s Qantas upgrades test the spirit of Australians in Knight toon

We all love a freebie*. We all deserve a freebie now and then. A small consolation* and recognition for all the hard work and effort that we put in throughout the year.

We have learned this week that our Prime Minister Anthony Albanese loves a freebie too. Especially when it comes to receiving tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of free Qantas flight upgrades while he was Minister and Shadow Minister for Transport.

Politicians have to declare* any free gifts they receive on a parliamentary register of interests to avoid any possibility of corruption* when making decisions regarding those handing out the gifts. It’s called integrity*, a depleted resource in this day and age. Albo declared all his upgrades and his membership of the exclusive Qantas Chairman’s Lounge, which made it all above board and legal. But for a lot of Australians, it didn’t pass that most important of all tests: the pub test*.

Politicians get a lot of perks* during their term in office, and maybe Albo was a bit naive* in thinking that it was okay to accept free flight upgrades from an organisation that, as Transport Minister, he was responsible for making policy decisions about.

Former Qantas CEO, the diminutive* Irishman Alan Joyce, had made the news for his controversial management of the airline, and linking him to the story only made it murkier.

So this link called for a cartoon for the next day’s Herald Sun.

Labor prime ministers and the party they lead were once upon a time the party of the workers. The Labor Party emerged from the union movement and the working class. Our Prime Minister tells a familiar story of how his single mum brought up a young Albo in government housing. Struggle Street. That’s street cred in Labor circles.

But when we heard about his free flights, which came on top of his purchase of a $4.3 million clifftop coastal property during a national housing crisis, we began to see that “street cred” start to slip. His judgement was being questioned. So I thought I would set the scene for my cartoon in that rarefied* location, the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge.

The lounges are architecturally designed, sumptuously appointed, exclusive areas that not many Australians get to experience. Politicians are welcome, however, and it is a well known schmooze-fest* where they are wined and dined on free food and alcohol.

I sketched Albo sitting there in the lounge being served by the former Qantas boss Alan Joyce, who is a delight to caricature*, by the way. In the cartoon, I thought it would be a lovely bit of contradiction to have the PM trot out his family history of growing up in hardship.

And of course, what is his host Mr Joyce going to say to cosy up to the Labor leader as he pours Albo a glass of French 1965 Grand Cru*? He will compliment him on being “a man of the people”. No less.

The cartoon seeks to show that even though the PM has enjoyed many “upgrades” in his Qantas travels, he may in fact receive a “downgrade” from the Australian public.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• freebie: something given without charge, like a movie ticket or a free drink
• consolation: something that makes someone who is sad, frustrated or disappointed feel better
• declare: publicly announce or make something known clearly and openly
• corruption: dishonest or illegal behaviour by powerful people
• integrity: quality of being honest and having strong moral principles
• pub test: the measure of public opinion, what ordinary people think of an issue
• perks: benefits, advantages, something extra or special that’s not available to everyone
• naive: being without experience, knowledge or ability to judge a situation wisely
• diminutive: small in stature
• rarefied: extremely high in status as well as exclusive
• schmooze-fest: talking to a lot of people to self-promote or to gain some advantage
• Grand Cru: vintage French champagne

EXTRA READING

Spirit of Australia takes a nosedive

No Christmas cheer for taxpayers

Pocket money on the chopping block

QUICK QUIZ

1. The PM declared his membership at which exclusive club?
2. How much did Mr Albanese pay for his new home?
3. The Labor Party grew out of which workers’ movement?
4. Why does Mark Knight say that linking former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce to the story made it even murkier?
5. What is the familiar story Mr Albanese tells about his upbringing?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Values, identities and actions
Study today’s Mark Knight cartoon and answer the following questions about the work:

What values does this cartoon invite us to think about?

Who is this cartoon speaking about? And who is this work trying to speak to?

What actions might the viewpoint in the cartoon encourage?

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
How can cartoonists like Mark Knight encourage or change people’s opinions on a controversial subject or topic?

Do you think his work needs approval before going to print? Explain your answer.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Describe it
Look at the cartoon and make a list of five nouns that you see. Then describe those five nouns with five adjectives. Now add a preposition to those five nouns and adjectives.

Finally, choose your favourite bundle and put all the words together to make one descriptive sentence.

(For lower reading level articles, remove “add a preposition”)