Let's face it, most people hate airline food. For those of us who regularly travel in cattle class, meals come out on a plastic plate, one gets a plastic knife and the food even tastes like plastic. We still give thanks for it but secretly look forward to the culinary delights of our destination. So you've got to sympathise, even just a little, with Kevin Rudd when he did his lolly over an inflight meal.
Flying on the VIP jet, or the 'Vippers' as they are known, must go a little way to making life on the road bearable. At least Mr Rudd probably gets his dinner served on a china plate. But there is nothing glamorous about staring at the inside of an aircraft for hours on end, knowing you will spend yet more time away from home, jetlagged in another time zone, and be expected to deliver peak performance immediately upon arrival. Just ask the thousands of business people who do it all the time.
Thankfully Mr Rudd 'fessed up as soon as the story broke and apologised for his behavior to the cabin crew, one of whom ended up in tears after the incident. We would expect nothing less and that should be the end of the matter.
But the more interesting aspect to this story is that the incident occurred in January and has only now been leaked. The Vipper jets are run by the Department of Defence and it is no secret that the armed services are at war with their political leadership. Now that Labor has come to power, it is questioning everything from orders for new fighter jets and submarines, to butlers for defence chiefs, and the administration of soldiers’ pay.
Evidently the Department enjoyed some fairly compliant ministers during the Howard years but that has all changed. The defence forces serve the people and are answerable to the Parliament just like any other government department. We honour those who put their lives on the line, but that does not put their bureaucrats above scrutiny. Expect a further deterioration of political relations as the year unfolds.