Mystery over Albo’s missing red carpet love-in with Qantas boss Alan Joyce as new details of PM’s diary are revealed

The moment Anthony Albanese and fiancée Jodie Haydon walked the red carpet with ex-Qantas boss Alan Joyce is missing from newly released details of the Prime Minister’s official 2023 diary.

The Prime Minister’s string of frequent dates with big business executives, sports bosses and some of his most outspoken political opponents have all been recorded in the diary.

But the notable exception is the Prime Minister’s appearance that Albanese and his fiancée, Jodie Haydon, made with Joyce at a Qantas event in March 2023.

At the time, the Prime Minister shared photos of himself and Ms Haydon with the then Qantas CEO to mark the national carrier’s centenary.

But there is no trace of it in the newly published diary data, which the prime minister’s staff can redact if certain meetings or travel schedules could pose a security threat.

At the time, the Prime Minister was desperately trying to pitch his Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum to the Australian public.

“Great to hear the news that Qantas supports the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our constitution,” he said after the event.

“Here’s to another hundred years.”

In turn, Qantas outfitted several aircraft with Yes23 merchandise and publicly supported the Voice.

Mr Joyce is said to face intense criticism for his handling of several crises in the top job at Qantas. He resigned two months before his planned retirement in September 2023, amid all the setbacks.

The Prime Minister held talks with the referendum working group and key figures across the agenda, but a clear highlight is his numerous meetings with CEOs in the resources sector.

It was quietly released to former independent senator Rex Patrick under Freedom of Information laws, and provided insight into the day-to-day demands of running the country.

Mr Albanese spoke for 15 minutes with BHP boss Mike Henry in February 2023 and with Jakob Stausholm of BHP’s rival Rio Tinto in May.

Meg O’Neill, the chief executive of oil and gas giant Woodside, scored a 30-minute chat with the Prime Minister during a visit to Perth in February.

Outside Australia, Mr Albanese met with Markus Krebber, CEO of German energy company RWE, and Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock Inc.

Outside the resources sector, the Prime Minister has made ample time for sports bosses.

The AFL’s Gillon McLachlan, NRL’s Peter Vlandys, Cricket Australia’s Nick Hockley and Tennis Australia’s Craig Tiley all met with Mr Albanese in 2023, as did FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Greens leader Adam Bandt formally met the prime minister seven times, the same number of times as opposition leader Peter Dutton.

Despite their repeated – and often heated – political battles in Parliament and in the media, both Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese have indicated that they have a decent relationship behind closed doors.

Just weeks after winning the election, Mr 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 betrayed the trust I had with him.”

It comes after Mr Patrick successfully fought to release part of Mr Albanese’s 2022 diaries under the same laws, despite opposition from the Prime Minister and his office.

Some 734 meetings and appointments from the period were redacted by government officials and therefore unavailable to the public, but Daily Mail Australia analyzed the remaining contents of the diary on that occasion.

Mr Dutton was one of the few figures to have repeated face-to-face meetings with Mr Albanese during that period.

The diagram provides insight into the daily life of a PM. During that period, Mr Albanese regularly worked seven days a week, meeting a wide range of parliamentary colleagues and connecting with industry heavyweights.

But any potentially juicy meetings or appointments that Mr. Albanese attended during that period were not made public because they were considered confidential information under s37 of the Freedom of Information Act.

That article states that releasing such details “could endanger the life or physical safety of any person” or “could reveal to a person the existence or identity of a confidential source of information.”

During Mr Albanese’s first 100 days in office, the Prime Minister repeatedly met with his inner circle of senior ministers, namely Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.

Both ministers described by an anonymous Labor insider in a Nine newspaper this week as figures so close to Mr Albanese that they resemble “deputy prime ministers”.

Then there is Mr. Dutton.

The duo had their first brief meeting for 15 minutes on July 26, the diary said. That was followed by 30 Minutes on September 5, again on September 12 and again on October 27, joined on that occasion by Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney.

That could well have to do with Mr Albanese’s push for an indigenous voice in parliament – which failed after Mr Dutton refused to support the bipartisan measure.

A spokesperson said: ‘The Government is working constructively across Parliament.

‘The prime minister regularly meets or holds discussions with the opposition leader.’

The Prime Minister had only one official meeting with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce on his calendar between May and December 2022.

This meeting took place just a month after Qatar Airways made the now infamous plea to have more flight routes to Australia.

The pair met on Wednesday, November 23 from 11am to 11.30am, in the middle of a busy day for the Prime Minister, during which he had breakfast with the Governor-General, followed by five meetings in the morning with people whose names were redacted. from his diary.

Transport Minister Catherine King received a departmental letter the following January, but did not formally block the request until July.

Towards the end of 2023, when the decision was made public, Ms King faced intense criticism over the decision, and both she and Mr Albanese were questioned about whether Qantas had any influence over the decision.

Amid that scandal and several other PR crises at Qantas, Mr Joyce resigned from his position.