Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

TERLE () (): Boy, what a day today! What a day! It's no news to this chamber after that brilliant contribution from my friend for 30-odd years and colleague Senator Tony Sheldon. It's a hard act to follow. We know what's happened today with Qantas and the High Court decision.

There are six names I want to read out to give a special 'thank you' to them: Michael Kaine, Nick McIntosh, Tim Dawson, Richie Olsen, Mike McNess and Ian Smith. These men are the national committee of management of the TWU, the Transport Workers Union. A couple of years ago, when those crooks at Qantas, led by Mr Joyce—it hurts me to say 'Mr Joyce'—and ably backed up by the board, decided that it was a great idea to illegally sack 1,700 workers at Qantas, these men made the decision, after 1,700 families were thrown on the scrap heap, that, no matter what the cost and against all the legal advice they were getting, they would take the stand that these 1,700 people were members of the Transport Workers Union and they deserved the backing of the TWU to the very end. The Transport Workers Union backed them all the way.

It was at enormous cost, with enormous bills, but those six men did not falter, because they had to do the right thing—what was right by those 1,700 families that Joyce, Goyder and the rest of the crooks at Qantas, rubbing their hands together, threw on the scrap heap while they were making these enormous profits and taking taxpayers' dollars off all of us. They took $2.8 billion from taxpayers and put it into their coffers—not to mention the $570 million of flights that were booked and not taken because of COVID and all of that. If you go to Woolies, Bunnings or Coles and say, 'I bought something, and I've brought back the receipt,' you get your money back. With Qantas, no way: 'We'll keep your money and put it in our pockets or piggy bank, and maybe we'll give you a flight, but we'll jack up the price of the flights so you can't afford it anyway.'

Now I want to read another list of names, and I am keeping my emotions in check, because I really like to speak as I used to when I was a truck driver: Richard Goyder, the group chairman of Qantas; Maxine Brenner, board member, Qantas; Jacqueline Hey, board member, Qantas; Belinda Hutchinson, board member, Qantas; Michael L'Estrange, board member, Qantas; Todd Sampson, board member, Qantas; Antony Tyler, board member, Qantas; Doug Parker—I don't know Mr Parker, who only just joined the board in May, and I bet he wishes to Christ he hadn't answered that phone call when he got it, but he only joined in May and he's the only one who's had any airline experience, so I'll leave him aside for now; and Dr Heather Smith, with all these initials—PSM, FAIIA—board member, Qantas. These are the white-collar criminals who ticked off on this illegal behaviour that was invented by Joyce and Goyder. They gave it the big tick and said: 'Go ahead. Throw those 1,700 loyal workers under that truck going past, because we're going to outsource their jobs.' The jobs weren't gone; they were outsourced. Those names that I've read to you have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in Qantas shareholders' money, rubbing their hands together for their bonuses. How in the hell, with the damage that has been done to this iconic company in this nation, do they get out of bed each morning, look in the mirror and like what is looking back at them?

We know Mr Joyce has jumped in the pointy end of a Qantas plane and has taken off. Let's not forget that Mr Joyce is going to get a $15 million bonus for this disgraceful criminal behaviour. It doesn't matter to him. He's off; he's gone. Let's not forget that it's the same Mr Joyce who sold, I think, two million shares that he had in Qantas six weeks before the announcement of the profits. I think the whole package he's walking away with is worth $24 million. Those names that I read out—Goyder and company—the whole damn lot of them are just as complicit in this criminal behaviour.

Where is their fortitude? They put out such a weak apology today. They didn't apologise. To the Qantas shareholders: how the hell can you keep these people in a job? The fines that are coming will be running into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The shareholders should be demanding that Goyder and the rest of these criminals that backed him and Joyce should be on the way out and making sure the door doesn't hit them on the bum on the way out.