Pro-Australia Airline Bills - Tøfft lovverk på trappene

Last year, the flag carrier announced plans to launch two new airlines in Asia and restructure its struggling international carrier. It also planned to set up a budget carrier in Japan.

The amendment to the Qantas Sale Act of 1992 - called the Still Call Australia Home Bill 2011 - requires that the majority of heavy aircraft maintenance, plus flight operations and training, be conducted in Australia.
Another proposed bill would require Australian airlines and their subsidiaries to offer the same wages and benefits to crew based overseas as to their local counterparts.
"You will be responsible for making Qantas less competitive just when we most need the freedom to compete," Mr Joyce told the Senate committee.
"If the amendments are passed, and international crews are treated as Australian in terms of wages and conditions on domestic legs of international flights, we will no longer be able to viably operate those international services," he added.

"The reality is simple - we must all adapt or die. At Qantas we want to adapt, we must adapt if we are to survive."