Duff
Anyone can set up an airline in Australia - Dickie did it, SQ & EK have talked about it... AirNZ just decided it was easier to buy one.
It was OK for SQ to wander in to AirNZ (in their quest to prevent Qantas from becoming a dominant carrier in the region - isn't that self-interest??) and it's stretching a very long bow to suggest their interests lie with the Gwa-Loh white filth to their south. It's not, however, such a long bow to suggest that the self-interests of Qantas might be a little closer to home ('home' being both sides of the Tasman) and that it's more likely to take heed of what's happening in NZ. Politically, if they screw up they'd have far more heat to handle than SQ (or anyone else) would. Also, wouldn't it be better to have as an investor, someone whose main shareholder is not a virtually dictatorial government (which crushes dissent), but rather one whichunderstands the industry and which is seeing a good dividend stream and therefore likely to not upset the cart and just let Qantas just get on with it.
Let's not forget which airline stock has been one of the best-performing IN THE WORLD this year and which has made a profit whilst others have damn-near collapsed - and has free cash.
Let's not forget just what level of commitment someone from out of town showed when things got tough - they couldn't wait to slink back up to Changi. Qantas, on the other hand, would have little choice but to stick it out when things got rough (where's it going to go??!!)
In summary, it appears that Kiwis are happy to sell off the family jewels to anyone BUT an Australian; it might be a good time to take a good long look at who your friends are & start working WITH people who know what it's like in your part of the world. You might be able to make transitory friendships with others, and poke Australia in the eye from time to time, but when the going gets tough, history shows that it's the outsiders who get going, scuttling back to whence they came.