Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) recognises the excellent performance and financial turnaround of the Qantas group;

(b) notes that:

(i) all sectors in the group returned a profit,

(ii) Qantas posted an annual profit before tax for 2014-15 of $975 million,

(iii) Qantas is placing orders for eight new 787-9 long range aircraft,

(vi) shareholders will receive a return of $505 million,

(v) Qantas negotiated new industrial agreements with pilots, and

(vi) the Australian Government’s abolition of the carbon tax saved Qantas $116 million; and

(c) calls on all members and senators in the Australian Parliament to celebrate the achievements of our national carrier and support it into the future.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave has been granted for one minute.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor was not consulted on the words of this resolution. Labor requested that point (vi) in the motion be put aside for the sake of bipartisanship; however, the government chose to retain it. Labor believes that Qantas should not be the subject of political point scoring, and we also believe that Qantas is a great airline.

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave has been granted for one minute.

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian Greens support the turnaround in the fortunes of Qantas but cannot support this motion with its emphasis that this was dependent upon the removal of the price on carbon. Qantas, unlike the government, supports carbon pricing and is now working for a global, market based pricing system for aviation and was part of an agreement reached in 2013 on an international marketplace measure to deliver aviation emissions reductions.

The critical thing to understand about carbon pricing is that the price imposed on this pollution reflects real costs that polluters should pay for. The costs of pollution, whether they come from plane flights or electricity from coal fired power stations, are: more intense droughts and floods, bushfires and cyclones, and sea level rise, as outlined in the Suva Declaration on Climate Change, as referred to in Senator Larissa Waters's motion that was declared informal. These are real economic costs in the world today.

Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, I seek leave to make a brief statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave has been granted for one minute.

Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do thank Senator Moore and Senator Rice for their contributions. I make the observation that it was Qantas itself that explained where the turnaround took place in its fortunes. I also make the observation that Qantas, almost alone in the world at the moment, is an international airline that has actually been able to return itself to profit, and I do make the observation—I come back to this point—that, as I have pointed out in (b)(i), all sectors in the group returned to profit. I think this is commendable. It is excellent for the future of employees in the organisation and for the security of our aviation, and I commend the motion to the Senate.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that general business notice of motion No. 852 be agreed to.