Government calls for Ansett inquiry
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Government calls for Ansett inquiry
Thurs "Melbourne Age". .. .Government calls for Ansett inquiry. .By Leonie Wood. .March 28 2002. .. .The Federal Government has called for an independent inquiry into the conduct of the Ansett administration, despite throwing its support behind the administration team in a tense creditors meeting yesterday.. .. .Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson said the government would like an independent person to examine the way the administrators dealt with the airline's collapse.. .. ."We thought it vital that a process as important as this be transparent and open to scrutiny," Mr Anderson said. "The many interests at stake are simply too significant.". .. .But the administrators, Mark Mentha and Mark Korda of accounting firm Andersen, said they had "nothing to fear" from an independent review and would raise the request with the committee of creditors at its next meeting.. .. .The administrators have been paid $18 million for their work to date. Several hundred Ansett creditors yesterday knocked back calls for a liquidation and voted for the administration to continue indefinitely by supporting a deed of company arrangement. The deed clears the way for the administrators to sell Ansett's terminal assets to the highest bidder. The four-hour meeting was dominated by suited lawyers haggling on behalf of heavyweight creditors.. .. .Ansett workers, owed about $700 million in accrued entitlements, implored creditors to allow the administration to continue, arguing that if they wound up the company another 1453 staff in the engineering, cargo and Kendell business would be thrown out of work.. .. .Already, 11,172 Ansett employees have lost their jobs as a result of the collapse of Australia's second-ranked carrier on September 12, and the Federal Government so far has loaned $303 million to cover some payments to workers.. .. .ACTU secretary Greg Combet and Australian Workers Union state secretary Bill Shorten told the meeting that Ansett's former workers had been hit hard, with several families breaking up as members were forced to apply for the dole. . .. .But airport owners, including the Federal Government-owned Sydney Airport Corporation, strongly opposed the deed, claiming it was unfair to them.. .. .For more than an hour the administrators held urgent talks with groups of creditors as they tried to resolve a welter of conflicting claims.. .. .A Sydney Airport Corporation spokesman last night said it wanted to see the final version, but was likely to be satisfied if the amendments were included.. .. .The deed will prevent airports from using buy-back clauses to take over the airline's domestic terminal leases at an unspecified "market value".. .. .Federal Government advisers huddled together for almost two hours at the rear of the hall, taking calls from the Prime Minister's office and Mr Anderson's office before finally voting in favour after securing more amendments.. .. .An initial tally of a poll revealed at least 51 per cent of creditors by value of debt and by number were in favour of the administrators.. .. .With the deed in place, the administrators can continue to run the engineering business, Kendell Airlines and cargo handling while they try to find a buyer for Ansett's assets. . .. .Virgin Blue and Patrick Corporation are studying the huge portfolio of assets, which includes Ansett's terminals, scores of aircraft and about 10 million spare parts.
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When Anderson IS finally thrown out on his ear I would still watch the composition of Boards of Directors closely: especially the QF Board <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />
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1A. .. .Not likely, the government has too many dark secrets of it's own regarding the AN collapse.. .. .It would not look too good if the actions of some in the PM's and Dep. PM's office were to get into the public domain. One of these people has already given evidence at the "children overboard" inquiry. This particular individual is very adept at dodging the issue. He is also well known as a QF lobbyist.. .. .This needs a good investigative journalist to get to the truth.
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An inquirery into Andersons?. .What about the last 10 years, previous ovners, the government? It would never had got this far to be run by administrators.... anyway...
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An enquiry is not good enough, nothing less than a Royal Commission will do. This is the only way that we will find out the truth behind this mess. If the Ansett debt was in excess of $2000 Million and the Kiwi's paid over $1000 Million does this mean that NewsCorp did the deal of the Century and effectively made over $3000 Million on the deal by selling the debt with the Airline?
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PV and Zoolander. .. .I agree with you both.. .. .Maybe the press will read this and start some digging of their own in the right areas.. .. .Brad Norrington is one journo who comes to mind.
