Qantas CEO says proposed legislation would cripple the airline

Appearing before a Senate committee in Canberra today, Qantas' Alan Joyce expressed anger and frustation with proposed amendments to the Qantas Sale Act that he described as "not smart" and "not workable".

The proposals, laregly driven by independent Senator Nick Xenophon, would dictate the makeup of the airline board and require Qantas to conduct the majority of its heavy maintenance and flight training  in Australia.

This is an agenda that relects Senator Xenophon's inability to hear both sides of the debate about Qantas management's strategies.

Joyce is quite right to be taking the proposals head on, but his grounding of the Qantas fleet not so long ago has left him with few friends in government circles in the capital.

One of the few who has actually spoken in the airline's defence on this issue is Secretary to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport Mike Mrdak, who has told the Senate Committee that these proposals, "raise significant issues for the operations of all Australian airlines and their ability to compete internationally".

The main quotes from Joyce's lead-off today included:

* We have grave fears for the future of Qantas if these legislative proposals come into effect.

* We want our position clearly understood, and on the record, because history will judge.

* ...the Qantas Sale Act Amendments go way beyond the original aims of the legislation, and would strangle our capacity to run our business.

* Those of us running Qantas would have to face a choice: allow Jetstar to fail within the confines of the Qantas Sale Act, or sell it to allow it to succeed outside it.

* (The proposals) would apply intrusions and restrictions on Qantas Group ailrines that do not apply to our competitiors.

* The proposed amendments would quite simply force the Qantas Group to withdraw from services connection Darwin and Cairns to the tourism and trade markets of Asia and Europe. The impact on regional tourism and development would be immediate and negative.

* Measures targeted at lowering our competitiveness, closing us off from global markets, and raising our cost-base is (sic) not patriotic, nor are they smart. Frankly they are not workable.

Hard to disagree with any of that...

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