Dick Just re-read your first paragraph:
..... the rumour going around is that a particular pilots’ union spent over $100,000 in defending the pilots, then Qantas took over and has spent many more hundreds of thousands of dollars. This has happened yet it appears that the pilots have not had their day in court...
Am I to assume from your statement that the pilots were charged with an offense (by Summons?) but between the Union and Qantas, the matter has been kept out of Court for some period of time up to five years?
What has the
"$100,000" and
"many more hundreds of thousands of dollars" been spent on if the matter has not gone before the Court?
Surely the matter would have come up for mention? Do you have a Court reference? Or has charges not been made and with the passage of time, may never been made?