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This time round, Eric Abetz is running the biggest below the line campaign after losing his guaranteed Senate spot on the Liberal ticket.

Qantas loses outsourcing appeal

Elias Visontay

Qantas has lost its appeal over a ruling that it illegally outsourced the jobs of about 1700 ground handlers in part to avoid enterprise bargaining and protected industrial action.

On Wednesday morning a full bench of the federal court dismissed Qantas’ appeal of a July 2021 ruling that the airline had acted against protections in the fair work act when it terminated approximately 1683 ground handling and fleet presentation workers amid restructuring in November 2020.

Qantas had claimed the outsourcing measure was a necessary financial measure that could save it $100m annually.

The legal saga grew in complexity in the months following. Qantas appealed the ruling – the outcome of which was made today – at the same time as remedy hearings were taking place between the airline and the Transport Workers Union – the party which brought the initial challenge against the outsourcing decision.

The remedy hearings previously ruled out ordering Qantas offer the outsourced workers their jobs back, in part due to the third party agreements Qantas had since entered into. The TWU appealed this decision, pushing for reinstatement to be reconsidered.

The full bench of the federal court also considered this separate appeal from the TWU, however it was dismissed by Justices Mordy Bromberg, Darryl Rangiah and Robert Bromwich.

From here, the saga will now return to the judge presiding over the remedy hearings, who will decide on what compensation for affected workers and financial penalties Qantas will have to comply with.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said “safety, service and sentiment for the airline have all plummeted over this unlawful decision to outsource” and called on Qantas to discipline those responsible for the decision.

“There is only one appropriate response from the Qantas board – heads must roll,” Kaine said.

And that there, in Scott Morrison’s last answer, is the Coalition’s re-election platform – vote for us because we are not Labor.

As Murph laid out yesterday:

Vote for us because we’ll do great things is compelling, it’s always electrifying, whether you agree with the things or not. But vote for us because we are not Labor is the most unfulfilling call to action in recent memory. Is this really it? All you’ve got guys? At this moment in history?

But voters should not assume because Morrison’s arguments are tired, self-serving, and often internally contradictory, that this shtick won’t work.

It might work, and we know Morrison will throw everything he has at making his message stick.

Q: How can you credibly claim to be a better economic manager than anyone?

Scott Morrison:

Because unemployment is at 4% and falling. Because our AAA credit rating has been maintained through one of the worst economic crises we’ve seen through the Great Depression, because there are more now more in work – in fact, 400,000 more in work after the pandemic than there were before.

Because our rate of growth in Australia is stronger than we’ve seen in countries like the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada.

All of these things. Australia’s economic performance during the pandemic has beaten the strongest and most advanced economies in the world. And what’s real is the pressures on the Australian economy.

And all we are simply saying is this – those pressures will continue and my argument is based on our proven performance and our strong economic plan, that our government will be better able to shield Australians, whether they be self-funded retirees here and their access to part pensions, or whether they be Australians who are working, ensuring they have lower taxes and ensuring they have sensible housing policies like our home guarantee and many others that have seen 300,000 Australians get into their own home over the last three years.

What I’m saying is, that our economic policies are going to more strongly shield Australians from these uncertain times and the economic pressures that they are facing, whether they be on interest rates or costs of living.

And I’m also going to be upfront with Australians about the pressure they’re facing. I’m not going to tell them a fairytale like the Labor party is, that somehow how you vote on that day is going to make international pressures just vanish.

That is a statement which betrays either a complete lack of understanding of the Australian economy, or just political cynicism taken to a whole other level by the Labor party.

I understand the pressures that the Australian economy is under. I’ve been managing, together with Josh Frydenberg and Simon Birmingham and my whole cabinet, for the last three and a half years, and that has ensured that Australia is in a stronger position today than it otherwise would have been. Jobkeeper – 700,000 jobs saved. The cashflow boost, which got thousands upon thousands of small businesses through, who know that and who understand that, and understand that their businesses would not be around today. 220,000 apprentices that we could have lost over the course of the pandemic, finishing their training, in training today, the highest level we’ve seen since 1963.

Q: Prime minister, have you spoken to [Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh] Sogavare since you suggested he was merely parroting Beijing’s lines? And given that war of words, how can Australians trust to you rebuild that relationship on such a critical national security issue?

Scott Morrison:

I have had no discussions with him since the election was called. And since he’s made those comments. And I’d be looking forward to the opportunity on the other side of the election to continue to mapping that relationship positively. We are Solomon Islands’ primary security partner. That is something that the prime minister has conveyed to me again. And that remains the case. So we have a strong relationship with …

Q: [On your words about parroting Beijing]

Morrison:

They weren’t my words. That was others’ commentary. They were not my words.

Q: You said they were the same lines from Beijing?

Morrison:

I said there was a remarkable similarity.

At his press conference on 29 April, Morrison responded to Sogavare’s comments that he only found out about the Aukus deal through the media and said:

And so I did have that conversation with the prime minister the day following the announcement, and no issues were raised at that time in that discussion. But obviously, as time goes on and new relationships are entered into, there’s obviously been some clearly other influences in the perspective taken by the Solomon Islands prime minister. Now, I understand that.

