If anyone should be familiar with corporate bribery then it would be Alan Jones. Need I remind anyone of his involvement in the cash-for-comments scandal. The bloke was found to have been accepting huge side payments from companies like Optus, Telstra
and Qantas to actively promote (and suppress criticism) of their brands on air without disclosing the commercial arrangement to the listeners.
How the worm turns! Here's what Jones told his 2UE listeners about Qanats's 1998 full year results back in February 1999;
Yes a terrific result I said by Qantas. 34 per cent jump. Gary Pemberton, the manager and James Strong were quick to warn that any move by Canberra to deregulate the industry, I spoke about that yesterday, would have a significant impact on regional Australia...I mean this is a fantastic result. Well done. A well run airline Qantas.
Of course, what no one knew at the time was that Jones was being paid to say that ... and he was being paid by Qantas to talk down industry deregulation. That's what a bribe looks like. Apart from anything else, the target of a bribe must be an individual, like Jones. You can't bribe a company, like Qantas. Offering discounts on fees and charges or other commercial incentives to promote business is not bribery and it is not illegal unless it involves an abuse of market power, something that the Wagners were clearly incapable of given the size of their airport.