Good-day, humans.

Welcome to the safe space for dangerous ideas.

And the most dangerous notion in politics is the suggestion, the mere hint, the mere whiff

or insinuation that gifts bestowed by a mega corporation on a humble public servant could in any way sway that politician or public

servant's attitude towards regulating the industry that the gift comes from. Yet it happens all the time,

of course. It's not technically bribery. I mean, companies are allowed to do nice things to politicians, and politicians are allowed

then to, of course, preside over decisions that are relevant to the fate and profitability of those

companies.

And as long as there's not a real literal quid pro quo, it's all kosher.

But it sure doesn't smell very kosher. when you see it all put together by one of

Australia's leading financial journalists in an explosive new book called The Chairman's Lounge,

The Inside Story of how Qantas sold us out. Now, yes, this does very much tickle my personal

fancy because I love airplanes and I'm

an inveterate travel hacker and a frequent flyer points juggler and a frequent critic of

Qantas and of the way that the Australian government panders to that corporation and favors it

against the interests of Australian travellers. However, this is not just a narrow

Josh Zep's hobby horse episode. This has implications as a parable for what happens when one

gigantic mega corporation that has almost monopolistic power in a country gains too much sway

over the people who make the decisions that they are supposed

to be making on the basis of our best interest, not the best interest of either them and their

family when they get upgraded or the shareholders of a private corporation. Joe Aston is a legendary

financial journalist. He has been extremely influential in blowing the lid on big stories in Australian

...