All the conspiracy theories in the world cannot explain why a seemingly competent board of directors continues to make decisions that continue to place Qantas the airline and the business in a downward spiral. The Qantas Constitution states that the board are mere caretakers of the business and contains requirements of the Qantas Board but unfortunately when Qantas was privatised the provisions of the constitution were not included in the Articles of Association which means the board has a moral and not a legal responsibility to ensure the business is handed on in a viable state.
Australia has not seen this type of behaviour but I assure you it was prevalent in the United States leading up to the Global Financial Crisis. Companies such as Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts(KKR) of which Leigh Clifford in a senior director and Bain and Company(Jayne Hrdlicka has a background) benefited massively from this restructure but millions of Americans lost their jobs. One must wonder why Qantas is such a basket case and the problem except for Virgin(68% foreign owned) Australia does not have an Australian based airline that can be used in a time of crisis. Emirates has given an assurance that they will help out but I can't see that working in the Middle East or Asia representing Australians.
If people lose their jobs and the shareholders lose their shirts then both the Regulator and Government need decide what is to be done. As has happened in the United States the Assets went private and the debt went public. The only answer is for the Government to buy a "Golden Share" which they are entitled to and then review board minutes for the last 8 years and they will find some interesting reading. As Mr Hockey said his interest is "National Interest" whereas the Qantas Board for the last ten years has been all for "Personal Interest".