Time for a Parliamentary Enquiry
No Qantas jobs promise given
By Belinda Tasker and Sandra O'Malley
February 05, 2007 05:03pm
THE consortium trying to take over Qantas today refused to rule out job cuts as the Federal Government tried to allay fears about the airline falling into foreign hands.
The Federal Government is under pressure from its own backbenchers, unions and Labor to impose strict conditions to help protect 38,000 Qantas workers whose jobs may be affected by the $11 billion deal.
But Treasurer Peter Costello and the Airline Partners Australia (APA) consortium say they are unable to give any guarantees when it comes to jobs.
APA director Bob Mansfield said while the consortium was willing to consider some conditions, including a commitment to regional services, jobs could not be guaranteed.
"On staffing, what we're putting on that, is we can't guarantee jobs, because I don't think any employer can," Mr Mansfield said to Southern Cross Radio.
"Our single focus on this whole exercise ... is to grow the organisation with 70 more planes and a 40 per cent bigger network at the end of the five to six years.
"If that happens, jobs will grow."
Mr Mansfield also flagged Qantas could sell "non-airline core businesses", but insisted it would maintain its current levels of maintenance work in Australia.
The ACTU, New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma and Coalition backbenchers demanded the Government set conditions on the deal to ensure no jobs are lost.
ACTU secretary Greg Combet said a new poll, sponsored by the union, showing almost 80 per cent of 400 voters in eight marginal coalition-held seats are opposed to the sale, highlighted the need for strict conditions.
"What is necessary ... are guarantees and strictly enforceable conditions, and these things are within the jurisdiction and power of the Commonwealth Government to impose on a sale such as this," he said to ABC Radio.
But Mr Costello rejected the calls and said job cuts were an issue for Qantas management.
"The fact that this application comes along doesn't change the fact that the board and the management are responsible for jobs," he said.
The latest concerns over Qantas's workforce came as the APA bowed to Government pressure and asked the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to examine its takeover offer.
Mr Costello said the bid would be rigorously examined by the FIRB, which has 30 days to determine whether the deal goes against the national interest.
The treasurer also hosed down fears about whether the iconic airline could end up being foreign owned, and dismissed calls for a parliamentary inquiry.
The APA is a mix of foreign and locally-based companies, including Australia's Macquarie Bank and US private equity giant Texas Pacific Group.
Mr Costello said existing laws prevented foreign investors owning more than 49 per cent of Qantas.
"If anybody tries to lift the foreign ownership in Qantas above 49 per cent they will be stopped," he said.
"The Government will require that Qantas have majority Australian ownership, that it be under Australian control, that it be located in Australia and that the airline continue to serve important domestic and regional routes."
Mr Costello is expected to be grilled about the deal by backbenchers at a party-room meeting tomorrow.
NSW Liberal Bruce Baird, whose electorate of Cook is near Sydney airport, wants a guarantee that jobs won't be lost, that customers won't lose out if the takeover succeeds and backroom operations won't be based in Asia.
"I would like to see guarantees in terms that they won't be sending the maintenance offshore, that we won't be seeing regional services cut," he said.