Happy Labor Day! Are YOU In Your Place?

Hey Family,

Over 15 years ago or so, I found something that changed my life forever. That something was theater. I simply love theater. Theater has become my escape from life. Theater allows you to escape for about two and a half hours and enter into an intense fantasy.  I ask you, “What Takes You To Your Place?”  Whatever your place is, it is with great excitement that I am able to provide this experience for YOU!  

Join me for Stay In Your Place on November 14th and 15th!  With couples across the nation dealing with isIMG_3740sues of infidelity,  Author Tonja Ayers tackles this issue head on in a comedic way with the stage play Stay in Your Place.  


Derived from her bestselling book “A Ho Needs to Stay in a Ho’s Place”, Tonja solicited scriptwriter DuJuan Johnson to bring her vision from the pages of the book to the stage. In addition to DuJuan, Ms. Ayers hired Melissa Talbot to direct and produce the production.

The idea of taking the book from paper to the stage was actually the idea of Mrs. Talbot. This stage play will bring you face to face with the issues involved in an unfaithful relationship and promises to keep your complete attention until the curtain drops. I am honored to involved!!

Join me and the other UPU Producers for a FUN, CRAZY AND REALLY SEXY show!

Get ready for “Stay In Your Place”! 

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933,390 thoughts on “Happy Labor Day! Are YOU In Your Place?

  1. The Australian government has issued a stern warning to
    horror fans flocking to cinemas to see the ultra-violent slasher film Terrifier 3, cautioning audiences about its extreme content and disturbing themes.

    The film, directed by Damien Leone, has drawn huge crowds since it’s release on October 10, as it continues the blood-soaked saga of Art the Clown with more gruesome, stomach-churning scenes.

    The movie has broken box office records as horror
    enthusiasts are lured in by the film’s reputation for intense violence and shock value.

    The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional
    Development, Communications, and the Arts has warned Australian audiences to prepare for scenes
    of graphic violence, dismemberment and disturbing
    themes that go well beyond typical horror fare.

    The film includes brutal depictions of murder using a variety of
    weapons, from chainsaws to axes and guns, resulting in explicit injury detail and copious amounts of blood.

    The warning also highlights that the movie portrays self-harm, cannibalism, animal cruelty and violence involving children, pushing
    the boundaries of what the most hardened horror fans has
    seen before.

    One of the film’s more controversial moments includes a scene of implied masturbation coupled with self-harm,
    along with a shower scene that hints at sexual activity. 

    The Australian government has issued a stern warning to horror fans flocking to cinemas to see the ultra-violent slasher film
    Terrifier 3, cautioning audiences about its extreme content and disturbing themes 

    The film, directed by Damien Leone, has drawn huge crowds since it’s release on October 10, as it
    continues the blood-soaked saga of Art the Clown with more gruesome, stomach-churning scenes 

    In addition, male genital nudity and obscured shots of female breast and buttock nudity have caused concern among viewers and the classification board alike.

    The film’s R18+ rating in Australia is due to its high impact violence,
    blood, gore and explicit sexual content.

    Despite these warnings, audiences have turned out in droves.

    The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts has warned Australian audiences
    to prepare for scenes of graphic violence, dismemberment and disturbing themes
    that go well beyond typical horror fare 

    Many cinema-goers in Sydney and Melbourne reportedly clapped and cheered during some of the film’s most grotesque death scenes.

    This latest instalment of the Terrifier franchise
    is a continuation of the sadistic horror unleashed by Art
    the Clown, a character who has now become a modern horror icon for his relentless brutality.

    In Terrifier 3, Art’s reign of terror continues, once again targeting Sienna Shaw
    who narrowly survived his attacks in the previous movie.

    Sienna, portrayed by actress Lauren LaVera, takes on Art in a deadly showdown that is as
    gory as it is horrifying, featuring scenes of decapitations, dismemberments and visceral body
    horror.

    Read More

    ‘Traumatising’ horror sequel leaves two Perth moviegoers unconscious and one
    injured

    The Terrifier franchise, which began in 2016, quickly gained a cult following due to its extreme violence
    and over-the-top death scenes.

