Captainrats,
Your post is an excellent summation of how many Australians feel....and not just about Qantas. I imagine many employees of other corporatised and privatised government businesses, banks, unions, etc etc etc all have the same feeling of bewilderment and a deep sense of unease at being able to get any sense of an answer to
"How did this all happen? How did those folks do this to us? Did we have to worship at the throne of Second Best?".
While it will not give a complete answer have a look at this website
John Ralston Saul - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and read one or two of his books
Saul's work encapsulates a lot of the
"How did this happen" stuff and really ought to be a compulsory read before we all vote.
It's not just about Qantas and not just about its employees....as a small example, take the people who fly Qantas, they're the ultimate QF stakeholders....many have that same deep sense of unease.
Why does car parking at MEL cost more than the air fare? Why on earth is there still a curfew at SYD or a second airport? Why can every other major city in the world have a rail link to the airport but not MEL?
I suspect almost all of the voters have an inbuilt and deeply embedded understanding that its always better to do things properly the first time. That in war, flood and famine the people can be trusted to understand changing paradigms and adjust to new challenges. But it does require leadership.
Maybe as pilots we, perhaps like surgeons and soldiers, know that you cannot properly lead and command by platitudes, ideology, consultancies, slogans, bright ill-thought through ideas and self-interest. Perhaps we are cursed with a little more insight.
Sherm has always been a fan of Oscar Wilde and I might close by sharing this quote:
"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world"
Sure there's something in there for all of us up at the pointy end. Have a look at Saul's work and let me know what you think.