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Annastacia Palaszczuk boards the billionaire’s jet to open an art gallery and drink champagne as deadly floods hit Queensland
- Annastacia Palaszczuk visited the opening of the art museum
- Premier left south east Queensland during heavy flooding
- Caught a private flight owned by a tech millionaire
Annastacia Palaszczuk took a private flight to visit a museum opening at the same time deadly floods hit Queensland last year.
The prime minister sipped his champagne and mingled with guests at the opening of the $36.5 million Rockhampton Museum of Art on February 25.
He made the trip as the south-eastern part of his state and northern New South Wales were experiencing one of the worst floods on record that would kill 22 people.
At least one resident was found dead after their car was swept away by floodwaters, while 10 were missing in Queensland when Ms Palaszczuk made the trip.
A ministerial interest record has since surfaced showing the prime minister traveled to Rockhampton on a private flight owned by millionaire Bevan Slattery.
Liberal MP Jarrod Bleijie said Ms Palaszczuk had “lost her bearings” and was “disregarding the issues that matter most to Queenslanders”.
The prime minister sipped his champagne and mingled with guests at the opening of the $36.5 million Rockhampton Museum of Art on February 25.
Annastacia Palaszczuk took a private flight to visit a museum opening at the same time deadly floods hit Queensland last year.
He made the trip as the south-eastern part of his state and northern New South Wales were experiencing one of the worst floods on record that would kill 22 people.
“Everyone was talking about the coming deluge,” he said Friday.
“And the prime minister then chose, accepted a gift from a millionaire to get on his private jet, drink champagne and fly to an art gallery.”
Slattery is a technology entrepreneur responsible for founding the iSeek cloud data center, the fiber optic company Pipe Networks, and the broadband company Superloop.
His net worth is estimated at $557 million and he is considered one of the richest people in Queensland.
Ms. Palaszczuk was photographed hobnobbing with high-profile guests, including Rod Pilbeam, grandson of RMOA founder and former Mayor Rex.
His partner, Dr. Reza Adib, was also in attendance and was photographed posing for photos alongside the Prime Minister.
Ms Palaszczuk was labeled a ‘part-time prime minister’ in June last year for her habit of attending glamorous events.
The couple went to the Logies Awards in the Gold Coast and attended the premiere of the Baz Luhrmann biopic ‘Elvis’.
In August, he canceled a cabinet meeting to spend time on a yacht at Hamilton Island Racing Week.
Ms Palaszczuk had told parliament in the run up to her trip to Rockhampton that “severe weather continues to pose a serious threat to our state.”
A ministerial interest record has since surfaced showing the prime minister traveled to Rockhampton on a private flight owned by millionaire Bevan Slattery.
Mr. Slattery is a technology entrepreneur responsible for founding cloud data center iSeek, fiber optic company Pipe Networks, and broadband company Superloop.
The body of a woman was also found after her car was swept away by floodwaters in Belli Park as emergency services searched for 10 missing residents.
This is indeed a tragedy. Please, I cannot stress this enough, don’t take any chances,’ Ms. Palaszczuk.
“This has the potential to be a major rain event for South East Queensland. In South East Queensland, some areas will also see a month of rain.
A spokesperson for her office told Daily Mail Australia that the prime minister still went on her trip despite the wild weather, having been arranged two weeks earlier.
“Art is an important part of regional tourism and culture and the Rockhampton Museum of Art houses one of the best collections of regional art in Australia,” they said.
‘At all times, the Prime Minister acted on the advice of the emergency services.
‘As stated in the prime minister’s published diaries, on Friday the prime minister chaired two climate briefings with relevant ministers and emergency services via teleconference, and also held a separate teleconference with the minister of Emergency services.
“The prime minister chaired seven weather briefings on Saturday as the weather turned even worse.”
At least two days before Palaszczuk flew to Rockhampton, emergency services recovered the body of a woman and were searching for 10 missing people.
A spokesperson for her office told Daily Mail Australia that the prime minister still went on her trip despite the wild weather, having been arranged two weeks earlier.
Ms. Palaszczuk was photographed brushing up against high-profile guests, including Rod Pilbeam, grandson of RMOA founder and former Mayor Rex.