    The first film, which saw Art the Clown mutilate a victim with a
    hacksaw, shocked audiences with its brutal kill sequences.

    The sequel, Terrifier 2, went viral last year after reports emerged that viewers were fainting and vomiting in cinemas due to its
    graphic content.

    Now, with Terrifier 3, Leone has doubled down on the
    carnage, taking the gore to new, unsettling levels.

    Despite Australia’s strict film censorship laws, Terrifier 3 was approved for theatrical release with a strong warning attached.

    The film’s notoriety has only heightened its appeal to
    horror fans, who continue to fill cinemas across the country.

    Earlier this month, two people fainted and fled for the exit when it hit a
    Perth cinema for early previews.

    According to multiple eye witness accounts, one young woman badly injured herself after she fell down the cinema stairs while
    fleeing the movie theatre.

    ‘This is going to sound made up and I promise you it’s not,’ Australian horror
    film critic Emma Clarke began her review of David Leone’s controversial new horror-slasher.

    The Rotten Tomatoes verified critic said two people fainted right in front of her
    during the screening she attended at Innaloo Cinemas in Perth
    over the weekend.

    The first fainted during the opening scene, she said in her
    film review shared to YouTube, and the second
    nearer to the end of the two-house spectacle.

    ‘Can you tell me… why did two people feint right in front of me during that film?’ she said.

    ‘Both trying to run down the stairs to get to the bathrooms because they felt so queasy.’

    The horror film fanatic said she spoke to both people and tried
    to assist them because she was seated directly behind them.

    The first was a man, who left with a friend who came to check on him,
    and second Australian victim was a young woman.

    ‘This poor girl gashed her head open as she fell down the
    stairs, I felt so bad for her. I went and checked on her afterwards,
    ‘ Clarke claimed.

    ‘She did get help. She was with her friend. It really shook me up too.
    It actually took me out of the film for the moment.’

    The reviewer, who has been sharing her thoughts on scary movies for the past four years, said she has never seen audience members
    have such a visceral reaction to a film.

    Many cinema-goers in Sydney and Melbourne reportedly
    clapped and cheered during some of the film’s most grotesque death scenes

    Clarke described the third installment of Leone’s series
    — which is set to open nationally on Thursday, October
    11 — as ‘ fun, intense, gory, disturbed, and over the top.’

    ‘I’m not used to horror actually hurting
    people, so that was a really strange experience,’ she said.

    ‘Before anyone says they’re paid actors, I saw the girl and she had injuries.
    They were both very young people. I feel
    really awful about it to be honest.’

    ‘It was a very scary moment trying to help them out.’

    SydneyMelbourne

  2. Joker: Folie À Deux — starring Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix
    — may have bombed at the box office, but the name behind the new
    flick is a perfect fit that nails its darkly playful
    tone. 

    Folie À Deux directly translates to madness for two. 

    The term means ‘the presence of the same or similar delusional ideas in two persons closely associated with one
    another’, According to Merriam-Webster. 

    And while the name is a stroke of clever ingenuity, the film itself might leave audiences feeling more
    bewildered than entertained. 

    The new flick has garnered the lowest CinemaScore in comic book movie history as it
    bombed at the box office on opening night. 

    Joker: Folie À Deux — starring Lady Gaga and
    Joaquin Phoenix — may have bombed at the box office, but the name behind the new flick is a perfect fit that nails its darkly playful tone

    Folie À Deux directly translates to madness for
    two. The term means ‘the presence of the same or similar delusional ideas in two persons closely associated with one another’

    The psychological musical thriller — which has been criticized as ‘bleak’ and ‘disappointing’ — officially released
    in theaters on Friday, October 4, but it only raked in $20 million at the
    domestic box office, per The Hollywood Reporter. 

    Read More

    Joker: Folie À Deux is branded ‘bleak’ and the ‘most disappointing
    follow-up’ by critics

    Joaquin reprised his role as the Joker in the sequel, which had earned him an Oscar for his portrayal in the 2019 film, while Gaga took on the role of Harleen Lee Quinzel (Harley Quinn). 