I hope that the inquiry looks into the damage done by News Corp prior to them selling their share to Air NZ. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Mad]" src="mad.gif" />
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Oh boy… if said inquiry were to go back as far as a year I’m not allowed to mention here - (but it was thirteen years ago – there, slipped it in) - and really got to the bottom of what went on in (or should that read “wrong with”?) Ansett then, that would really open a can of worms.. .. .It’ll never happen of course, because there are far too many skeletons in too many still-occupied closets. When the Bodgie, the current Leader of the Opposition, (God help us all!) and few other not so minor players all finally cark it, (and when Rupe or his spawn no longer dictate what may and may not be printed in Australian newspapers), maybe the truth will come out. (I’m not holding my breath though.). .. .However, if it does, going on past performance, who among the Great Oz Unwashed will give a damn? . .. .And the same will apply to the current AN debacle. They’ll prevaricate (or far more likely, nobble the terms of reference of any such inquiry to a point where it will be near useless) until the last of the main players with anything to hide has safely picked up his parliamentary pension or last directorship stipend. And maybe then they’ll release a carefully sanitized version of the truth - . .. .But by then, the outraged thousands of AN ex-employees/creditors will have died, dissipated or ‘got on with their lives’. . .. .… and you know what? If there are a few ‘Sept oh wunners’ still stirring the pot screaming for justice, guess what the majority of people then will say to them? Something along the lines of “It’s ancient history. What’s it got to do with our lives/Australian Aviation today? Put it all behind you and get a life or your bitterness will make you ill.”. .. .Something like that.
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What’s really interesting to me is that in both AN debacles, there is one major player common to both whose uncharacteristic actions had an enormously detrimental effect on the company’s workforce because it followed an uncharacteristic course of action that resulted in the company workforce losing some of their rights within their work place rather than enhancing or protecting them. . .. .In the first case, it was a small group of workers, some 800 ‘well heeled, fat cat’ AN pilots with whom few of the other ‘real’ workers sympathised. In fact, many quite enjoyed and even rejoiced in seeing them humbled, so they were easy meat and could be quickly forgotten – some would say ‘swept under the carpet’. . .. .In the second – (not, I’d make so bold to assert, totally unconnected to the first) – it was 16,000, or the whole AN workforce. . .. .That major player was ACTU. (And by ‘uncharacteristic’, I mean uncharacteristic for an organisation that was supposedly set up to protect the rights of workers.) . .. .What’s even more interesting is that, even though the two events were thirteen years apart, some very familiar faces who were high up in the ACTU leadership in the first event, were – or were attempting to be – major players… shall we say… ‘on the other side of the negotiating table’… in the second event. . .. .And the ACTU, the body set up to protect the rights of the workers, uncharacteristically (there’s that word again) stymied any other attempt to resurrect AN, (even one that promised many more jobs than the one they backed), so that only one – a consortium with a four letter acronym name which was rather appropriate considering it was an airline they were supposedly attempting to buy (but which I believe is still ‘terminally’ debatable). – was even considered by the administrators… . .. .The same administrators the ACTU had demanded be appointed because they did not approve of the first company to be given the job – because they asserted that that company had a ‘conflict of interest’ with AN/ANZ. . .. .Given some of the faces – or let’s be honest, one particular rather ruddy, cherubic face – on the board of the only consortium the ACTU-appointed Andersens would consider as a serious buyer for AN, I’d like to hear their definition of ‘conflict of interest’. . .. .Or does ‘mates’ (now where have I heard that word before?) override all?
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Why would anyone, or Gov. bother???????. .. .It would only show that 16000 a...@%#....s were rorting the system anyway.. .. .Give me a break, pricks that couldn't speak English dragging a 100K a year etc. No wonder it went down the shute!!!!! Corruption from top to bottom.. .. . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Roll Eyes]" src="rolleyes.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Roll Eyes]" src="rolleyes.gif" />
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You'd probably win first prize in the 'sweeping statements' stakes for that last comment, FarQ2. . .. .What surprises me is the total lack of response to Spad's comment re 'ancient history' and 'what does that have to do with us'?. .. .Bit too close to the bone for those who've been saying that to Kapt M and others for as long as I've been trolling this site?. .. .Just because it's 'boring' doesn't mean it ain't right.
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Sorry guys slight "Faux pas" there "the only pricks that were pulling 100k + a year were the ash tray cleaners" the rest were doing better ie: rorting better! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" />
Evertonian
And I bet you still believe in the Easter bunny too! Don't tell me, you reckon they earned that doing 38 hours per week as well huh? Give us all a break okay.
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Is this inquiry for real? Talk about stirring up a viper's nest...
It seems to me that for Jogn Howard, it must fail the first test of any "Gummit" inquiry, and that is you (JH, in this case) should always know ALL the answers you're going to unearth before you let anyone lose probing under rocks that for your own self-preservation, might be best left undisturbed.
As for Robert James Lee Hawke... He must be going puce at the very thought of any inquiry into Ansett.
It seems to me that for Jogn Howard, it must fail the first test of any "Gummit" inquiry, and that is you (JH, in this case) should always know ALL the answers you're going to unearth before you let anyone lose probing under rocks that for your own self-preservation, might be best left undisturbed.
As for Robert James Lee Hawke... He must be going puce at the very thought of any inquiry into Ansett.
