Originally Posted by
MickG0105
I can't find any reporting consistent with that assertion, perhaps you have a reference for that. I'd be fascinated to hear who these 'journalists' were who allegedly managed to extract such damming admissions from APA ostensibly before FIRB approval had even been recommended. Surely they won Walkleys for that sort of journalistic prowess.
What was most assuredly part of the public record were the details of the legally enforceable Deed of Undertaking provided by APA that:
- Foreign majority ownership of Qantas would not occur.
- Foreign control of Qantas would not occur.
- A majority of directors of Qantas must be Australian citizens.
- Qantas must remain based in Australia.
- A guaranteed capital investment program of $10 billion over the next five years would occur.
- Qantas facilities for the provision of scheduled services, maintenance, housing of aircraft, catering, flight operations, training and administration must be located in Australia.
- Qantas and Jetstar would expand internationally and within Australia.
- The Qantas Group would offer an integrated network of international, domestic and regional air transport services
- The Qantas Group will support regional capacity growth and regional network improvement.
- Maintenance, repair and overhaul operations will continue with a view to building on existing capabilities for wide and narrow bodied maintenance to create an onshore globally competitive in house maintenance repair and overhaul operation.
- Qantas would continue its Frequent Flyer Programme with no loss of frequent flyer points.
APA was a consortium put together such that it complied with the ownership requirements spelled out in the
Qantas Sales Act 1992 with the sole purpose of acquiring Qantas. When their bid to acquire Qantas failed there was no reason to maintain the consortium.
The reporting at the time said the company had collapsed. You can mince the words any way you like, there was NOTHING beneficial in that bid for Qantas or Australia. Seriously, 'must remain in Australian hands', yeh, by some orchestrated manipulation of shareholding like VA International, Ansett International, et al. A tiny percentage of the equity in Ansett was assigned to a shelf company called 'Ansett International' so that it technically 'complied' with the 'rules'. I don't see AN International still flying after NZ cut the AN subsidiary loose.......
You must have sourced some of your material from the media or journalists because you referred to the "Qantas SALES Act" - I remember journalists incessantly getting this wrong at the time - it's the 'Qantas Sale Act 1992 (Cwth)'.