Now the Deputy Prime Minister is saying the same thing...... :rolleyes: :eek: ;)

(QUOTE)

Terminals off limits to Virgin

By Michael Bachelard and Steve Creedy
30nov01

THE battle for Ansett escalated into open warfare yesterday as the airline's administrators were accused of sabotaging competitor Virgin Blue by denying it access to terminals at the last minute.

Virgin said Ansett had withdrawn terminal access just 24 hours before Virgin was due to start services to Canberra and Launceston -- a move "solely focused on damaging people's travel plans".

Virgin and Chris Corrigan's Lang Corp have lodged a late bid to buy Ansett's assets but the failed airline's administrators have insisted on proceeding with a deal already struck with the Tesna consortium of Melbourne tycoons Lindsay Fox and Solomon Lew.

Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson immediately criticised Ansett's actions in shutting out Virgin.

"Their actions are not in the interests of the travelling public and we really do expect better from them," a spokesman for the minister said.

Mr Anderson said earlier in the day he was "amazed" at reports that Ansett administrators Mark Mentha and Mark Korda were feted at an ACTU function, and called on them to "demonstrate ... that they have been objective" during the bidding process.

Claiming the terminals move harked back to behaviour not seen since the days of Compass Airlines, Virgin Blue said it would be forced it to call out extra staff to manually process passengers and baggage at the airports.

Virgin acknowledged it had no formal contract to use the Canberra and Launceston terminals but said the administrators had given no indication they would dishonour a long-standing practice of allowing it to use Ansett facilities.

"It shows that a company that has proclaimed it is flying for Australia is in fact only focused on being vindictive, and clearly not acting very Australian," chief executive Brett Godfrey said. "For all Tesna's talk about being the spirit of competition, clearly this doesn't apply to the routes they fly."

Mr Mentha and Mr Korda said it was not possible to agree to Virgin's new services because of Ansett's pending sale to Tesna. Any long-term agreements were a matter for the new owner but the administrators would honour existing agreements.

"As for Virgin Blue's request for an increase in frequencies, negotiations are continuing on price and scheduling," Mr Mentha said.

Prime Minister John Howard yesterday laughed off suggestions by Mr Fox of a conspiracy between the Government and Mr Corrigan. "We've helped Ansett in a number of other ways. But we are not in the business of playing favourites and we're not siding with Corrigan."

The Government this week turned down a request by Tesna for assistance in getting Ansett flying again, prompting outbursts from Mr Fox about unfair treatment and favouritism for Mr Corrigan.

Meanwhile, the Government's guarantee to cover the cost of tickets on Ansett Mark II has run out, with forward bookings now exceeding the $25million provided by the Government.

However, a spokeswoman for the administrators said they were personally liable for tickets not covered by the government guarantee.

(END QUOTE)

Maybe he reads PPRuNe too..... :D

lame
They probably do, but even blind freddy and his dog can see what is going on.
You know the old "if it walks, talks and quacks like a duck it probably is routine"

The thing that amazes me is the contempt and that is the only term I can think of, they must hold for the public and politicians if they think that we are stupid enough not to be able to see a daylight robbery in progress disguised as a $1.1 billion bid :rolleyes:
The only people that believe that are themselves.

It's a pity Fox is so proud of the fact that he "probably hasn't read two books in his life" because had he done so he would inevitably have come across the notion of HUBRIS.

The Judge supervising the whole thing has told the Andersen kids that they are going to have to describe the Fox-lew bid to the creditors in much more detail and give them a month to digest it before voting. At least he is awake.

Lew-Fox have put almost every one involved including SQ off side by their immature antics. The owners of the airports are seriously p!ssed off and vow to get the airports back, Ansett is a major debtor to them and convert them to common use like most first world countries.

Just saying on the TV news, that the owners of Canberra Airport intend taking legal action against Ansett over it, to recover their terminals......... :eek:

In regard to this administration, I don't think the fun has started yet, the runners are just starting to warm up, the starter is still loading his gun, I am sure you will get the drift!

Now it was just a big misunderstanding..... :eek: :rolleyes:

Are these administrators for real... :(

(QUOTE)

Administrators deny preventing Virgin terminal access

By AAP, Michael Bachelard and Steve Creedy
30nov01

ANSETT administrators have denied sabotaging Virgin Blue's access to airline terminals saying they had simply not been asked.

David Huttner of Virgin Blue said Ansett pulled the plug just 24 hours before Virgin was due to start flights to Canberra and Launceston.

Virgin said it had a longstanding agreement with the airline to use its terminal facilities.

But Ansett administrator Mark Mentha said today the discount airline's accusations were a publicity stunt.

