Square Bear.
Very easily. If you don't use it you lose it.
Keeping Qantas operating with limited International should have been part of our repatriation plan. If Qantas didn't want to do that then the Govt could have given those rights to someone else.
Without a repatriation plan our Government is ultimately complicit when things go wrong. Any responsible Govt would have known that you cant strand 30,000 Australians overseas and not expect some repercussions.
As far as the Commonwealth lack of State control, that is obviously a Constitutional matter. Immigration and Aviation is definitely a Federal matter and Qantas can and should lose all unused rights under the IASC rules. If they want them back they can reapply when they think that they can use them.
Qantas likes to claim that they are the National Carrier but when we need a National Carrier they seem have taken their bat and ball and gone home.
Wunwing