Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

( My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's proposed changes to the Qantas Sale Act means there will be no requirements for thousands of Qantas jobs, including maintenance workers, cabin crew, engineers and pilots, to remain in Australia. Prime Minister, how does exporting Qantas jobs to other countries help Qantas jobs in Australia?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

( I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. I can inform him that Qantas will still be subject to the Air Navigation Act. The Air Navigation Act provides that to be a designated national carrier an airline has to be 51 per cent Australian owned; the chairperson has to be Australian; the majority of the board has to be Australian; and the principal base of operations has to be Australia.

The point I want to make in addition, though, is that by continuing to want to have Qantas shackled by part 3 of the sale act, what the Leader of the Opposition is effectively doing is giving Virgin a better deal than Qantas. I am all in favour of Virgin. I think it is a fine airline, but why should Virgin be given an advantage in running its business that Qantas does not? As long as the Leader of the Opposition persists in his opposition to what the government is proposing, he is giving Virgin a better deal than Qantas.

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Maybe they can be the national carrier then.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Wakefield.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why would any Australian want to see the big flying kangaroo disadvantaged? As long as the Leader of the Opposition persists in his current position—and we know he does change his mind quite often—he is giving Virgin a better deal than Qantas and that is just not right.

David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

( My question is to the Prime Minister. What steps is the government taking to ensure that Qantas has a strong future as one of the world's great airlines?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

( I thank the member for Banks for his question. I appreciate that the member for Banks has lots of Qantas staff living in his electorate and he wants to give them every chance to keep their jobs and to be a continuing part of one of the world's great airlines. Qantas is one of the world's great airlines, and this government wants to see Qantas continue as one of the world's great airlines, and the best way to ensure this happens is to take the shackles away. That is why the first thing that the government is going to do for Qantas is to repeal part 3 of the Qantas Sale Act, which puts a whole lot of restrictions on Qantas which do not apply to Virgin. What this government wants to see is both big Australian airlines competing on the same playing field. The fair thing is to have both big Australian airlines competing on the same playing field. I have great faith in the staff and management of Qantas to compete. But we have got to take the shackles off. We have got to allow them to compete on the same playing field under the same conditions as their competitors, and that is what this government wants to do.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Jagajaga will desist.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The other thing we want to do is make it easier for all Australian airlines to compete, to employ and to expand. We want all Australian airlines to flourish, and to do that we are going to repeal the carbon tax. The carbon tax is a tax on Australian airlines which other countries simply do not face. All of Qantas and Virgin's competitors do not face the carbon tax, so we are going to take it away. The carbon tax is a $106-million hit on Qantas jobs; it is a $48-million hit on Virgin jobs; it is a $2½ million hit on Rex jobs; and it should be gone.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Moreton.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me just remind members opposite that two decades ago under a Labor government this parliament sold Qantas. It was a gutsy call by the then Labor government, but that was a gutsy Labor government. It was a gutsy Labor Party in those days. What we now need to do, having sold Qantas, is to give it its freedom, and that is what this government proposes.