TOPICS: Aviation inquiry, Alan Joyce, Pacific Relations, AIS
18 OCTOBER 2023
E&OE…
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
Well, today is a dark day for Australian families. The Prime Minister has revealed who he really backs in this country and it’s not mums and dads travelling. It’s not the business traveller. It is actually his crony capitalist mates, rich fat cats, like Alan Joyce. He’s continuing to run a protection racket for the former CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce, and on the floor of the Senate today, he was joined by the Greens, and by Senator David Pocock.
This is not an academic argument. The Senate inquiry handed down significant and substantial recommendations to make our aviation sector more competitive, more affordable and more reliable. The Government has refused to accept those recommendations, all the crumbs of evidence that we heard lead back to three people, the Prime Minister, Minister King, and Mr Alan Joyce, about who knew what when, what was the price paid to continually protect Qantas while it sacked workers, while it ripped off its loyal customers and while it broke the law.
It’s all about Alan Joyce. The fact that the Government today led the charge on the floor of the Senate to stop the Australian people through the inquiry being able to ask the questions that have to be asked of that man is just unconscionable.
It’s a betrayal by their Prime Minister of everyday Australians and the travelling public.
SIMON BIRMINGHAM
Well, thanks. Thanks, Bridget, and congratulations to you as Shadow Transport Minister on your prosecution of this very important issue for Australian consumers. Together with Dean as the Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition Policy, that’s what’s at heart here. Australian consumers and our tourism industry are paying the price. Australian travellers will pay more for their airfares, and Australia’s tourism industry will lose tourism dollars as a result of Labor’s cover up and Labor’s refusal to allow Qatar Airways to have more flights into Australia, and to have more competition in the Australian aviation market.
The vote, taken on the Senate floor this afternoon was a cabal of cover up by Labor, Greens and Senator Pocock to prevent the truth from being exposed. That’s the reality of the situation here. The Senate inquiry, chaired by Senator McKenzie, has heard clear evidence that Catherine King received a brief from her department recommending that negotiations be entered into with Qatar Airways for additional flights. Catherine King told the Virgin Australia CEO in January that she was going to approve that brief in a couple of weeks, but that she knew Alan was unhappy and she was talking to him in the next few days. What’s the government covering up? Well, they’re covering up any and all discussions that took place from the moment Catherine King told Virgin she was going to accept her department’s advice to the moment, six months later, when she rejected her department’s advice. What happened in those six months? How many conversations did Catherine King have with Mr. Joyce or with any of Qantas representatives? And why won’t the government be transparent about that? When Catherine King’s department were pressed on whether or not she had those discussions, her office came back with a smart arse response of saying, “Well, ask the Minister.”
Today the Senate had the choice of asking the minister, but in the cabal of cover up we saw Labor, Greens and Senator David Pocock vote to maintain a protection racket around Catherine King, around Qantas, around those who are standing in the way of Australians getting cheaper airfares and our tourism industry getting more seats to Australia.
DEAN SMITH
Thank you very much. Australian families here are preparing for Christmas and the Government does not have an answer to the questions that they are all asking. How have airfares become cheaper for my family?
When we think about staying connected, reconnecting with friends and family over the Christmas and summer period families will want to reconnect with friends and families here in Australia and they want to reconnect with friends and families abroad and the Government has no answer in regard to what they have been doing to make competition better, and to drive down prices for consumers.
Tomorrow in the Senate, there is an important vote. Everyone will be watching the Government and the Crossbench and Senator Pocock. They will be asked to vote on whether or not they support a simple Bill, the extension of the ACCC monitoring regime, which has been in place for three years, which has now ceased. That is a simple and easy way to bring some transparency and further scrutiny back to the Australian aviation sector. The country will be watching Senator Pocock, the Australian Greens and the Government because as families prepare for Christmas, they deserve to know that there is some sort of plan to make aviation cheaper and more reliable for Australian consumers.
JOUNALIST
So, do you think the deal has been done? And if so, is any deal worth it?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
Well, I don’t think so. I mean I think the Prime Minister and David Pocock and the Greens have shown that they’re backing a fat cat like Alan Joyce, and a company that’s behaved as egregious as Qantas has over the concerns and needs of everyday Australian families who just want an aviation industry where they can afford a ticket, where your planes actually take off and land on time and your bags arrive at the destination you do. That’s all they want. This is not high a mountain to climb. We used to be very proud of our national carrier Qantas but its reputation is in tatters. That is in no small part as a result of the behaviour of the former CEO Alan Joyce. As the Reserve Bank Governor said today, he is the number one most wanted man in Australia and it is the Australian Senate led by the Labor Party, David Pocock, and the Greens who have rejected bringing him back to answer legitimate and serious questions on behalf of the Australian people.
Has a deal been done? Absolutely a deal has been done. I mean, why else? Why would you be sitting on that level? On the other side of the chamber? Why wouldn’t you be backing millions of Australians that want an affordable aviation industry?
The Senators that sat and voted against bringing Alan Joyce back to answer serious questions are the Senators who’ve done the deal. What has been the price for David Pocock’s vote? What was the price for the Greens extracted? We all know what the price the Labor Party extracted. That was the support for the Yes campaign by Qantas because when we heard evidence from Richard Goyder the Chair of Qantas in the inquiry, he made it very clear the Board accepted the recommendation of the then management. All roads, all flight paths lead back to Alan Joyce, as the only person that can get to the bottom of why this Government continues to protection racket. What is the cosy personal and political relationship between Alan Joyce, and Anthony Albanese?
JOURNALIST
What’s the next steps for you in terms of this pursuit? Is this where it ends.
