The Sauce: Inside PM Albanese’s secret Palau holiday

Fresh details have surfaced about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's covert holiday to Palau, where he swapped parliament for paradise with fiancee Jodie Haydon.

Details of what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and fiance Jodie Haydon got up to on their recent secret holiday to Palau – aka “the jewel of Micronesia” – have emerged with the couple taking a tour to see the islands’ dugongs.

The privately-funded trip took place last week with Albo and Jodie flying economy on the “Palau Paradise Express”, a direct, non-stop flight service from Brisbane to Koror in the isolated archipelago of Palau.

Situated southwest of Guam and north of Papua New Guinea, Palau comprises roughly 340 islands and is home to one of the world’s most isolated dugong populations.

The trip had initially been kept under wraps after the PM’s office requested a blackout for security reasons.

With the word now out, and keen to promote its VIP clients, ecotour kayaking business Paddling Palau on Friday posted a clip on Instagram, revealing its recent guests from Australia.

Albo and Jodie went dugong watching during their holiday in Palau.

Some of the dugongs seen during their island holiday.

The clip begins with footage of swimming dugongs before ending with a photo of a sun-kissed Albo decked in blue and green palm-printed boardshorts, a relaxed-looking Jodie, and Palau president Surangel Whipps Jr with his wife Valery Whipps.

The clip is accompanied by the music of Louis Armstrong signing What a Wonderful World.

“President Surangel Whipps Jr. and First Lady Valery Whipps joined Australian PM Anthony Albanese and his fiancee Jodie for a Paddling Palau adventure, where they witnessed over 20 dugongs – a heartwarming sign of Palau’s successful conservation efforts led by past and present leaders,” the post said.

The perfect prelude to a face-to-face meeting with US president Donald Trump last week.

NO NIMBY

It’s so unfashionable to be a NIMBY these days.

But it wasn’t too long ago that many of the state and federal pollies now pushing for density, density, density were taking up the fight against those greedy developers.

And according to Liberal senator Andrew Bragg – who is also the Coalition’s housing crusader – Labor Housing Minister Clare O’Neil had a “long history” of being a NIMBY during her time on local council.

Opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg. Picture: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil. Picture: John Grainger

“As Mayor of Dandenong, the now Housing Minister campaigned to block Commonwealth land from being developed for new homes. As a councillor, she mobilised against multi-unit housing developments, saying six double-storey units on one block was absolutely ridiculous. And as the Member for Hotham, the now Housing Minister sided with her fellow-NIMBYs to slow the supply of new housing,” the Opposition housing spokesman said.

“It beggars belief that, in the middle of a housing crisis, Labor has put a longstanding

NIMBY in charge of the housing portfolio. Perhaps that’s why they’re building fewer

houses than ever.”

We put his claims to O’Neil’s office with a government spokesman who immediately pointed to the NIMBYs in his own party.

“In just the last couple of months, NIMBY Liberals in Andrew Bragg’s party have tried to block 10,000 homes in Woollahra and 30,000 homes in the Inner West,” the spokesman said.

“He should spend more time pulling those colleagues into line and less time and less time in the archives digging dirt on one of Australia’s most senior, YIMBYs - especially when the numbers show housing approvals went up significantly when Minister O’Neil was mayor of her local area”.

WINGING IT

Six years late, the arrival of the new intercity Mariyung trains this month was even a surprise to the pigeon who happened to fly in the path of the first service.

Transport and Roads John Graham. Picture: Richard Dobson

Transport Minister John Graham and his adviser were riding shotgun in the driver’s cabin when the airborne avian slammed into the front windscreen, leaving behind a detailed imprint of its outstretched wings.

The train had been travelling along the Blue Mountains line when the collision occurred.

The intercity train – the first new one in two decades – follows years of cost-blowouts and delays with the trains initially too wide for some tunnels and too long for some platforms.

The former Coalition government had initially promised to have the trains in service by 2020.

We know it’s supposed to be good luck if a bird poos on you, but what if the bird doesn’t make it …

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