After being grounded ‘Airbus Albo’ readies for take-off

Anthony Albanese understandably bristled when media outlets and the Coalition began labelling him “Airbus Albo” just weeks after Labor’s 2022 election victory. After all, Albanese’s travel schedule has hardly been extravagant compared to that of his predecessors. In his first 18 months as prime minister, Albanese made 18 overseas trips compared to 17 for Scott Morrison and 16 for Tony Abbott.

And the opposition appeared to want to have it both ways, attacking Albanese for travelling both too much and not enough – for example, by not visiting Israel following the October 7 attacks or skipping a Ukraine peace summit held in Switzerland in June.

Anthony Albanese has taken only one overseas trip so far this year.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Yet the perception Albanese was overseas too often – coupled with the government’s focus on the ill-fated Indigenous Voice to parliament referendum – undoubtedly hurt the government politically at a time of high inflation.

Aware of this reality, Albanese slashed his travel commitments in the first half of this year.

Between January and August 2023, Albanese visited 11 overseas countries, including India, the US, Fiji and Lithuania.

By contrast, he has made just one international trip this year: to walk the Kokoda track in April alongside Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape. Significantly, Albanese turned down an offer to visit the White House for a NATO meeting in July, to show he was focused on domestic issues.

That’s about to change, and dramatically so. Albanese’s travel schedule is about to step up. A slew of overseas trips begins with a three-day trip to Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum starting on Tuesday.

In the last four months of the year, Albanese is set to attend:

• the inauguration of new Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto;
• the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa;
• the East Asia summit in Laos;
• the APEC leaders meeting in Peru;
• the G20 summit in Brazil; and
• a Quad leaders’ meeting in India.

Almost all of these trips, for various reasons, are seen as essential for Albanese to attend. Australian prime ministers often skip CHOGM, for example, but King Charles is set to attend this year’s event, meaning it would be seen as rude for Albanese miss it.

(Albanese could also attend the United Nations climate talks in Azerbaijan in November, though this is less likely.)

The increase in international travel comes as he prepares for the next federal election, due by May next year. Negative headlines and shock jock umbrage will inevitably follow as the trips mount, including claims he is distracted from Australians’ cost-of-living concerns and is being profligate with taxpayer money. Albanese copped heat earlier this year for the $450 million being spent on two new government business class jets, even though they were ordered by the previous Coalition government.

Overlooked in these attacks is the fact that leaders almost always travel overseas not because they want to, but because they believe it is in the national interest. Albanese would certainly much rather spend his spare time at home with his family than travelling abroad for bilateral meetings. The idea that international travel is a prime ministerial luxury, akin to a relaxing holiday, is a tabloid trope of the most juvenile kind.

Australia is an increasingly influential player on the international stage, requiring prime ministers to travel to ensure the nation’s voice is heard in key international forums. These events also offer important networking opportunities, helping to cultivate personal connections between leaders that can later prove crucial – as when an Australian is detained overseas and political intervention is required to set them free.

The political risk of Albanese’s upcoming flurry of international trips is real, but so is the potential diplomatic pay-off for Australia.

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