It shouldn’t be a secret who the prime minister has dinner with, and what was discussed. Australians deserve to know | Geoffrey Watson

Any money being paid to dine with Anthony Albanese should be a matter of public record Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Our prime minister was quite right when he recently pointed out that diminishing public trust in our politicians and political system is a matter of pressing public importance. We all know this to be true: there is a sense that politicians are inaccessible and remote from our everyday problems, whether it is cost of living or housing. The perception is that the politicians are not listening to us. So I’m wondering, did Anthony Albanese raise these issues when dining at the multimillion-dollar home of a billionaire’s son? Or at either of the recent dinners, held in mansions in Adelaide and Perth, where a select group reportedly paid $10,000 each to dine alongside him? Not that we will ever know – because these were private dinners and what was said, what was discussed, is also private, only to be known by those who could afford to be invited. Albanese made that clear – “I don’t talk about private dinners,” he said. No one pays money unless there is some value to be gaine