Qantas wants further “ad hoc” border closures ruled out as Australia’s vaccine program rolls out, warning of further redundancies if uncertainty continues.
“It’s been a very sad year,” Qantas domestic and international chief executive Andrew David told a parliamentary inquiry into the future of Australia’s aviation sector post-COVID-19.
Qantas took drastic action to reduce its workforce, grounded most of its fleet and last week posted a record loss of more than $1 billion for the first half of the 2020/21 financial year.
“If we saw state borders close again the impact is going to be huge,” Mr David said.
Qantas wants the government to extend and enhance all aviation support packages at least until international borders reopen, but didn’t argue for the JobKeeper support payment to be extended beyond March.
Its plea came a day after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews reportedly said he would back the airline’s push for states to give at least 24 hours notice before closing borders, to try to stop people being locked out of their home state.
Mr Andrews told the Nine newspapers on Tuesday that he had spoken to Qantas boss Alan Joyce about a national framework to govern how to get people home if state borders closed again. The Premier is expected to push for more backing at Friday’s national cabinet meting.
On Wednesday, Qantas group public affairs executive Andrew Parker called for national cabinet to focus on aviation so people had certainty about being able to get home if they travelled.
“At the moment there is enormous confusion,” Mr Parker said.
But the airline was slapped down for Mr Joyce’s no-show as two days of hearings began on Wednesday.
Labor transport committee member Senator Tony Sheldon said it was “disappointing” Mr Joyce hadn’t found time to speak to the committee, unlike the head of Virgin.
International Transport Workers’ Federation spokesman Scott McDine called for an “AviationKeeper” wage subsidy to replace JobKeeper, which ends on March 31.
“You’ve got to have a workforce that can respond post-pandemic,” Mr McDine said.
He agreed border closures had decimated once-lucrative routes in Australia and airlines faced an uncertain policy environment.
“Australia should be making it tailor-made, suiting our economy,” he said.
Mr McDine said it was also “gobsmacking” that Emirates-owned aviation services company dnata and its workforce were denied access to wage subsidies, unlike other parts of the world.
“What has happened to dnata workers in Australia comparable to other countries is an absolute disgrace,” he said.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hinted this week that measures are being considered for a range of industries, including the aviation sector, as companies continue to lobby for support.
The Business Council of Australia has urged the government to introduce targeted support for sectors still hurting from the ban on international travel.
The organisation also says restrictions should be eased in line with the vaccine rollout.
The plan has been backed by the Australian Airports Association, whose chief James Goodwin said restarting international travel was crucial.
Prior to the pandemic, international travellers injected $60 billion into the Australian economy.
“Keeping COVID out and maintaining safety is a top priority but let’s start to look at a plan to reopen Australia to other COVID-safe countries where we already have strong links,” Mr Goodwin said.
“This would help to continue our economic momentum and assist in getting more of the 41,000 stranded Australians home from overseas.”
-with AAP