    However, Joker: Folie À Deux has been given a D rating on CinemaScore — the lowest score for a comic book movie at the time of
    writing. 

    Madame Web — which notably also flopped in theaters earlier this year and
    also received terrible reviews — holds a higher score with a C+. 

    On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience score of
    31 percent and a critic score of 33 percent. 

    The sequel is projected to rake in less that $50 million at the domestic box office
    during the entirety of opening weekend, per The Hollywood Reporter. 

    The movie had been projected to bring in around $70 million –
    but the number has since drastically dropped. 

    Joker (2019) notably opened with $96.2
    million when the film first released in theaters –
    and eventually landed a little over $1 billion in the
    global box office. 

    It has garnered the lowest CinemaScore in comic book
    movie history as the film bombs at the box office on opening night

    It received a D rating on CinemaScore – the lowest score for a comic book movie

    On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience score of 31% and a critic score
    of 32%

    The first movie – which was also directed by Todd Phillips – had a budget of between $55 and $70 million. However, the budget increased for Folie À Deux to around
    $200 million. 

    The 2019 movie garnered praise and positive reviews from both critics and audiences – and won the
    Golden Lion during the 76th Venice International
    Film Festival. 

    Joaquin received an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of the
    Joker (Arthur Fleck) – and the film garnered an additional Academy Award for Best Original Score. 

    The sequel also screened during the Venice International Film Festival last month in September, where
    it earned a 12-minute standing ovation, per Deadline.   

    However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie released in theaters
    on Friday – and shared their opinions on the sequel, which features musical sequences. 

    One fan penned, ‘Joaquin Phoenix don’t deserve this. what happened to the script?’ while another added, ‘is it that bad,’ followed by a crying face emoji. 

    ‘Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have been a good choice.
    It’d show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck is,’ one typed. 

    ‘But with some original songs, that keep everything vague, not
    just covers. Also when I heard of the ending I snorted fr.’ 

    A social media user wrote, ‘Stop making sequels as musicals if the original wasn’t a musical.’ 

    ‘Maybe he [Phillips] only had an hour long movie, and decided to randomly add musical scenes to fill the
    runtime,’ one penned. 

    ‘Joker downfall really needs to be studied,’ another shared, along with
    a monkey staring out a window. 

    One fan said, ‘the movie sucks. i had to walk out of the cinema,’ while another penned, ‘After years of disagreement….*Joker 2 releases* Critics [shaking hands] Audience.’ 

    However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie released in theaters on Friday – and shared their opinions over
    the sequel, which was also a musical

    ‘Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have been a good choice.
    It’d show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck is,’ one typed

    ‘Joker downfall really needs to be studied,’ another shared, along with
    a monkey staring out a window

    ‘That’s way below what we expected,’ one wrote in regards to the current Rotten Tomatoes scores.
    ‘People are saying this is the worst sequel ever.’ 

    A fan explained, ‘yea this film was bad. it was pretentious and dull.

    has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance.’ 

    ‘It also insults the audience’s intelligence. the songs were also underwhelming too.

    they shouldn’t have let this escape to theaters.’ 

    One shared, ‘The audience that loved the first movie is not the same audience running to see musicals.
    This was a gigantic mistake from step 1.’ 

    During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Phillips discussed whether he would be interested in making a third Joker film or a movie centered around Gaga’s character. 

    ‘It’s not really where this movie is headed for me.
    I feel like my time in the DC Universe was these two films.’ 

    Joaquin PhoenixLady Gaga

  3. What do pop star Lily Allen, Olympic gold medal-winning
    diver Jack Laugher, tennis player Nick Kyrgios and 25-year-old Bonnie Blue from
    Nottingham, who has filmed herself having sex with hundreds of 18-year-old
    students (and sometimes their dads, too), all have in common?

    Yes, you guessed it. They are all ‘creatives’ on OnlyFans, the adults-only online content
    provider founded in 2016 by a young Essex businessman called Tim Stokely, which is now one of the most visited
    (and lucrative) websites in the world.