"Nothing could be further from the the truth. Virgin continue to have access to Ansett facilities at both airports," Mr Mentha told radio 3AW.

Mr Mentha said Virgin had been pre-selling tickets without asking the administrators if terminal access would be available.

"Surely as administrators we should expect common courtesy and a professional approach when it comes to using our facilities," he said.

Mr Mentha said the discount airline was trying to reclaim the mantle as the Australian aviation industry's underdog.

The administrators have accepted a proposal to buy Ansett by businessmen Solomon Lew and Lindsay Fox.

"The swing has moved towards Fox-Lew as the underdog and what they are trying to do is grab that back through this sort of press behaviour," he said.

Mr Mentha also stood by his relationship with the unions following comments by Transport Minister John Anderson that the administrators were in the unions' pockets.

"I would stand up at a Liberal Party 500 club meeting and say the trade union movement has acted very responsibly in the Ansett collapse," he said.

"They have curbed their costs, changed their flexibility of work practices and productivity to allow us to get these planes back in the air."

What strange bed fellows they make too, almost exactly 12 months before Ansett ceasing operations, the ACTU President was warning about several rogue companies that couldn't be trusted, one of them (see following quote), was none other than Arthur Andersen?????

(QUOTE)

Canberra warned on rogue companies

By PAUL ROBINSON
WORKPLACE EDITOR
Saturday 9 September 2000

ACTU president Sharan Burrow has warned governments that they face an electoral backlash if they ignore community anger at irresponsible use of power by large corporations.

Mr Burrows said yesterday governments had to demonstrate they were capable of enforcing labor rights and would encourage social responsibility from large corporations, or they would suffer at the ballot box.

At the launch of a report into the activities of some companies attending next week's World Economic Forum, she called on the Australian Government to include labor standards, environmental and human rights protections in all multilateral trade agreements.

"If we are going to have a truly global economy then there needs to be a new set of global rules that are fair and just. Companies must be required to act in a way that respects the environment, basic human and labor rights, and allows governments to provide essential services like health and education to their people," she said.

Ms Burrow described the report, The Other Face of Globalisation, as a social and environmental report card on a sample of WEF companies including Nestle, Rio Tinto and Arthur Andersen.

The report, prepared by the RMIT-affiliated URCOT centre, highlighted the harm that could be done to people and the environment in the face of ineffectual laws, weak political will and a lack of sanctions on irresponsible corporate activity.

It noted that the Nestle group had come under fire for promoting infant formula feeding in Africa at the expense of mothers' milk, Rio Tinto for its union-busting policies and Arthur Andersen for promoting privatisation worldwide.

The authors of the report had also planned also to prepare a report on the Nike group and its employment practices in the Third World.

Ms Burrow said the protests next week would involve not just political radicals but also working people, aid workers, churchgoers and members of the community who were concerned about the growing alienation of ordinary people.

She said media talk of potential violence had also ignored the democratic right of community groups to demonstrate and protest about issues seen as important to their lives. The Federal Government's law to change the Defence Act to allow the army to be sent to control civilian demonstrations was "appalling".

"Some multinational companies like Microsoft are now bigger, in terms of their assets and value, than the entire stock exchanges of countries like Australia, Spain and Taiwan," she said. "It is little wonder that there is a growing concern amongst communities right around the world that in the debate about globalisation their voices are simply not being heard.

"It is not fair or sustainable that the only rules in the new global economy will be those that protect the contract, property and copyright interests of global corporations. If globalisation is to establish its social legitimacy then we need a new set of global rules that protect people and the environment. Without fair and just rules, globalisation will continue to be about a race to the bottom, not a race to the top."

(END QUOTE)

How did they go, in the space of about 12 months, from being a rogue company not to be trusted, to being VERY close associates of the ACTU... :rolleyes: ;) :D

I love your work LAME!!

Now even the Labor Party, who along with the ACTU, have been so close to the current administrators and Fox/Lew, are calling for the administrators to do the right thing.

How much longer can these administrators carry on wrecking the industry and wasting creditors money..... :eek: :rolleyes:

(QUOTE)

Sat, Dec 1 2001 7:22 AM AEDT

Ansett and Virgin Blue at loggerheads over terminal access

The Federal Opposition has called on Ansett's administrators to allow other airlines access to its terminals to help restore adequate services around Australia.

A row has erupted between Virgin Blue and the administrators after Virgin tried to introduce extra flights into Canberra and Launceston without a formal agreement to use Ansett's terminals.

The Shadow Transport Minister, Martin Ferguson, has criticised the administrator's decision to refuse further access to the terminals saying they are closing off a short-term source of revenue.