Markets 
Is Mark Latham plotting yet another change of party allegiance? That was one question raised by the former One Nation firebrand’s headline status alongside John Ruddick at a Libertarian Party branch meeting set to go ahead in Liverpool on Wednesday evening.
You would have been forgiven for thinking the Libertarians might just be the only party The Cockroach hasn’t already pledged loyalty to, but, of course, you would be wrong. Latham, the one-time federal Labor leader turned One Nation opportunist turned independent, was for a brief period also a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, which rebranded to the Libertarian Party in 2023.
But that brief seance ended in late 2018, when Latham departed over a disagreement with Liberal Democrat leader David Leyonhjelm over where Latham would run for the party. When reached on Wednesday, Ruddick sounded giddy about the prospect of a Latham homecoming.
“The door is wide open,” Ruddick told CBD.
The party thinks highly of Latham, Ruddick said, and has had him along to a bunch of recent events, even though he isn’t the “perfect libertarian”. Maybe Wednesday evening’s Liverpool grip-n-grin will double as an audition for Latham as the party tries to rally the troops ahead of next year’s NSW election. Latham didn’t respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
True believers were invited down to Rashays Macquarie Street on Wednesday with the lure of meeting Latham, who, according to the billing, promised to break down “the surge of minor right-leaning parties” and the role they’re set to play in Australia’s political future.
“We will also be talking about the latest on our campaign as we gear up for next year’s state election. If you want to be part of the momentum, this is your moment.”
But we can’t help wondering if Latham, unmatched as one of the state’s great political survivors, might’ve missed his moment. Surely, he’d be looking at the polls thinking about what could’ve been had he not walked away from One Nation in 2023.
Support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has since surged, with the most recent Resolve Political Monitor poll putting the party’s federal primary vote at 24 per cent, outpacing the official opposition for the first time. One Nation’s support was at 7 per cent last March and 6.4 per cent at the May election, our colleague noted last month.
Latham, by contrast, does not have the same wind at his back. The most notable thing we’ve heard of Latham lately was chatter about him rocking the Trump tint as a result of what appeared to be a home hair dye job, debuted at estimates while gnawing audibly at his sandwich.
Virgin Australia exec feels cancellation pain
Virgin Australia’s corporate affairs boss, Christian Bennett, appears to have only just discovered how annoying cancellations can be.
In a sprawling post to LinkedIn earlier this week, clocking in at more than 300 words, Bennett was outraged about how an Airbnb host cancelled accommodation for him and his wife for their trip to the United States next month to celebrate their son’s college graduation. The post described Airbnb as “a bad gamble at best, and mercenary at worst”, before calling on hosts who cancel to be “penalised”.
A little too on the nose, even for us! This from a guy who, in his day job, is the mouthpiece for an airline that spent years resisting stronger passenger rights in the aviation sector, which loves a cancelled flight.
In its submission to the 2023 Aviation Green Paper, Virgin Australia argued that Australian consumer law was “fit-for-purpose” and suggested that industry-specific regimes “such as a Passenger Bill of Rights or a fixed compensation regime” could negatively impact customer outcomes and operational performance.
Of course, the airline has since warmed up to the idea of strengthening consumer rights. Earlier this month, the Albanese government introduced new legislation aiming to establish a new Aviation Consumer Ombudsperson to help resolve complaints; a new Aviation Consumer Protections Charter, to set minimum standards for airlines and airport services; and a new Aviation Consumer Protection Authority, to enforce compliance.
In a statement announcing the legislation, Transport Minister Catherine King had this to say: “Consumers have relied on airlines handling escalated complaints themselves through voluntary industry arrangements and have frequently been left disappointed with the outcomes.”
But Bennett wasted no time snapping into action to remind us of how “constructively and co-operatively” Virgin has been in its engagement with the federal government. It was the first airline to invest in “great customer-centric IT solutions”, Bennett said, and was “the fastest airline to resolve complaints to the customer advocate last year”.
“But is my employer perfect? Of course not – but what I like about them is that it does try to constantly learn and improve wherever it falls short, and deliver on its value promise to customers,” Bennett told CBD.
“Did we feel that in dealing with AirBnB over the last 12 months trying to prepare for an important family event? No.”
John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.From our partners
Read the full article here