    Just last month, Lily Allen caused a stir by revealing that she
    makes more money charging $10 (£8) – the site
    works in dollars – for pictures of her feet on her OnlyFans account
    labelled ‘La Dolca Feeta’ than she does from her
    7.5million monthly listeners on Spotify.

    But Lily’s content is tame in comparison to much of the content on the site, the sort company execs refer to as ‘spicy’.
    Everything from cheeky shots of bottoms peeking out
    of bubble baths, blondes stirring vats of steaming pasta in G-strings,
    hot men waxing cars in their pants, right through the
    sex spectrum to twosomes, threesomes, sixsomes and hardcore pornographic videos.

    But also because, thanks to the allure of OnlyFans and
    the astonishing sums that a teeny number of the platform’s 4.1million creatives
    are raking in, more and more young women (and it is mostly young women) who would never
    have considered it before are suddenly happy to join in and sell photos of, well,
    pretty much anything, to pay rent, settle credit card bills or splash out
    on nice holidays. Basically, a flashier life all round.

    ‘We feel empowered. We have agency. It’s completely up to me
    if I take my top off or not,’ says one 21-year-old girl, who joined
    a year ago and makes enough in a week to cover
    a year’s student rent at Sheffield University and prefers not to give
    her name.

    ‘And I am happy to do it because for once I make the rules, in the safety of my home and
    they’re paying me to do it. It’s a mug’s game,
    but I am not the mug.’

    For the benefit of those readers who are not among the site’s 305million users, OnlyFans
    offers creators a platform where they can charge their
    fans a subscription fee ranging from $4.99 to $49.99 a
    month to look at their content, contact them (or more often access
    their ‘chatter’ – more of which later) and access often more
    explicit, personalised, ‘à la carte’ content through ‘tips’.

    OnlyFans model Bonnie Blue has filmed herself having sex with hundreds of 18-year-olds

    Rapper Cardi B is said to make $9million (£7.1million) a month from the site

    Actress Bella Thorne, a former Disney child star,
    made a record-breaking $1million (£800,000) in 24 hours

    ‘Pay $10 to unlock this video’. ‘Click here for more spicy content’.
    ‘The more you pay, the more you see’. You get the gist.

    In 2023, the site generated a record $6.6billion (£5.2billion), of which the company takes a straight 20 per cent – much less than YouTube – and the rest goes to
    the ‘performers’.

    It is unlike Instagram or other social media sites
    in that nothing is suggested – instead, you have to search for,
    and then subscribe to, individual accounts to see much more than profile pictures.

    Which is a good thing, because while some of the content
    is anodyne, much is highly sexual and many people on the site can bob freely from one to another.
    Perhaps a cookery hack one day, modelling new boots
    the next, then graduate to a few cheeky cleavage and bikini shots and more, as the money becomes more tempting.

    Every week, it seems, we hear of someone who has made millions.

    Last month it was announced that American influencer Corinna
    Kopf had retired from the site, aged 28, after making $67million (£53million).
    In her best month, she reportedly earned more than $2million (£1.6million).

    Rapper Cardi B is said to earn more than $9million (£7.1million)
    a month from the site.

    Meanwhile, Darcie Rattles was an out-of-work bricklayer
    with £6,000 in credit card bills and debts when she joined
    OnlyFans in 2022.

    ‘I was thinking: how the hell am I going to get to next week?

    How am I going to pay my credit cards?’ she
    says in an online interview. ‘I’m young, I’ve got a good
    body and I’ve got a lot of followers. It is what any girl would turn to.

    It had been in the back of mind for two years, but then I did it.’

    Within two days of launching, she had earned enough to
    pay off her debts. Today, Darcie, who comes across as likeable, down-to-earth and has no
    qualms about what she shares, claims to earn more than £250,000
    a year.

    Pop singer Lily Allen has discovered a niche
    market…

    … she sells pictures of her feet for £8 and makes
    more money from her account labelled ‘La Dolca Feeta’ than she does from her 7.5million monthly listeners on Spotify

    ‘It doesn’t matter to me whether I get my feet out, or my other
    bits out,’ she says.

