A little insight for you guys.
There is a thing known as the defence panel, this little group has representation form operators and brokers and you can "bid" of sorts to get onto it.
Now it was originally devised so that the ADF could rapidly acquire airlift outside of "tender" with competitive bids from industry in order to satisfy short term and one off logistic requirements outside of adf capabilities.
Now what has happened every federal (feral) govt dept that could has jumped on the band wagon.
Next was when the Snowbird saga turned out to be the flop it was destined to be.... how many times did they actually make it to the ice? v what was planned. So the Feds have a 319 on a cubic dollar standing fee not doing its job.
Changes of policy and now the "Rudd Route" is almost the second busiest RPT route in the country out side of SYD-MEL.....
Miraculously Snowbird get so busy that they can afford to get a second 319, our airline are doing better than they ever did in the pacific......
and none of us ever saw a tender....... FFS this is the tax dollars that we all pay and yes there are both operators and brokers making a killing.
Is it a club, yes.
Is it legal, yes.
Is it effective for its purposes, yes.
Is there anything we can do about it, NO, simply because it erases layers of BS in the feral govt bureaucracy.
Anyone that has ever had anything to do with a Fed Govt tender will know the onerous process that one must go through, the defence panel cuts that out and delivers a "charter" at a price.
Chin up boys and girls, dont get mad get even and make sure you and everyone you know, vote this Rudd-erless ship out of office when the time comes.