Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this matter of public importance discussion on aviation. It appears that we have gone back in time—hearing members opposite talking about protectionism and tariff barriers as an approach to government. Former Prime Minister Gillard wrote a big cheque to Ford to secure Ford's future in this country and what happened? They left! That represented a total chequebook policy, lacking any focus on good industry policy. It may be news to the members of the opposition, but it is not the 1990s anymore. Since the 1990s the planes have changed, the industries have changed, the maintenance required has changed and the global aviation landscape has changed, but the one thing that has not changed is the good old ALP, who are still stuck in the past. The Leader of the Opposition may not be aware that the Super Constellation is no longer part of the Qantas fleet—they have changed aircraft since then. The shadow minister for employment may also be interested to know that the government no longer has a major shareholding in Qantas. These are things of the past.

This MPI purports to be about the national interest in maintaining aviation jobs in Australia. The best thing we can do for aviation jobs in Australia is to have an efficient, competitive, effective aviation industry, not one that is propped up by government. It is time to move into the 21st century and create a level playing field for all airlines based in Australia. By removing part 3 of the Qantas Sale Act 1992 we are creating a single regulatory framework for all Australian international airlines. Australians want a strong and competitive Qantas. The existing Qantas Sale Act places restrictions on Qantas that give its competitors an advantage. Why is the opposition so keen to advantage the competitors of Qantas? We can only wonder. These changes that the government is proposing will deliver flexibility for Qantas consistent with other airlines based in Australia. Any foreign investment will continue to be subject to consideration and approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board. We do not believe in government by chequebook. Labor can only think of giving Qantas a subsidy, but the coalition is not about playing favourites. We want to give Qantas a hand up not a handout. Labor privatised Qantas and now they should join with the coalition and unshackle Qantas from the restrictions that are hampering its ability to compete.

Ten years ago Labor were on the record as having an open mind on changing the foreign ownership restrictions in the Qantas Sale Act—the Prime Minister alluded to that in question time. In 2014, it should be no different. Sadly the xenophobic elements of the Labor Party have been out in the community today, trying to scare Australians about what might happen if foreigners were to suddenly increase their holdings in Qantas. We all know what happens when foreigners invest in Australian airlines—we have got Virgin, we have got Rex and we have got Skywest, all of which have significant levels of foreign ownership. The last time I was on a Virgin flight I found that the crew was Australian. The last time I was on a Rex flight the food was Australian. They continue to provide that Australian service. Labor is wrong when it says that these changes will shift all of Qantas's business overseas. Labor is clearly not familiar with the complex and stringent regulatory system that is in place for airlines operating in this country.

Our international air service agreements impose ownership and control restrictions to ensure only Australian international airlines can access our air traffic rights. Under these restrictions Australian international airlines must be substantially owned and effectively controlled by Australian nationals, at least two-thirds of the board members must be Australian citizens, the chairperson of the board must be an Australian citizen, the airline's head office must be in Australia and the airline's operational base must be in Australia. The government has no plans to change these criteria, which will continue to apply to Qantas's international operations and other Australian international airlines. The Fair Work Act, the Corporations Act, the immigration laws and other regulations will continue to apply just as they apply to other businesses operating in Australia.

The best thing that Labor can do to support Qantas, however, is to support the legislation which the government will be putting into the House but also it can help us scrap the—

Government members: Carbon tax.

We want to scrap the carbon tax. Have members opposite thought for a moment how many people could we employ for $106 million a year? Have members opposite done that calculation? I would say it is probably more than a thousand, but they have not stopped to think how many jobs they are destroying with their job-destroying carbon tax. We want Qantas to compete in a low-tax, low-cost environment that means getting rid of the—

Government members: Carbon tax.

It means getting rid of the carbon tax. John Borghetti from Virgin said, and I will read it carefully so that the members opposite can hear:

… the best assistance the government and the opposition can provide is the removal of the—

Government members: Carbon tax.

He goes on:

… which has cost this industry hundreds of millions of dollars.

Those opposite have all gone—they clearly do not care about the future of Qantas.

Over and above the issue of the carbon tax, there is the issue of a strong economy. We are all about building a strong economy. The best way we can have a strong aviation industry is to have a strong economy so more Australians and more business travellers can afford to travel on our airlines. What is the opposition doing? They are standing in the way of the repeal of the carbon tax. They are standing in the way of the repeal of the mining tax. They are standing in the way of our efforts to reduce red tape. They are standing in the way of our efforts to introduce an ABCC with real bite, that can return the rule of law to our construction industry. They are standing in the way of us returning to a balanced budget, getting the budget back in the black and addressing the black hole of debt that the previous government left us. We have a plan for the future of Australia. It primarily involves a strong economy, but an important part of that plan is a strong, efficient, effective aviation industry. I would look to the members of the opposition—

A government member: Where are they? They're not here for their own MPI.

Yes, they have all got up and left us—to go back to their electorates, talk to those employees of Qantas and tell them why a carbon tax is good for their job prospects, while it is fact that a carbon tax will probably cost more than 1,000 jobs to Qantas in the years ahead. It is $106 million and rising.

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