    Though it does tend to be the other bits, because Darcie’s content promises very few clothes and, for those who pay extra, ‘a naughty side to me you’ve never seen before’.

    But even Darcie seems like the girl next door compared to Lily Phillips, a
    British model who earned £2,000 in her first 24 hours on the site and
    recently went viral for sleeping with 101 men over a 14-hour
    period. She has since announced she is planning to set a record of having sex
    with 1,000 men in 24 hours.

    And Bonnie Blue, a beautiful blonde with a golden tan and
    astonishingly white teeth, who has worked her way round Derby,
    Nottingham, Cancun and Australia, sleeping with university students.

    On one night during Nottingham Trent freshers’ week – after publicising
    her stunt by wearing a sandwich board that read: ‘Bonk me for free and let
    me film it’ – she had boys queuing up from 6pm until five in the
    morning.

    ‘I got through them all,’ she said proudly in one interview in which she reminds us that,
    thanks to OnlyFans, she has already banked more than £3 million – for which she was applauded by her followers for her entrepreneurship.

    But all that is chicken feed when you consider the £370 million dividend that company owner paid himself last year.

    And these days that’s Leonid Radvinsky, who bought a majority stake from Tim Stokely in 2018, two years after he started the business with
    the help of a loan from his father.

    It was the Covid-era lockdowns that thrust OnlyFans into the
    stratosphere. Everyone shut up at home, nothing to do.
    In 2020, it generated revenues of $2.23billion (£1.8billion).
    By 2021, it was up to $4.8billion (£3.8billion). There
    was a brief hiatus in October of that year when they tried banning sexually explicit content
    but that lasted about ten minutes before they switched back.

    There have been plenty of scandals along the way. A BBC investigation back
    in 2021 revealed that children were not just accessing the material online by foxing
    the age verification process but were also selling explicit videos on the website.
    Leah, 17, had used a fake driving licence to set up an OnlyFans account where
    she made £5,000 uploading revealing videos of herself.

    There have also been claims of OnlyFans creators using public gyms and spaces to make adult
    content.

    Recently there has been more concerns that the company is not doing
    enough to protect minors.

    OnlyFans, however, prefers to portray itself as a force for good, with supporters arguing that it
    empowers people by allowing them to sell content – over which they have full control –
    directly to consumers. And many of the Gen Z generation seem to agree.

    ‘It’s fine. It’s empowering. It’s taking control,’ they cry, pointing out that the site has loads of moderators and a tight security system
    to ensure that all users are over 18.

    And they say, anyway, that OnlyFans isn’t just about
    sex.

    Of course, they’re right. It has long been awash with pneumatic reality TV stars and the likes of Lottie Moss, Kerry
    Katona and Katie Price, who are happy to tease their followers with a few cheeky peeks in skimpy bikinis.

    I spend an afternoon browsing the site and, while it is not
    all ‘spicy’ content as the company executives like to call it,
    everything is dripping with sauce and promise.

    The big lips, the push-up bras, even the way a pretty Spanish
    chef is holding her paella pan. Company executives have been pushing hard
    to make the platform more mainstream – offering contracts and financial incentives
    to encourage musicians, sports stars, cooks, anyone really, to come on and share a bit of exclusive – or niche – content.

    Really, anything that people will pay to look at –
    glimpses backstage at concerts. Celebrities in the
    bath.

    During the 2024 Olympic Games, a raft of athletes jumped
    on the OnlyFans bandwagon to share pictures of their beautifully toned bodies.

    Along with Jack Laugher, Team NZ rower Robbie Manson uses the site
    to share ‘exclusive content that tastefully explores the boundaries, including artistic portrayals of nudity’
    for $14.99 a month. British speedskater

    Olympic diver Jack Laugher is among a number of sports stars using
    OnlyFans

    Reality TV star Kerry Katona has also teased followers with content

    Lottie Moss  has also taken to the adults-only online
    content provider that was founded in 2016 and is used by 4.1
    million creatives

    Elise Christie turned to the site when she found
    herself in financial difficulties.

