For the record
Fly by: Joyce misses second inquiry grilling
Kelly Burke
November 23, 2011 - 2:27PM
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce ... supplied written answers to questions.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has declined the invitation to face a further grilling at tomorrow's senate inquiry, despite earlier assurances under oath that he was "happy to defend [the decision to ground the airline] and talk about it in any forum, anywhere, because it was the right call".
It is understood Mr Joyce has informed the inquiry into the Qantas Sale Act that he will not be available for further questioning now until at least February next year.
A Qantas spokesman said Mr Joyce was overseas on business but was working with the committee on dates which he could re-appear.
"Mr Joyce appeared before the Senate committee to give evidence about proposed amendments to legislation three weeks ago. He answered Senators' questions for three hours – double the time he was originally scheduled to appear," the spokesman said.
At Mr Joyce's previous appearance at the inquiry on November 4, he was subject to intense and occasionally aggressive questioning from the left-wing Labor senator Doug Cameron.
Senator Cameron said today he was extremely disappointed Mr Joyce would not be attending.
"I thought Mr Joyce made a clear commitment to the senate to make an appearance, and [his actions] seem to be inconsistent with that," Senator Cameron said.
"This is an issue of significant public concern, which goes to very core of the national interest and I'm sure nothing he's doing at the moment could be more important than explaining why he acted in a rogue capacity to close down Qantas and damage the Australian economy."
Mr Joyce had been given until midnight last night to respond to a number of questions he took on notice at the November 4 hearing.
Made public today, Mr Joyce's responses included the revelation that as many as 66 flight crews learned of the grounding mid-air, possibly after tuning into news on ABC Radio Australia.
When pilots contacted the company from their cockpits to find out what was going on, they were read out a prepared statement and told to proceed to their destination "where everything would be explained".
Mr Joyce said as many as 629 flights had been cancelled prior to the grounding, as a result of the unions' "slow bake" action over a period of months, and a further 387 flights had been delayed.
A nationwide poll of more than 1000 respondents, commissioned by the Australian and International Pilots Association and set to be released tomorrow, has found that an overwhelming majority want the federal government to move to strengthen the Qantas Sale Act.
More than two-thirds of respondents said wanted legislation to ensure that Qantas management does not act against the national interest.
The association's president, Barry Jackson said the polling numbers prove that strengthening the Qantas Sale Act was an issue Australians feel strongly about.
"In recent years, however, the public has watched successive CEOs take advantage of loopholes in the Act to outsource and offshore the operations of a proud Australian icon," Captain Jackson said.
"What this new polling demonstrates clearly is that the vast majority of Australians understand the special role Qantas has to play. They do not want rogue management teams to retain the right to treat the airline like a personal plaything."
The senate inquiry into amending the Qantas Sale Act is due to sit again tomorrow morning.
WA Today