This point is made in Ben's piece today and the Fin Review has some other commentary suggesting to me that AJ's bleating will bite him on the backside.
It is also difficult to make a case for curbing the growth of international competitors in Australia when the Emirates-Qantas business partnership consisted of giving away the Qantas presence on the routes to Europe to the Dubai based giant for free in every city except Sydney and Melbourne.
Qantas has attempted to direct its loyal customers on the kangaroo routes to Emirates, which it reviled in strident terms all the way up to the give-away which was finally agreed with Emirates in June 2012, which makes its credentials and position look hollow, even if the underlying logic of its actions were accepted.
If the Qantas Sale Act is repealed, Qantas could be what Virgin Australia is becoming. A strong Australia based airline brand, managed and operating in Australia, with no artificial restrictions on where it gets its capital from.
Its somewhat shrill objections to what Virgin Australia is doing would vanish. It would do the same. And Australia would still have a Qantas, and a Virgin Australia. Provided they were well managed.
The full story can be found here.
Qantas in 'stop the Virgins' plea | Plane Talking