Joe Hockey wants to abolish Qantas’s ownership restrictions:
“If voters say no … we think it should remain Australian owned and controlled and have a national carrier, then we must accept we have to pay a price for that,’’ Mr Hockey said.
“I don’t have a magic bullet here, but what I do know, that coming down the pipeline … Australia needs to decide whether it’s going to pay a taxpayer price for owning a national carrier.’’
He said the two options for Qantas were foreign ownership or government subsidy, the latter being either the government buying back in to the airline or supporting it some other way.
“That’s the way it’s headed at the moment,’’ he said.
“The days of sitting back and letting the regulation do the heavy lifting are over. We may have to put our hand in our pockets or (give) private guarantees.’’
I see no reason why we shouldn’t let others lose money on our airline. As well, it would allow routes like the trans-Pacific to open up to more competition and reduce prices for consumers.
It’s not a national airline anyway. It’s a private company.
Labor disagrees:
But Opposition leader Bill Shorten, said keeping Qantas majority Australian owned was an issue of national security and national interest.
“I believe Qantas should be held in Australia’s hands, full stop,;’ he said.
“Labor’s principle is Qantas should remain in Australian hands.’’
Meh. Not everything is a strategic asset.
