There is no doubt that the Australian Government was ultimately responsible for putting Ansett to death.
Their "backflip" in August, supporting a mythical Qantas proposal just strengthened the resolve of the xenophobic Kiwis to do nothing. After about 11 months of the same, their final inaction was fatal.
As Gary Toomey indicated in correspondence at the time, the Australian Government were clearly confusing the national interest with Qantas's corporate interests.
Effective lobbying no doubt - but Government incompetence (on both sides of the Tasman) at its finest!
It makes little difference, but for the first time, they've lost my vote.