Qantas & JobKeeper payments | Q+A | ABC News In-depth

The Q+A panel discuss the crisis Qantas is currently facing, despite reporting $2.7 billion in profit, and the fairness of taxpayers footing the bill for the $900 million in JobKeeper they were paid during COVID after questioner Emily Hartley asked: “Should Qantas pay back the $900m it received in JobKeeper payments?”
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Panellists: Assistant Minister for Health & Aged Care Ged Kearney, CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry Andrew McKellar, Lawyer & Advocate for Human Rights Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, Proud Gunai Kurnai Man & 2023 Victorian YounG Australian of the Year Darcy McGauley-Bartlett Director of Youth Policy, Menzies Research Centre Freya Leach.
This episode was broadcast on Monday 4 September 2023
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[@jeffstorer]

How many times have taxpayer s bailed out this private owned airline ,

[@doyouevendraft]

The actual issue was us giving - not just Jobkeeper but a massive “bail out” of public cash to the national carrier with nothing in return. I’m all for protecting Qantas; all for public money spent there. But I’d like to get equity in return. Look at these profits. Imagine if that bail out had been an investment. The public money would have grown and could continue to. The commonwealth could also have a say, as share holders, about the direction of the company.

[@antonminos1737]

Bail out a private company, cmon, let it sink, show the upper class how good they are, they are pathetic. The workers of this country always have to prop up the pathetic rich and wealthy, pay the same percentage of tax as us workers instead of getting a free ride, pay your on way

[@doyouevendraft]

@@antonminos1737 I feel the anger, legend. I do. But there’s people who work there. Some of them still lucky enough to have good, old contracts (so good that they had to create new businesses that look like Qantas but aren’t just to offer worse terms to staff). And yeah, we already bailed it out. $1.5B in total including the $700M jobkeeper. Which is despicable. No bail outs. More nationalising.

[@kentgorrell]

Expecting equity in return makes sense and is exactly how bail outs have occurred in other countries.

[@markwaddington5651]

Many companies rorted jobkeeper but we should have got a piece of qantas. Look what the German government did with their national carrier

[@shiraz1736]

It should have been a low interest loan.

[@zapkvr]

No, it should not have been. Many of these business are geared to the hilt. They would have breached debt covenants.

[@shiraz1736]

@@zapkvr Not our problem. Businesses that can generate the type of profits we’re talking about here should have been made to repay all the funding they claimed.

[@rmac3217]

​@@shiraz1736Why low interest? It's a supposed free market not a chrony capitalist market, if u can't get a loan u go bankrupt, bye.

[@shiraz1736]

@@rmac3217 Because the Government shut the economy down due to a Covid you can’t blame businesses for that.

[@timlewis5527]

The list of undeserving Jobkeeper recipients includes international fashion brands, private schools and many others. A few brands have paid it back. Poor law making (or malicious law making) and lack of corporate responsibility has cost Australians tens of billions of dollars.

[@seamusobrien2675]

Centrelink retrospectively wants back $500 they gave me unapplied for during Covid, Should I get a A320 and then get a pass? Does anyone know another way? Maybe a Normie Ross franchise? Or a mine? Any less expensive options?

[@OccyPx]

Can we get back to the social responsibility of the company

[@zapkvr]

Thought business had to qualify for jobkeeper payments?

[@bobbritten5673]

No Hand shake for Joice ? And Repay the 💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸💸That the government give them during COVID Please pay Back the 900.000 million dollars please I think this money would put to Better Use For the people of this country??

[@VK6AB-]

ACCC - misleading or deceptive conduct. They are in trouble, probably serious trouble.

[@infernalstan886]

Hey ABC, you have comments on the latest Media Watch episode turned off again - please turn them on

[@RS-qy8pk]

Well done on Patricia to pull up the Ged Kearney about answering the question about Qantas and not about the make-up of Job Keeper.

[@sherlee123]

And yet individuals that arent on top jobs, have to pay back anything extra they get

[@davidcarter4247]

Qantas told us to book on flights knowing there were no flights. Hindsight shows listening to Qantas was a bad thing to do. Qantas told us to vote yes in the referendum. What are the odds listening to Qantas on this will be just as bad?

