Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with opposition leader Peter Dutton at least four times in his first 100 days in office – a sign that their relationship is not as frosty as it might seem.
The prime minister’s diary from July to December 2022, the months immediately after he was elected president, was released under freedom of information laws after a protracted year-long battle with former independent senator Rex Patrick.
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.
Mr Dutton was one of the few figures to have repeated face-to-face meetings with Mr Albanese.
His conversations with Mr Albanese surpass those of former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (one meeting, 30 minutes), NRL boss Andrew Abdo (once, five minutes) and political commentator Peter Van Onselen (twice – a 90-minute meeting and a 30 minute meeting). minute GQ interview) and bigwigs from mining company Rio Tinto (once, one hour).
Mr Albanese regularly worked seven days a week, meeting a wide range of parliamentary colleagues and meeting industry heavyweights
In the photo: a snapshot of what a day in the life of a prime minister looks like
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.”
Peter Dutton’s four meetings with the Prime Minister
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, are like “deputy prime ministers”.
Then there is Mr. 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.”
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.’
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
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.
The Prime Minister only had one official meeting with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce on his calendar between May and December 2022
PM on the world stage
One of the Prime Minister’s first tests on the world stage came just four months after taking office, following the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth.
Mr Albanese flew to London for the funeral on September 16. He arrived via Stansted Airport and had a 90 minute – redacted – meeting in the afternoon.
He met then-Prime Minister Liz Truss on Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday and was part of the international delegation at the funeral on Monday.
By 6.50am on Tuesday, Mr Albanese was back in the air on his way home to Australia.
One of the Prime Minister’s first tests on the world stage came just four months after taking office, following the tragic death of Queen Elizabeth
A previous trip to Spain for the NATO summit was just as packed.
For four days, the Prime Minister’s agenda was packed with back-to-back meetings, briefings and media engagements.
On the Saturday before returning home, the Prime Minister planned an hour at the famous Impressionist art gallery Musee D’Orsay in Paris.
It was a rare moment of calm for Mr Albanese – and his arguments with Mr Dutton undoubtedly felt a world away.