    All of which seems to be working well for them, but it can be rather murkier for
    others.

    Not least because, in less than a decade, OnlyFans has spawned an entire support industry of ‘sugar
    daddies’ who support performers financially and ‘chatters’ who work for them.
    ‘Sugar daddies’ tend to be older male businessmen who ‘invest’ in promising creatives.
    In what are referred to rather murkily as ‘mutually beneficial deals’, they invest in branding and marketing and videography to boost traffic.

    Chatters are different. For the real stars, the traffic is so high and the interaction with
    followers so demanding that if they had to do it all themselves,
    there’s no way they would ever have time to put their pyjamas back
    on.

    So ‘chatters’ – a sort of online 21st-century Cyrano de Bergerac – do that for them.
    Keeping them engaged, online, needy and most of
    all, spending, spending, spending for more
    and more content.

    Which means, of course, that the whole thing is a total scam.
    The poor daft subscriber thinks he’s really making a connection with ‘Racy
    Tracey from Twickenham’, but is more likely chatting to a middle-aged father of three from the Philippines.

    He will have learnt everything about Tracey
    – her favourite colour, favourite animal and favourite position – have studied a
    script that reminds him ‘it’s all about selling, selling,
    selling’, and will be being paid $4 an hour for his efforts.

    Or the subscriber could just be talking to an AI bot – which perhaps is more appealing.

    Read More

    EXCLUSIVE

    A year after split, I’ve had a baby and got engaged, writes Mother Pukka ANNA WHITEHOUSE

    Chatters can be dangerous. As Alanya, a paralegal
    from Scotland, discovered when she learned that one of her most enthusiastic followers had travelled to her home town to find her,
    encouraged by her chatter.

    ‘My chatter told him that I loved him. I would never, ever have said that,’ she said.

    But, sadly, chatters, sugar daddies and stalkers are not a problem for most creatives.

    Almost all of whom are still struggling to make any proper money, however many clothes they take off.

    They will never know the clout of Cardi B, or Lily Allen, or former Disney child star Bella Thorne,
    who famously made a record- breaking $1million (£800,
    000) in 24 hours when she joined in August 2020.
    (Though initially there was some confusion as to whether she would be appearing nude
    or not. She did not – which caused quite a
    rumpus.)

    Because, unlike celebrities who can redirect their existing
    social media followers to their OnlyFans accounts, most people find it hard to grab attention without
    doing something, well, grabby.

    So, despite all the tales of golden riches, the average earnings
    of an OnlyFans creative is still just $150 (£118) a month and, with the market now
    so flooded, is only likely to go one way.

    And it’s easy to see how, if you’re a young woman who has convinced yourself that you’re
    in control, empowered and mistress of your own destiny, you could find yourself moving inevitably and inexorably up (or perhaps down) the scale, revealing more and more.

    Until, before you know it, like Bonnie Blue and Lily Phillips, you’ve kept
    nothing back for yourself.

    OnlyFansJack LaugherLily AllenNottingham

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  8. The existence of an exclusive hideaway for the country’s movers and shakers where secret deals were done in private luxury first exploded into the public eye
    back in 2007.

    Back then, the fact that Qantas spent hundreds of thousands of dollars wining and dining the nation’s
    political elite in ultra-exclusive VIP lounges was relatively unknown.

    It was a time before Alan Joyce’s tenure as the CEO of Qantas had even started, when he was boss
    of the comparatively lowly budget airline, Jetstar.

    And unlike Anthony Albanese’s current slide in the polls leading up to an election in next year, the prospects back in 2007
    were rosy for Labor. 

    The election that was looming was the ‘Kevin 07’ landslide that
    would see Kevin Rudd become prime minister and John Howard lose his
    own seat. 

    The issue which blew open the ‘guilty secret’ of the Chairman’s Lounge then wasn’t
    about a prime minister’s privileges, although John Howard and Kevin Rudd were certainly both members during their terms as
    PM. 

    But when broadcaster Steve Price – himself a long time Chairman’s Lounge member – revealed a politically charged remark made within the club’s hallowed walls, the cat was out of the bag.

