Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing criticism for joining Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews for a five-hour BBQ at the beachfront mansion of one of Australia’s richest businesspeople over the weekend.
The Prime Minister was flown to the billionaire’s home in the Mornington Peninsula town of Portsea on Saturday afternoon, according to information published on Thursday by The Nine newspapers.
Mr. Albanese attended the cookout before traveling to Western Australia, which has just been the victim of terrible floods.
The prime minister shied away from going into specifics about the BBQ when questioned about it during a press conference on Wednesday.
“I frequently hold private meetings. And I hold secret meetings that are only open to me, he added.
The Avalon Airport in Melbourne is owned by the Fox family, who have openly promoted it in the past as a location for quarantine as well as a transportation center for more effective links between Australia and south-east Asia.
At a press conference on Thursday, Sussan Ley, the deputy leader of the Liberal Party, criticized the Prime Minister’s “smart political tactics” and “obfuscation” on the barbeque.
The prime minister claimed that it was a private meeting when questioned about it, she said.
“That was deceptive because he was aware that all of this needed to be revealed. It is necessary to disclose this gift of a private helicopter flight.
The Prime Minister was criticized by Ms. Ley for placing “a billionaire’s BBQ” ahead of the “desperation that flooded towns in Western Australia are enduring.”
“We now know the Prime Minister was having a private helicopter ride to have a barbecue with millionaires when emergency services were flying in to support the people of Western Australia,” she said.
What does that indicate about the prime minister’s objectives during a national emergency?
Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, has brushed aside inquiries about the situation.
He advised reporters to “request an interview from the gas bottle” that powered the BBQ during a news conference on Thursday.
The premier’s staff acknowledged that he had gone to the BBQ, but claimed that he had driven himself to Portsea.
During Mr. Andrews’ victorious reelection campaign, Lindsay Fox’s Avalon and Essendon airport companies gave the Victorian Labor Party $1799 and $4038, respectively.
For his close relationship with the Foxes, Mr. Andrews has drawn criticism in the past. Last year, he was questioned in parliament about a number of proposals the family made to the government.
Mr. Andrews has been to the Fox family’s Portsea estate before; in January 2021, the premier and his wife Catherine went there to eat with a number of other A-listers.
Prior to this, Mr. Andrews denied taking trips on the Fox family helicopter, telling the legislature in March 2021 that he had never been on the chopper while serving as premier.
“The only helicopter flights I’ve been on have been when they were during bushfires, in my role as this state’s premier. They are the only helicopters I have ever been on, as far as I know, he added at the time.
