Quite clearly TBM you do not understand the concept of ownership of shares. Shareholders do not guarantee an organisation's debts. You seem to think that by the NZ Govt holding the shares, that this transcends into some form of debt guarantee that lenders feel happy with.
Wrong. Shareholders provide the capital, are there as investors, and when you look at the returns the NZ Govt has extracted from it's ANZ shareholding, you would have to say it was quite an astute move in retrospect.
Glass half full / Glass half empty. The ANZ board, under their Corporations Law obligation, are the ones charged with ensuring the shareholder's interests are maintained. No safety net for them about back-up guarantees.
Which just goes to show - not only do they appear to be running a better airline operation, but they also seem to have a smarter Board. perhaps QF should take a look at how they are doing it - they had the chance a few years ago when they too held an ANZ shareholding.