    The political revelation – a comment by ex-rock star turned senator Peter Garrett that Labor would change the policies it campaigned on if it won government – did not deter his party from romping in on election day.

    In contrast, the scandal currently engulfing Anthony Albanese about his Chairman’s Lounge membership and that of his ex-wife Carmel Tebbutt, and their son Nathan could bring down the prime minister.   

    The exclusive Qantas Chairman’s Lounge (above) has been a well-kept
    secret for years, but it exploded into the public conscience in 2007
    as the result of a political furore

    Broadcaster Steve Price revealed he had been a Chairman’s Lounge member since 2002 during a row before the 2007 election won by Kevin Rudd which let the cat out of the bag
    about the VIP club

    The existence of the lounge was so little known back in 2007 that in defending his disclosure of
    Garrett’s remark, Steve Price had to explain what the
    private enclave actually was.

    In a first person piece he wrote: ‘The Chairman’s Lounge is a separate frequent
    flyers lounge away from the crowded normal Qantas Club. 

    ‘As its name implies, the people given access to it are approved by the Qantas chairman, Margaret Jackson. 

    ‘I have been a Chairman’s Lounge member since 2002.’

    In his opinion piece, Price also revealed TV entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins was also a member of lounge.

    Wilkins had also been inside at the time and was his only witness to the remark Price
    said Garrett had made.

    Other prominent media figures, such as 60 Minutes reporters,
    actors and performers, and well-known writers and sports people are said to be among the lounge’s exclusive membership
    of around 6000.

    Price went on to defend himself for reporting what some
    claimed was a confidential conversation in a private place, but which exposed
    him to criticism over his own membership for allegedly promoting Qantas on his radio show.

    Back in 2007, Alan Joyce (left) was boss of the comparatively lowly budget airline Jetstar, and then Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon (right) had the power over who made the cut to the Chairman’s
    Lounge

    One observer has described the relationship bet6ween leading
    politicians such as PM Anthony Albanese and the former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (above) as ‘alarmingly
    cosy’

    ‘Why on earth is Qantas giving a controversial shock jock membership of
    its Chairman’s Lounge, which is supposedly to enable our elite politicians and business leaders some privacy from
    the hoi polloi?’ demanded Crikey reporter Stephen Mayne at the time.

    ‘The Chairman’s Lounge is meant to be all about discretion and confidentiality,’ he
    said, accusing Price of breaking ‘a confidence’.

    The following year, before he was succeeded as Qantas CEO by Alan Joyce,
    Geoff Dixon was the sole gatekeeper of entry into the club’s
    hushed confines.

    Qantas Chairman’s Lounge membership was ‘so exclusive that you have to be personally invited by
    the airline’s chieftain’, Nine newspapers reported in 2008.

    ‘A marvellous benefit of lounge membership is that the mega rich and powerful
    avoid having to mingle with the riffraff who will be travelling cattle
    class.

    ‘Having said that, members of the ultra-exclusive club have included Pauline Hanson.

    ‘Another lounge member is Brad Cooper, who is currently enjoying a
    prolonged exposure to cattle-class in Kirkconnell Correctional
    Centre.’ (Cooper was the former HIH insurance executive jailed
    for eight years on fraud and bribery offences).

    Membership of the elite lounge is confined to about 6000 Australians including politicians from both sides, senior public servants,
    TV stars and actors

    The ‘scandal’ currently engulfing Anthony Albanese about his Chairman’s Lounge membership and
    that of his ex-wife Carmel Tebbutt, and their son Nathan could bring down the prime minister (above the PM with
    partner Jodie Haydon and ex-Qantas CEO Alan Joyce)

    The report noted that politicians declaring membership
    of the lounge ‘which most of their spouses got too’ in their pecuniary
    interests that year included Liberal MPs of the day, Philip Ruddock, Bob
    Baldwin and Andrew Southcott.

    Labor MPs with lounge privileges included Tanya Plibersek, Bob McMullan, and Sharon Grierson, and Martin Ferguson declared a bottle of Grange hermitage as a gift from Qantas,
    as did Liberal, Christopher Pyne.

