Keith,
The "core issue" is that Jetstar NZ is exactly what Jetconnect is, an employment agency that specifically bypasses not only the Australian Agreements but also the Fair Work Act. In 2011 it received a $15 million "interest free" loan from Jetconnect just to keep soluble, having less than $4500 in the bank. After 12 months the $15 million was written off and the interest Jetstar NZ would have paid was instead reported as profit. Jetconnect is a similar financially engineered entity that does not pay it's own way, in other words the profit/loss reported each year is the result of Qantas(Australia) paying the cost of operation plus or minus whatever the company feels like reporting. For example in 2011/2012 Qantas paid 112% of the operating costs of Jetconnect and reported the 12% as Jetconnect profit. This sets the trend for what aviation companies can and will do. That my friend, is why the words "ancillary issues" were used. If Qantas spent more time running an airline instead of creating schemes to save them small(in the scheme of things) ways. This is not a AIPA/AFAP thing. You should open your mind to long term problems facing the industry and the future careers of the next generation. All these issues were raised by AIPA with the FW Ombudmans at their request in 2011. Qantas would have us concentrate on the smaller issues instead such as the Modern Pilot's Award instead of concentrate on the big picture. There are certain tax implications that both the New Zealand and Australian Governments may need to look at. The sooner AFAP and AIPA got together the better off we will all be but the older generation need to move on and forget what happened in 1981 or 1989. So much wasted energy fighting each other which is exactly what the employers want.
