November 13, 2004 - 10:34PM
Nearly $100 million raised by the government through the Ansett ticket levy, which was meant to help pay the entitlements of staff who lost their jobs, has instead been spent on aviation security.
The Sun-Herald newspaper reported that this was despite the fact that thousands of former employees were still waiting for money to be paid after the airline collapsed in September 2001.
Former flight attendant Joanne Turner said she was still owed $33,000, but she knew colleagues who were waiting for more than $100,000, the paper reported.
"I will be lucky to see $10,000. This $10 ticket levy was always intended for us. The people of Australia paid it for the purpose of entitlements.
"The Commonwealth collected a massive amount of money on our behalf using the goodwill of the public, but there are still ex-Ansett workers out there doing it tough," Ms Turner said.
A spokesman for Transport Minister John Anderson said that under a program set up by the federal government after the airline collapsed, nearly 13,000 Ansett employees had received outstanding wages, annual leave, long service leave, pay in lieu of notice and up to eight weeks' redundancy pay, the Sun-Herald reported.
"The government promised at the time that any surplus would go to tourism and travel industries, and hence (the introduction of) the $93 million security package," the spokesman said.
The 2001 staff payout was made under the Special Employee Entitlement Scheme for Ansett employees (SEESA).
ACTU senior industrial officer Richard Watts accused the government of profiteering from the misfortune of ex-Ansett employees.
"Essentially they are double-dipping and making a profit. There are a lot of people who are seeing planes and assets sold and wondering where the money is going," Mr Watts was quoted by The Sun-Herald as saying.
© 2004 AAP
Well...there goes the boat!