Dick, the reason we can't own and operate successful aviation businesses in Australia is exactly the same as why every other successful Australian business is sold overseas; the economic mandarins of Canberra have built their careers on the theory that no successful businesses can be operated from Australia, and they do anything and everything to prove that their theory is correct.
In their minds the only businesses Australia is "allowed" by economic theory to be internationally competitive are mining and agriculture, anything else is regarded as an aberration that is clearly the result of market distortion by Government action. Therefore any successful Australian non mining, non agriculture business must be suppressed to make their theory work.
The entire taxation and regulatory system is designed to prevent successful development and operation of Australian owned businesses at an internationally competitive level.
Examples: - Fringe benefit taxes make it difficult for Australian businesses to engage with international customers here or overseas. this kills export opportunities.
- taxation treatment of overseas profits.
- taxation treatment of capital investments Eg. depreciation.
-taxation treatment of overseas expenses, travel, etc.
- a rotten system of "Australian standards" and Australian licensing and regulation that does not harmonise with anything on the planet.
Aviation regulation is just a microcosm of the whole economy - we are not ALLOWED to be competitive.
The net result? The only viable business strategy for Australian entrepreneurs is to build a business here and prove your model is locally successful, then sell it to an international player.
if you try and run something here that is remotely internationally successful looking, Canberra will do its best to shut you down, the car industry is a case in point.
I fought this battle for two years in the Geoff Kennett Victorian government and came up against these bastards in Canberra time and again/