Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

This is the first report of the Commonwealth Bilateral Air Service Agreements Select Committee. This Senate inquiry didn't have to happen. If the Anthony Albanese Labor government had been upfront and explained to the Australian public why it chose to block Qatar Airways's application for more flights and why it decided to put the interests of Qantas above the interests of everyday Australian travellers, this inquiry would never have had to happen. Indeed, this government—and this Prime Minister in particular—chose to look after their corporate crony mates, particularly former CEO Mr Joyce, and, more generally, the Qantas Group.

As the inquiry disclosed, as the ACCC has found and as the High Court has made clear, Qantas's corporate behaviour has been appalling. Our once-beloved national carrier has been despicable to its loyal customers, has flagrantly pursued and sacked its staff—illegally it has been found—and has sought to pocket nearly $½ billion of its own customers' COVID flight credits. On any measure, Australians are frustrated by the behaviour of the Qantas Group, and that came flowing out during this inquiry. The inquiry heard from over 140 submitters. Over 100 everyday Australians put pen to paper or keyboard to email to vent their frustrations and disappointment in a once-loved national carrier.

Rather than be upfront and honest, this government gave nine different and sometimes contradictory reasons for why it restricted competition and protected one airline's dominant market share over others and kept prices high. Ironically, this committee captured all but the built-up frustrations and traumas of families who lived through the COVID epidemic, when they were unable to fly to reach their loved ones they had been separated from, and who had literally been ripped off by a company that they thought had their nation's back. Qantas loves to trot out the 'national carrier' adjective, but when the chips were down Qantas was nowhere to be found. Frequent flyer points were debased, COVID flight credits could never be used, precious baggage was lost, and flights were delayed and cancelled, not to mention the behaviour of the Qantas board and management towards its loyal and professional staff while rewarding its departing CEO with an eye-watering golden parachute whilst he oversaw the trashing of this once-great Australian company's reputation. This inquiry became a lightning rod for all of these frustrations.

Nothing more epitomised the out-of-touch arrogance of this corporate than the evidence of Qantas's own Mr Finch—a man on millions of dollars. He claimed and complained to the senators that he was concerned about being delayed for a flight out of Canberra Airport. This guy earns enough that he could actually have chartered his own plane from Qantas to get home to Sydney that night. I can confirm that they made their flight. The flight was held, and Ms Hudson made it. But that's not so for tens of thousands of frustrated Australians who have had to hear those horrible words: 'Your flight's been delayed,' or, 'Your flight's been cancelled. We've bumped you to the next one. We'll put you up in a hotel.' You've got three screaming kids and you have to buy new baggage. The arrogance of Mr Finch, honestly, beggared belief and, I think, touched a nerve, shall we say, among the broader Australian public.

Yet the Albanese government, at every juncture, chose to side with Qantas rather than with the Australian travelling public. They chose to continue their protection racket for Qantas, the flag bearer of their now failed 'yes' campaign, gagging public servants, ignoring the advice of eminent ACCC commissioners, past and present, and ignoring the tourism industry, aviation experts, academics and other airlines. They're still doing this tonight, in the midst of the unfolding crisis in the Middle East, where Australians who are trapped in that war zone are hoping to catch mercy repatriation flights out of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv back to their loved ones in Australia. They're not telling Australians that one of the airlines that offered to help repatriate Australians who are trying to get out of Israel safely and securely was Qatar Airways, which also helped Australians out of Kabul and which also helped Australians get home during COVID. The government haven't mentioned its name because they're still running a protection racket for Qantas.

The Albanese government are tone deaf to the issues affecting everyday Australians. While the government has been solely focused on campaigning on the divisive referendum, the Australian public are simply trying to make ends meet. On 10 July the government blocked the application from Qatar Airways that would have meant the cost of getting from Australia to Europe through the Middle East was lower and you had more choice of destinations.

This Qantas inquiry should never have been needed, but it became beholden on the opposition to find out exactly what had happened, in whose interests the decision was made, who influenced the decision and what, if anything, was negotiated in return for this decision, which solidified and protected Qantas, with its dominant market share in our aviation industry—and particularly after its appalling corporate behaviour. We tried asking questions at question time. We tried seeking the production of documents, and I thank crossbench senators and the Greens for joining with the coalition in trying to get documents out of the government. Did we get anything? No. So, in a last-ditch effort, we put up an inquiry. I will be forever grateful to the crossbench senators who allowed this inquiry to be held.

While the government will trash this inquiry and its report as a political stunt, I would urge anyone who has an interest in this sector to read the report. The evidence, as I said, was overwhelming. Qantas is the only submitter who doesn't want the ACCC's monitoring of cancellations and delays in the aviation industry, which shows that Qantas delays and cancels flights out of Sydney more than any other airline, despite having the same number of Airservices Australia staff and despite being subjected to the same weather concerns. It is incredible. It is the ACCC report that actually makes that clear. They don't want it, so the government hasn't done it. The only submitter that doesn't want this decision to be reviewed or the reasons to be made public and transparent is Qantas. It is the only one among the academics, competition experts and the like. We heard from Peter Harris, a former chair of the Productivity Commission and a very intelligent and incisive person, who conducted a review into the slots going in and out of Sydney airport. That review is sitting on the minister's desk right now. She could make the decision right now, based on evidence that's been consulted on, to change the outcome and the cancellations and delays in and out of Sydney.

All the crumbs of evidence as to why this decision was made, why the minister didn't take her department's advice to approve the negotiating mandate, lead back to three people: Prime Minister Albanese, Minister King and Mr Alan Joyce. That is why this committee has asked that, when Mr Joyce does return from overseas, he be called before a reconstituted committee to answer the serious and substantial questions that committee members have for him. He hasn't been up-front. He's been afforded largesse at the expense of staff, shareholders and customers, and he needs to face the music.