TOPICS: ACCC AVIATION MONITORING/AGRICULTURE CHINA TRADE/SENATE IR BILLS/OPTUS OUTAGE
8 NOVEMBER 2023
E&OE…
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
We’re able to confirm that the Treasurer of Australia has finally signed a directive to the ACCC to actually reinstate the monitoring of the aviation industry. Remembering this was recommendation four out of the Senate inquiry that actually sought to reinstate the cancellation and delays monitoring. The only stakeholder who gave evidence that they didn’t want it reinstated was the Qantas group. The only body that lobbied the Albanese Labor Government to not reinstate the ACCC monitoring was the Qantas group. But it has been pressure from the Senate, from the Opposition, that has actually seen, finally, not just the press release that arrived 23 days ago, but the Treasurer be pressured into today signing off on this particular directive. We know that we’ve got one of the most consolidated aviation industries in the world. 95.1% held by two groups, and this Government continues to run a protection racket for the Qantas group, whose appalling behavior was exposed again in its AGM last week. For its staff, for its loyal customers, and its shareholders, have borne the brunt of the reputational damage. And yet you do not find a change in behavior from this Government in seeking to protect this corporate. The ACCC holds a very critical role in our economy, the friend of the Australian consumer and the enemy of big corporates. We know that the ACCC has got a lot of work to do in addressing anti-competitive behavior. And this is the first step. If Catherine King won’t do her job as Transport Minister, we’ll do it for her. This won’t be the first Private Senators Bill to make this Government take action. Whether it be consumer protections, whether it be divestiture powers, whether it be a whole another raft of competition laws that need to be actioned so that Australian travellers have access to an affordable aviation sector that is also reliable. It’ll be the Liberal and the National Party who seek to get the job done. Senator Smith.
DEAN SMITH
Better late than never is how the Coalition would describe today’s decision to finally put pen to paper. The ACCC direction has been given by Dr Chalmers, but remember it is the 8th of November. The media statement that the Government launched when it said it would recommit to the ACCC monitoring regime was dated the 18th of October. There’s a very legitimate question here. Why did it have to take this long? Secondly, the devil is always in the detail. Dr Chalmers and Dr Leigh, as the Treasurer and the Competition Minister, need to explain why is the first monitoring report to be issued in March 2024? What is the reason? What is the excuse for a 12 month aviation monitoring black hole? I can’t explain it. And indeed the ACCC won’t be able to explain it. At Senate Estimates just recently the ACCC Chair answered, in response to questions from me, that the ACCC was ready to go, the people were in place and there would be no need for any gap in the reporting. So, Dr Chalmers, Dr Leigh, we welcome finally the decision to direct the ACCC. The cop is back on the beat. But why is there a 12 month aviation reporting black hole? Because the ACCC said there did not need to be any gap in the monitoring regime. This is an important step in restoring consumer confidence in Australia’s aviation industry. It’s been a powerful demonstration. How the Senate inquiry into the Qatar and Qantas matters, how a Private Senators Bill brought to the Australian Senate by Senator McKenzie and myself, can force the Government to do what they don’t want to do. So as Senator McKenzie and I said in the Senate chamber today, if it takes Private Senators Bills, if it takes Senate inquiries to get the Government to do what it should be doing in the interests of Australian aviation consumers, then we will bring forward other Private Senators Bills. And the next on the list will be competition law reforms that protect consumers. That give consumers a better say over flight cancellations, flight delays and poor service.
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
Any questions?
JOURNALIST
One on ag.
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
Why not what?
JOURNALIST
One on ag. So, we’ve just had the Prime Minister return from his trip to China and we’re expecting movement on wine and some other products. Why should Australian businesses go back to China if they could face punitive tariffs?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
I think we’ve seen from China changing their behavior, which is a good thing. Let’s not forget who slapped those prohibitive trade restrictions on Australian agriculture in response to legitimate concerns raised by Australia, post COVID. That was the Chinese Government. Returning to normal shouldn’t be cause for celebration. I mean, this is actually what should be happening. Australian producers have found, and sought, and are currently delivering to a diversity of markets now as a result of those trade sanctions by China. And I’m sure that they will continue to do so. I think the issue has highlighted the importance of having a diversity of markets and, as when we were in Government, we sought to assist industry to do that. And that’s actually the right economic strategy for primary producers to be seeking. Can I just, I just wanted to touch on the ACCC. The length that this Government has gone to to restrict competition in aviation. They ruled aviation out of their competition review. They halted the cancellation and delay reporting. They also refused to approve and subsequently review the Qatar Airways decision, that would have allowed for more competition in our aviation sector. Why is this Government continuing to protect the Qantas group from greater competition? If we’ve ever needed the ACCC to be the strong, independent and free body that it is, it is now. The ACCC needs to be protected from political sabotage. It needs to be protected from interference and it needs to be free to be able to do its job. And, right now, it is rightfully taking the Qantas group to court on behalf of Australian consumers. I’ll let that play out where it may. But when we look at the industrial relations suite of bills that are coming before the Parliament, this Government is again explicitly ruling out competition and oversight and powers that are currently held by the ACCC from them being able to do their job across the transport sector, from them to actually be able to investigate anti-competitive behavior. The question for Jim Chalmers has to be why is he seeking to shackle Ms Cass-Gottlieb from doing her job on behalf of Australian consumers?
JOURNALIST
On those IR laws, we’ll see Private Senators Bills come before the Senate tomorrow. I believe the Coalition has backed them in because it split the bill, essentially. Do you, or have you spoken to the crossbench? Do you guys have the numbers even without the Greens, who haven’t yet revealed their position to have those bills pass the Senate?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
Well, having seen the Private Senators Bills before the Senate, they are very reasonable bills and I think they deliver on a lot of issues that we also shared concerns about. So obviously we will be supporting those, but as to the rest of the crossbench I can’t speculate.
JOURNALIST
Do they have a good chance of passing tomorrow, do you think?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
I hope they pass tomorrow. Absolutely hope they pass tomorrow. And I think you’ve seen in response to the work that we’ve been doing in aviation, the Senate taking a particular bent, if you like, and actually expressing its will. Like it did when industrial relations laws came in a few years ago. It was the crossbench that really saved, say the RRST. It actually assisted the Coalition in getting rid of that bad industrial relations laws around the transport sector. And we hope again it will be the crossbench that saves Australian workers and small businesses from the heavy hand of big government and big unions. Thank you.
JOURNALIST
The Greens said that they would move today to potentially launch an inquiry, Senate inquiry into the Optus outage today. Would you support that?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE
Well I’m yet to see a proposal from the Greens obviously, but its been shocking that emergency calls cannot be made from landlines or mobiles in certain circumstances and that is a very concerning prospect right across the country. So, Optus, it seems, hasn’t learnt anything from its cyber attack earlier this year and I would be suggesting it’s a big wake up call for all our corporates that you can’t take for granted that your system is going to stack up in what is essentially a new world of advanced technology.
ENDS