Senior Member of Parliament Kicked off Flight

We know that our bureaucrats aren't like us; but it's still amazing what passes for aviation "security" these days...

Over the weekend, Peter Slipper (below, right), Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Finance and Administration, a senior Liberal Party MP, was denied re-entry to a Qantaslink flight he was on, going from Cairns to Darwin, with a stop at Gove.

At the Gove refueling stop, he was asked to leave the airplane; after fueling was completed, he was told to stay off, due to "safety concerns."

The bureaucrat said he hadn't been drinking, and had not been rude. He did admit, though, to being on drugs -- for dental surgery -- and said he was having a "bad day." He speculated that, "...I came across some people who had had a bad day, and I had had a bad day. I was not impolite. I had a disagreement with a flight attendant. I sat there quietly and had a verbal discussion." The obligatory supplication was still in order, though. He continued, "If I overreacted, I apologise."

Slipper chartered a flight, at his own expense, from Gove to Darwin. Qantas isn't commenting; and Mr Slipper's office isn't commenting further.

FMI: www.finance.gov.au/Ministers/min_slipper.html