    Asked if all MPs got the captain’s pick from Geoff Dixon, the airline’s spokesperson  told Nine: ‘We like to retain a
    bit of mystery. Membership is by invitation only and it is reviewed periodically.’

    Fast forward to today, and nearly every single federal politician in the country has accepted free membership of the controversial, invitation-only lounge
    with one even describing it as an ‘entitlement’. 

    Qantas and the Albanese government recently denied the ‘very, very high-end
    perk’ gives the airline a disproportionate level of influence over the country’s politicians.

    They were commenting ahead of the launch of the new book The Chairman’s Lounge by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston, which has stirred up
    the controversy. 

    A Daily Mail Australia audit of the members’ interest registers – in both Federal Parliament’s
    House of Representatives and the Senate – revealed almost 93 per cent of the nation’s leaders have been ‘gifted’ membership to the lavish, all-inclusive lounge.

    Mr Albanese has defended himself by saying he declared all his benefits in pecuniary interest statements. 

    At a press conference this week, he repeated that all of his upgrades
    ‘have been declared as appropriate. What’s appropriate is
    transparency.’  

    Apart from the PM, members include every one of his 22-person Cabinet, his seven-person Outer Ministry
    and all 12 assistant ministers.

    PM Anthony Albanese and every member of his 22-person Cabinet, his seven-person Outer Ministry and all
    12 assistant ministers are members of the exclusive Chairman’s Lounge

    Entry to the country’s six opulent VIP clubs are suitably discreet, but once
    inside, the designer lounges offer free à la carte fine dining, table service and a discreet army of
    dedicated lounge attendants

    On the Coalition side of parliament, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, deputy leader David Littleproud and former deputy Barnaby
    Joyce are also among the swathes of politicians who have disclosed
    they have taken up free membership to the contentious
    club.

    Bill Shorten is a member, Tanya Plibersek is still a member and so is Teal MP, Zali
    Steggall.

    Last year it was reported that Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairwoman Gina
    Cass-Gottlieb and Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Joe Longo and some of their deputies
    are members of the Chairman’s Lounge despite regulating
    the airline. 

    Senior public servants in the club included Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
    secretary Glyn Davis, deputy secretaries Nadine Williams,
    Liz Hefren-Webb, Rachel Bacon and ambassador to Beijing,
    Scott Dewar.

    Other Qantas freebies bestowed on members include numerous business class flight upgrades, model Qantas aircrafts, frequent flyer points, and tickets to sporting and entertainment events. 

    Touted as ‘the most exclusive club in the country’, membership to the Chairman’s Lounge is still veiled in secrecy.

    The new book The Chairman’s Lounge by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston (above) has stirred up the controversy 

    Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb and Australian Securities
    and Investments Commission chairman Joe Longo are
    members despite regulating the airline

    Even the entrances to each of the country’s six opulent VIP clubs – in Sydney,
    Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth airports – are
    suitably discreet.

    Once inside, however, the designer lounges are noticeably luxurious,
    with free à la carte fine dining, table service, a decadent selection of wines and Champagne and a discreet army of dedicated
    lounge attendants.

    Virgin Airlines has its own version of the
    VIP enclave, the ‘Beyond’ lounge. 

    Only a handful of federal politicians have relinquished their membership to the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge in the wake of the furore.

    The select few to take a principled stand on the issue include South Australian senator Barbara Pocock and
    former Wallabies star turned ACT senator David Pocock, along with MPs Stephen Bates, Queensland Green Elizabeth Watson-Brown, and
    Monique Ryan, a Teal from Victoria.

    Geoffrey Watson SC, a former counsel assisting the Independent Commission Against Corruption and a director of the Centre for Public Integrity,
    has implored all politicians and policymakers to
    follow suit.

    ‘There are certain positions in life where you cannot
    take Chairman’s Club membership,’ he said.

    ‘You’re taking public money for the job and you are supposed to represent the
    public. Why not sit with them while you’re waiting for a plane?’

    QantasAnthony Albanese

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