What actually goes on inside the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge?

Politicians and their free memberships to the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge have been in the news all this week.

But what actually goes on inside these luxurious spaces? Where is the line between reasonable luxuries for high-level politicians and potentially corrupting influence?

On this episode of The Briefing, you’ll hear from Joe Aston, journalist and author of The Chairman’s Lounge, which kicked off the scandal and Independent Senator David Pocock on why he gave up his membership.

The Briefing takes you inside the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge. Listen here:

Few of us will ever know what it’s like to step into the lounges, but Aston painted a picture of what to expect inside.

“You see the splendour and can almost smell success. It reminds you of that Anchorman thing, where you can smell the rich mahogany and the leather-bound books,” he said.

“There is something deeply luxurious about the Chairman’s Lounge as a place. It’s hushed, you know, which many luxurious spaces are. It feels like a privilege in this modern day.

“There’s an al a carte restaurant where you can go and order from an extensive menu, and of course, there’s no prices on the food because it’s all part of the package.”

Peacock admitted the lounges were “nice” “private areas” within the airport and provided spaces for politicians to work.

He said, however, that he rescinded his membership last year because he didn’t “feel comfortable” with it.

“I think you can have many reasons why politicians should have access to a space like that, but it just didn’t square with the way that I wanted to do things,” he said.

“So I just decided I don’t wanna be part of this. I think it is an important issue to be talking about.

“But I think this is just a symptom of a much bigger problem in politics… what politicians think are acceptable standards versus what the public, who we should be working for, think is acceptable.”

Hear more about the type of people and the conversations they have in the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge and why Peacock even accepted the membership in the first play by listening to The Briefing episode now.