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I still prefer Abbott in his smugglers (surfclub gear) than Gillard in a set anyday.

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As I see it Wayne Swan is completely out of order here, what no right to challenge?

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Yep, and it's described as a "Qantas-style lockout" of nurses by some publications.

Didn't take the union busters in other industries long to follow the Leprechaun's example

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If you mean Qantas provoked the government to invoke a provision of FWA to bring a dispute to a head, I think he has admitted publicly he did that and that was what he intended.

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Thousands paid for union row consultantsBy Paul Heinrichs, Kirsty Simpson
March 7, 2004

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The Bracks Government is paying thousands of dollars a day for consultants to co-ordinate its tough campaign against public sector union pay claims.

Unions believe their addition has helped create "a wall" that has stymied negotiations at the Government's predetermined limit of 2.25 per cent, plus another 0.75 per cent for productivity.

The impasse led directly to the statewide strike on Wednesday of most state school teachers and a large proportion of the Catholic system's teachers.

However, the Community and Public Sector Union - one of three public sector unions in negotiation for a new wages agreement - is expected to agree to a 13.5 per cent wage increase over 43-44 months.

The CPSU advised its members yesterday to hold off on scheduled industrial action by its workers in the juvenile justice area, with negotiations believed to have progressed ahead of a Tuesday meeting at the Industrial Relations Commission.


But the two remaining industrial disputes, with nurses and teachers, still appear to be far from over. The level of pay rises, teachers' working conditions, nurse-patient ratios and low pay rates in comparison with their interstate colleagues remain key sticking points.

To help advise the Government on the deals, a husband and wife team from Sydney, Ian and Justine Oldmeadow, of Oldmeadow Consulting, are getting a reputed $2800 a day to oversee the Government's position.
Their appointment has been confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Premier, Mr Bracks, although not the pay rate.

"It's not unusual for the Government to want the best strategic advice at times like these," she said.

Mr Oldmeadow is a former ACTU industrial officer, working on aviation issues, who became an Ansett executive in the late 1980s and then a Qantas industrial relations manager until 1997. His role is to provide strategic advice, which he has been doing at least since November.

Justine Oldmeadow, a former industrial relations commissioner, has also sat in on all negotiating sessions between the Government and the Australian Education Union going back to July last year. Ms Oldmeadow received a payout of about $185,000 in 1997 as one of the members of the IRC who was made redundant by the Howard Government to allow for a restructure that cleared the way for its own appointments.

Another consultant, David Gunzburg, was appointed by the Department of Human Services five months ago on a rate of $1500 a day. His role was to liaise between the department and hospitals about the progress of wage negotiations with the state's nurses, which are stalled over Government demands to overhaul the nurse-patient ratio and by the pay rise ceiling of 2.25 per cent.

A week ago, the Victorian Hospital Industry Association took over responsibility for paying Mr Gunzburg, who is a former BHP and Eastern Health network executive.

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Fly by: Joyce misses second inquiry grilling
Kelly Burke
November 23, 2011 - 2:27PM

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce ... supplied written answers to questions.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has declined the invitation to face a further grilling at tomorrow's senate inquiry, despite earlier assurances under oath that he was "happy to defend [the decision to ground the airline] and talk about it in any forum, anywhere, because it was the right call".

It is understood Mr Joyce has informed the inquiry into the Qantas Sale Act that he will not be available for further questioning now until at least February next year.

A Qantas spokesman said Mr Joyce was overseas on business but was working with the committee on dates which he could re-appear.


"Mr Joyce appeared before the Senate committee to give evidence about proposed amendments to legislation three weeks ago. He answered Senators' questions for three hours – double the time he was originally scheduled to appear," the spokesman said.

At Mr Joyce's previous appearance at the inquiry on November 4, he was subject to intense and occasionally aggressive questioning from the left-wing Labor senator Doug Cameron.

Senator Cameron said today he was extremely disappointed Mr Joyce would not be attending.

"I thought Mr Joyce made a clear commitment to the senate to make an appearance, and [his actions] seem to be inconsistent with that," Senator Cameron said.

"This is an issue of significant public concern, which goes to very core of the national interest and I'm sure nothing he's doing at the moment could be more important than explaining why he acted in a rogue capacity to close down Qantas and damage the Australian economy."

Mr Joyce had been given until midnight last night to respond to a number of questions he took on notice at the November 4 hearing.

Made public today, Mr Joyce's responses included the revelation that as many as 66 flight crews learned of the grounding mid-air, possibly after tuning into news on ABC Radio Australia.

When pilots contacted the company from their cockpits to find out what was going on, they were read out a prepared statement and told to proceed to their destination "where everything would be explained".

Mr Joyce said as many as 629 flights had been cancelled prior to the grounding, as a result of the unions' "slow bake" action over a period of months, and a further 387 flights had been delayed.

A nationwide poll of more than 1000 respondents, commissioned by the Australian and International Pilots Association and set to be released tomorrow, has found that an overwhelming majority want the federal government to move to strengthen the Qantas Sale Act.

More than two-thirds of respondents said wanted legislation to ensure that Qantas management does not act against the national interest.

The association's president, Barry Jackson said the polling numbers prove that strengthening the Qantas Sale Act was an issue Australians feel strongly about.

"In recent years, however, the public has watched successive CEOs take advantage of loopholes in the Act to outsource and offshore the operations of a proud Australian icon," Captain Jackson said.

"What this new polling demonstrates clearly is that the vast majority of Australians understand the special role Qantas has to play. They do not want rogue management teams to retain the right to treat the airline like a personal plaything."

The senate inquiry into amending the Qantas Sale Act is due to sit again tomorrow morning.

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