it would be to politically damaging not to considering the alternative of having 33,000 employees joining the Dole queue and a large part of Australia's history disappear overnight
On the contrary it would be exactly what the doctor ordered.
The reality, as opposed to the emotive rhetoric from the ACTU et al, is that the demand for travel will not collapse along with Qantas. The demand will remain and will be met by other entities who will need to employ probably 20,000 of the 33,000 that may lose their jobs, and that would probably be about right. That's what it will take to get the fat out of Qantas and make it competitive. It will happen one way or the other. Either Joyce (or more likely his replacement) is going to take the razor to the place or it will go broke and out of the ashes will rise a stronger replacement, which may, or may not, carry the Qantas brand.