[Peetwo]

At fantastic cost:-

"As such, I claim public interest immunity over documents subject to the Orders."

APH - “In the judgment of the High Court of Australia in Sankey v. Whitlam it was held that the public interest in the administration of justice outweighed any public interest in withholding documents which belonged to a class of documents which may be protected from disclosure irrespective of their contents. The court held that such documents should be inspected by the court which should then itself determine whether the public interest rendered their non-disclosure necessary. The court held that a claim of Crown privilege has no automatic operation; it always remains the function of the court to determine upon that claim. Accordingly a class claim supported by reference to the need to encourage candour on the part of public servants in their advice to Ministers was not a tenable claim of Crown privilege.” etc..

Considering that 'the nation' meets all costs related to 'government' and governance; it seems quite reasonable that a fair percentage of 'documents' – (92% ish) should be made available to those with an 'interest' in government thinking. State secrets and such fair enough (defence etc.) but for such a mundane subject as 'aviation' which affects so many elements of everyday life, one has to wonder what must be kept away from public scrutiny.

Probably being naïve, but the one and only way to make any form of return on an airline investment is 'bums – on – seats' and frequency of service; a service which must be 'affordable'. The cost of operating a service from 'advertising' to luggage retrieval at the other end forms a good size chunk of ticket price; fees to operationally needed terminal infrastructure another. These accounts must be paid before an engine gets started. Then the 'fees' government add to the cost of service must be built into the ticket price – what ever is left over goes to the airline operator to meet the cost of running the operation and squeeze out a profit line on the balance sheet. It is a tough, expensive, risky game, not one for the feint of heart.

So much for the airline side; but what of the huge impost 'government services' to industry demands. The various 'departments' ASA, ATSB and CASA all, in one way or the other are funded by the public and their budgets are truly staggering. These costs – one way or another – all come from the public purse. That these agencies are 'autonomous' and beyond ministerial control is bad enough, but add in that they are essentially a 'for profit'  business, fully protected, without competition, sanctioned under the catch-all cry of 'safety' – and pay executive bonus to boot – well: you have to ask who's shagging whom, who paid and what is the total cost?

There are no 'national secrets' contained within any documentation related to the fantastic, government imposed costs of operating the few aircraft Australia manages to put in the air every day. I say it is very much in the public interest to open up this Pandora's box of additional cost and let the public see, exactly the extent of cost piled onto their ticket home to visit the family. Miniscule King could actually compare the Direct Operating Cost per seat to the airline; subtract that from the final ticket price , then show Joe Public the imposed mark up for providing a self serving autocracy which has no interest in anything else but bonus and being a great cut-out between incompetent ministers and the mug punters paying for it all – and then some. 

"As such, I claim public interest immunity over documents subject to the Orders."

BOLLOCKS, shameless, unmitigated BOLLOCKS...........Release the documents and shame the Devil...(Had to get that off my chest!).

Toot - toot.

Addendum: On the Red Rat it is worth reflecting on this courtesy of 4 Corners last year...  

Until recently Qantas was one of the most reputable airlines in the world. Now it’s in damage control. 

Behind all the lost luggage, delayed services and cancelled flights is a story of ruthless cost-cutting and a divisive culture, according to insiders at the company. 

Qantas blames the problems on labour shortages and COVID, and maintains safety isn’t impacted. But with pressures building up, some staff are worried Qantas’ reputation for safety is at risk. 

Four Corners spoke to dozens of former and current Qantas staff, from pilots and flight attendants to baggage handlers and ground staff, to hear the inside story of the airline’s fall from grace. 

Update: In September 2023, Qantas announced its CEO Alan Joyce would step down after a tumultuous time for the airline.

&..via the Oz:

Public servant sheds new light on Qatar Airways decision at aviation conference

A senior public servant has offered further insight into the baffling decision to deny Qatar Airways’ more flights into Australia, suggesting the two countries could not reach agreement.

Weeks of scrutiny of the decision by Transport Minister Catherine King have not yet established a clear explanation, prompting a Senate committee inquiry into bilateral air rights.

Department of Infrastructure and Transport international aviation manager Jim Wolfe urged attendees at the CAPA Centre for Aviation conference on Thursday “not to get too gloomy” about the Qatar decision.

He said international airline capacity would soon be back to 91 per cent of pre-Covid levels, and indicated his involvement in Qatar’s application to expand its bilateral air rights in Australia.

“I can say that it takes two to tango,” Mr Wolfe said. “Bilateral agreements are between two countries. We might have a view and the other country might have a view and we have to try to reach agreement and at the end of the day that doesn’t always work out. We need to be a little bit careful.”



Brisbane Airport Corporation chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff responded that bilateral agreements were an “antiquated system” in desperate need of an overhaul. “I think the question is ‘do we actually still need it?’. I don’t think so,” said Mr de Graaff.

“We’re in a business where airlines will decide to fly to markets where they can make money and we all benefit from more volume. That drives airfares down and drives (airport) charges down which are a very small part of the airline’s cost base.”

Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner said it was “positive” that the Senate committee was investigating the Qatar Airways’ decision in the absence of a clear explanation from the ­government.

He said without those additional flights from a key competitor in the Middle East and European market, fares were unlikely to return to more “normal” levels until late 2025.

“The reality is we haven’t had any decent answers from the government about this,” he said.

“There is no doubt this decision will keep airfares higher and for the government to say that’s in the national interest then what national interest are we talking about?”

Mr Turner also expressed concern about the challenges facing Qantas after the ACCC launched legal action over the sale of tickets on already cancelled flights.



In a further blow, Qantas lost its court battle over the outsourcing of nearly 1700 jobs during the pandemic, which is likely to result in a hefty fine and compensation payout. Although he conceded he did not always see eye to eye with Qantas, which has slashed travel agents’ commissions, Mr Turner said he felt sorry for ex-CEO Alan Joyce.

“Alan did a lot of great things in his 15 years as CEO and I’m sorry that’s been overshadowed by current issues,” said Mr Turner.

“But I probably feel a bit sorrier for Vanessa Hudson who’s got to take on the challenges now.”

He said many of the challenges were the result of governments closing borders for two years.

“Airlines just don’t get up and running without operational issues. It takes time and Qantas has probably borne the brunt of that a bit unfairly,” Mr Turner said.

Asked what advice he would offer Vanessa Hudson to turn Qantas around he joked that she should take some extended leave.

“I’d take a sabbatical, for about a year,” he laughed. “It will be a tough job getting back to where the Qantas brand was in the past but I’ll be surprised if they don’t get it back in the next six to 12, to 18 months.”

Speaking of 'Government Industries',  from the Bilateral Airservices Agreements Senate inquiry yesterday, Airservices (conveniently minus the Harfwit) were 1st cab off the rank...  :   

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