[@HSVJD]

Freya Leach contributing absolutely nothing to this conversation with guesses & generalizations. Good points raised by others. Yes, the JobKeeper funds should be returned since QANTAS weathered the brunt and uncertainty of COVID. Yes, better planning a companies knowing up-front they’d have to repay if afterward it appears it wasn’t necessary, then perhaps some would have thought twice when accepting taxpayer dollars.

[@slh950]

remember when 2 Australian airlines ran domestic routes (TAA and Ansett) and Qantas was for interrnational travel? BIG mistake letting them run carte-blanche in Australian aviation

[@markdrennan5723]

Ever heard of Virgin, Rex Qantas and TAA were Government owned.

[@MookieZerang]

Kids getting fat gifts makes families beholden. Ask Tony Abbott and Albo if they know who's coughing up the roch presents. Ill bet they know and what theses gift are worth.

[@OccyPx]

It looks very opportunistic,absolutely they have a social responsibility

[@Shnu2]

Typical of Morrison’s government, huge amount of taxpayers money given to their mates with no tender and next to no over site and little accountability.

[@the_failed_states]

Brave Sir Allan ran away. Bravely ran away away. When danger reared it's ugly head, He bravely turned his tail and fled...

[@brownhairydog6472]

Whoever the young lady is is welcome to have an opinion and proscute her case. However i think referring to our Prime Minister as 'Albanese' is just disrespectful and doesn't help her case.

[@stella78988]

"Free market" on the tax payer dollar!

[@raceyamates5435]

Well done Freya 👏 they are taking the mickey out of us.

[@steveblake6877]

Labor constantly slammed the Coalition government for not doing enough!! ABC played that tune for the ALP continuously.

[@vernonwhite4660]

There are few flights from Chins ie few tourists

[@colinj58]

I would lke to see a bit more hardcore interviewing maybe you should let your guests know that if they do not answer the questions openly and truthfully you will disconebt their mics and ask them to leave the stage there si absolutely no point having them on if they dont answer the questions , instead of just waffling on, maybe its time to start interviewing real people from the streets who are having to live with their BS , maybe you could do a whole show on why we should make cannabis legal

[@Meltb10]

That Freya chic is ludicrous, and really frantic, QR wanted to add an additional 28 flights a week taking its total weekly flights to 50 a week. the most international flights in and out of australia, taking well over 50% of the international route, with no funds going to australian pilots or flight crew and paying labour hire wages which is just on the cusp on industry wages and less expierenced staff with immense turnover. ( the exact same reason people are yelling a qf for doing with their ground staff) BUT fine say you dont give a shit about australian jobs you just want cheaper airfares, qr will dominate the market and what makes you believe they will keep fares low?? in fact qr rejected is a good thing because TK, CZ, SQ and many other airlines are putting their hand up for more flightd instead of 1 airline taking the bulk, and finally say you just honestly dont give a damn and to hell it all you just want QF to suffer ( believe me I am not singing qantas praises all that much either) but in the end it all comes down to safety and air space security as well CASA gives permission on foreign pilots in australian air space and with well over 50 flights a week i dont see CASA ever agreeing to allow that much active foreign pilots.

[@golbs7542]

they should pay it back. lesson learnt, stop helping out these companies. i would rather see Qantas go broke and watch everyone lsoe thier jobs. imagine all the available houses for rent if this happened. could have created more jobs elsewhere, transport, school and hospital infrasctuture would have created millions of jobs. just stop flying with qantas if you dont like what they are doing

[@or7652]

The same people banging on about Qatar being blocked are the same ones who wanted to boycott Qatar World Cup (Qatar airways is state owned) due to human rights abuses. Human rights abuses still happen in Qatar and within its national airline.

[@wtfa2910]

If you're upset with Qantas why don't you design and build your own airline

[@kentgorrell]

Already on it. Australia is already leading the world on producing cardboard drones capable of transporting leprechauns without the need for fligtht crew.

[@wtfa2910]

@@kentgorrell let's build a bunch of airships 90 km an hour instead of 24 hours to the United States it takes you 3 months

[@the_failed_states]

Challenge accepted.

[@OccyPx]

Are you 8?

[@TheDeviantPro]

Is this Alan Joyce's alt account?