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
Well, the Senate is a curious place, and it has a will of its own. So, at any point in time, it could change its mind. I think what is most concerning is that the Senate today hasn’t heard the loud cry of frustration and anger that we’ve all witnessed over the recent weeks from everyday Australians who are sick and tired of having rich corporates, arrogantly dismiss their concerns as loyal customers, staff and shareholders because that’s actually what’s been going on. This inquiry has smashed into a level of frustration in the broader Australian community that I have not seen in my political career. For the Senate, for Labor, the Greens, and David Pocock to not hear that, to dismiss it, to back a company like Qantas and a man like Alan Joyce, over everyday Australians, I think is a complete betrayal. You’ve seen the character of the Prime Minister in this vote.
JOURNALIST
Do you still want to censure him in the Senate for not showing up? Treating him with jail?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
Well, in the risk of like boring everyone in the technicalities of the Senate, The Select Committee ceases to exist and so there is….
JOURNALIST
No more power to summons him?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
Well No.
JOURNALIST
Senator Birmingham, can I just ask you, while I have you in your portfolio today, we heard Prime Minister Rabuka say that he will essentially deal with Australia first because we’re both democratic nations, but he’s moving his oceans of peace proposition before it goes to PIFF as well. I’m just wondering what your take on that is. Did you discuss it, what the opposition thinks of his proposal?
SIMON BIRMINGHAM
Well, Mr. Dutton and Mr. McCormack and I met with Prime Minister Rabuka earlier today, and it was a very positive meeting. We discussed a number of issues, I’m not in terms of private discussions going to detail, all of those. But Mr. Booker has, of course, discussed publicly and his vision for the Pacific and his desire to be able to pursue that type of agenda in terms of peaceful cooperation and leadership by Pacific Island nations. He’s also spoken positively about the shared history and values that Fiji has with Australia. We welcome all of those areas for collaboration and work between Australia and Fiji in the future. Australia’s ambition is to see the Pacific Island region as a peaceful region, as one that is not militarised by external powers in ways that would be to the detriment of the peace or stability of the Indo-Pacific region more broadly. We are certainly committed to working with Fiji and other Pacific Island partners to ensure their sovereignty is respected and that they are able to work and engage in ways that do underpin the peace stability of the region that we share.
JOURNALIST
Can China be part of that peaceful plan, do you think?
SIMON BIRMINGHAM
Well, we urged China to engage with all regional partners in ways that respect international laws, that respect the sovereignty of other nations and that does underpin a peaceful, prosperous region, a stable region. China’s economic growth has been a transformative one for hundreds of millions of people across our region, lifting them out of poverty. That is welcomed, and we welcome and want to engage positively with China, as indeed Mr. Dutton. Mr. Hogan and I all spoke to the Australia-China Business Council earlier today and made clear our desire to see a positive relationship with China and one that can enable both countries to benefit, rather than the counterproductive actions that China has taken in recent times, particularly through its trade dispute and coercion attempts against Australia.
JOURNALIST
So, given Qatar’s support for Hamas, both financially and politically, do you think the Coalition is backing the wrong horse here in trying to get Qatar that decision, at least to get that review for them?
SIMON BIRMINGHAM
Qatar Airways has just today helped to repatriate 222 people safely from Israel back to Australia. Qatar Airways helped to evacuate Australians and others from Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul. Qatar Airways helped to repatriate many, many Australians during COVID and helped to export much Australian produce and other critical exports during Covid-19. The previous government and the current government have demonstrated a willingness to work with Qatar Airways. The current government has clearly happy to see Qatar Airways continue to fly into Australia, and indeed, current government ministers have urged them to fly more flights into certain cities. So the issue we’ve sought to progress and to understand is why it is that the current government thinks Qatar Airways should fly into Australia more, just not into the cities where those flights are most needed.
JOURNALIST
So the Coalition stance, though, hasn’t changed in light of recent events in Israel and Gaza?
SIMON BIRMINGHAM
There are key transport policy issues of which we’re very clear on and our position is clear. The government’s position in terms of support for Qatar Airways operating into Australia is equally clear, but the government’s position is confused.
Now, in relation to the nation of Qatar. I know that Secretary Blinken has passed through Qatar and had meetings with their officials recently, and we’ve endorsed Australia engaging widely with Middle East nations to seek to ensure that the conflict occurring in Gaza at present, following Hamas’s outrageous and unacceptable terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, that that conflict does not spread more widely into the region. Cooperation with Middle East nations and engagement with them is important to seek to ensure that that is the case, and we continue to support that work across the region.
JOURNALIST
Senator McKenzie, in your infrastructure role, can I just ask you your view on the AIS independent review? Does the Coalition have a position on whether the AIS should remain in Canberra?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE Well, as a previous sports minister and PE teacher, very, very passionate about Canberra being the home of the AIS. Does it need an upgrade? Absolutely. It was something that Peter Condie, the former head of the AIS and I discussed regularly and begun the draft planning work on. There is a lot of land out there which, if the ACT government was of a mind to actually look at how to use that land, how to value capture that land over decades to come, those car parks become very, very expensive plots of land for housing. And that money could then be used to not just have a great new stadium in the heart of Canberra for the Raiders, but also our fabulous elite athletes to have a state of the art training facility that has the biomechanics work that they need, the physiology work that they need. Because another thing that the AIS does isn’t just prepare our athletes to head off and represent us overseas. It’s a really great research facility for international biomechanists and physiologists to come and collaborate with the best in the world here and really get great outcomes for athletes.
JOURNALIST
Okay, so not not keen on south east Queensland ahead of the Brisbane games?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
I just think Canberra is the home of the AIS. It’s our national capital. It’s where we are proud and loud about being Australian and that includes our fabulous sporting teams.
SIMON BIRMINGHAM
Thanks everyone