DFAT didn't disclose ambassador threatened to quit at airport over Abbott snub

[Bomberboyokay]

A new book about the Abbott government reveals a diplomatic near-miss that could have caused huge embarrassment, writes Aaron Patrick.

by Aaron Patrick

Australia's ambassador to France was so offended by a demand that his gay partner wait in a car instead of greeting Prime Minister Tony Abbott and chief of staff Peta Credlin on the tarmac of a Paris airport that he threatened to resign on the spot, an incident that would have rocked Mr Abbott's already fragile government, according to a new book, Credlin & Co., How the Abbott Government Destroyed Itself.

Following media reports about the incident, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade denied that ambassador Stephen Brady offered to resign to the head of the department over the treatment of him and his partner, Peter Stephens, at Le Bourget Airport on April 25 last year.

"Ambassador Brady did not offer his resignation to Mr [Peter] Varghese," the department said later, in response to a question from Labor senator Penny Wong.

The department did not disclose that Mr Brady told a protocol officer at the airport that Australia would have no ambassador to greet the prime minister because he would resign with immediate effect if his partner was excluded. After the threat was conveyed to the prime minister's aircraft it sat on the tarmac for about 10 minutes while Mr Brady and Mr Stephens waited outside for a response.

The incident sent shockwaves through the Department of Foreign Affairs because of the perception that Mr Brady and his partner were snubbed for being gay. The couple achieved minor fame in 1999 when Mr Brady became Australia's ambassador to Denmark, making them one of the world's first openly gay ambassadorial couples. Mr Abbott opposes same-sex marriage.

Both men had spent 16 hours attending Anzac Day ceremonies outside Paris, then drove to the airport to meet the prime minister's party, which touched down around 7pm. The ambassador, who was accompanied by four other staff from the Paris embassy, was met by an Australian protocol officer who travelled in advance of Abbott. The protocol officer – who was in touch with someone on the plane via telephone – told Mr Brady his partner couldn't be part of the tarmac greeting party, according to Credlin & Co. Mr Brady was told the order came from Mr Abbott's plane.

PR campaign

After some details of the incident were reported in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age as a snub to Mr Brady and Mr Stephens, the Prime Minister's Office mounted a public relations campaign to portray the reporting as exaggerated and the request just a matter of diplomatic protocol. Some journalists were told it would not have been inappropriate for Mr Stephens to greet the prime minister because Margie Abbott wasn't accompanying her husband.

One source said no such protocol applied and there was no reason that both men couldn't meet Mr Abbott in what should have been a routine and quick transfer from his official plane to an embassy car.

Later, Mr Abbott said he was unaware of what had been said to Mr Brady and praised him. "I appointed him our ambassador to Paris," he said. "I have known him for many years. I'd even say he's a friend of mine."

Mr Varghese, secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, later declined to answer questions about the resignation threat when asked by Senator Wong at a Senate committee. It would have unprecedented for an Australian ambassador to resign on the spot because of a snub from his own government and could have caused huge political damage to Mr Abbott.

When the door to Mr Abbott's plane eventually opened, Mr Brady was invited up the stairs. He walked into the cabin and greeted Mr Abbott with an awkward handshake. Mr Stephens waited outside and shook hands with Abbott when he left the plane.

Aaron Patrick is deputy editor (print) of The Australian Financial Review and author of Credlin & Co., How the Abbott Government Destroyed Itself.

http://www.afr.com/news/policy/fore...t-at-airport-over-abbott-snub-20160201-gmijgn

 

[rodney hoo]

Being friends of Abbott is dangerous, just ask Peter Slipper.