A journalist sought clarity on what Morrison was implying: Are you saying he’s parroting China’s rhetoric?

His reply:

There’s a remarkable similarity between those statement and those of the Chinese government.

Q: Prime minister, who will your education minister be if you’re elected on May 21?

Scott Morrison:

I’ve answered that before. It’s Alan Tudge. If he’s available to come back into the ministry, he will.

Q: What do you mean if he’s available?

Morrison:

He decided to stand aside for his own personal reasons and should he be in a position to be able to step up again, I would welcome him back.

Q: Has he expressed an interest in doing that recently?

Morrison:

I haven’t spoken to him recently.

Q: Do you support his campaign?

Morrison:

He doesn’t need my help there. He’s done a fantastic job in Aston and he enjoys strong support in Aston.

Q: Is he joining you on the campaign?

Morrison:

He’s campaigning in Aston. He’s the member for Aston. That’s where I expect him to campaign.

Q: Will you support Dave Sharma and [campaign in Wentworth]?

Morrison:

My mum lives in Wentworth.

Q: Will we see you in those seats and can we get a clear answer from you on this it’s a question you’ve been asked a number of times now?

Morrison:

I will go where I believe it is best for my campaign for me to go. I’ll flag where I go on the day. You’re on the bus. You know. You find out where we go each day, just like it works in the Labor campaign. I’m not going to be telecasting where I’m going each day. That’s not something we do in campaigns. And you know that to be the case.

Anne Ruston:

Today we do recognise the women of Australia who have died at the hands of an intimate partner. As you rightly point out, this is a completely unacceptable statistic in a first-world country like Australia that we continue to wake up to news stories of another woman who has been killed in a gender-based violence situation. But as the government, I think no government has done more to support women who face family, domestic and sexual violence than this government.

The next national plan to end violence against women and their children, a $2.5bn commitment over the first five years of the first action plan, a commitment to support Indigenous Australians with their own dedicated action plan, that’s currently being worked on and prepared by a group of leading Indigenous women, to make sure that we’re addressing the unique circumstances that they find themselves in and the unique challenges for their communities.

But we simply must address the core of gender-based violence, which is disrespect and that is why this government has made major, major investments and commitments, not just to respond to domestic violence and support those people when they find themselves the victims of domestic violence, but making sure that we put things in place to prevent domestic violence from happening in the first place.

Because unless we can stop domestic violence, we will never end domestic violence and we have a plan, a very, very strong plan, a plan that has been enabled, obviously, by a very strong economy, that has enabled us to put $2.5bn against the first five-year plan to address all the things that make up domestic, family and sexual violence in this country, whether it be prevention, early intervention, and recovery, so we can help people who have victims through that journey of dealing with trauma, getting themselves self-sufficient, getting themselves back on their feet and becoming financially capable.

No government has done more to support Australia’s women. But today we recognise so many women whose lives have been cut short, so many children who have lost their mothers and some children that have lost their lives and I commend Hayley Foster for what she’s done in supporting and making sure that this issue is front of mind for every Australian. Because unless every Australian accepts their responsibility to end gender-based violence, we will end it and today I thank her for bringing this to everyone’s attention.

Q: Prime minister, 18 women at least this year have died due to domestic violence. The National Women’s Safety Alliance today has been calling for a number of things, including a significant increase to social housing specifically for domestic violence victims. Is that something you would consider? And secondly, your assistant minister for women, Amanda Stoker, was recently at an anti-abortion rally. Given we’re having what’s been described as a national domestic crisis in violence, why is that what your MPs are focusing on? And do you agree with her views on abortion?

Scott Morrison:

Well, on the latter matter, there is no change to policy on that issue. I’m aware of the reports that are coming out of the United States, but that’s in a different country. In Australia there are no changes to those laws.

So I don’t see it, really, as an issue.

Q: But why is your assistant minister at an anti-abortion rally?

Morrison:

Well, it’s a free country. It’s a free country. But on the issue of domestic violence, it has been our government that has put in place record investments in dealing with exactly, as you say, I think it’s one every 11 days, women are killed by someone they know, a partner, and this is an horrendous, an horrendous statistic, and it’s real. And that’s why under our national plan, we’re the one who is have invested over $2bn, including specifically on the issues of accommodation, to support women fleeing domestic violence.

That has been a big part of our plan and I’ll ask Anne to speak more to because she’s the minister for women’s security, and we have been investing and listening very carefully to those voices about how we can ensure women in those circumstances can get access to emergency accommodation they need.

It’s a partnership, of course, with state governments and state governments invest in this as well and will continue to under the national action plan. But that national action plan, which has been running since the Gillard government, which we have actually invested in far more than when it was first established under Labor, because we believe in it. We absolutely believe in it. And we’ve stepped up financially. And the reason we can do that is because of our economic management, which enables us to invest in these services.

Q: Would you commit to funding increasing healthcare and hospital funding in South Australia in order to hold on to the marginal seat of Boothby, given the recent successful campaign run by state Labor, Peter Malinauskas, on hospital and ambulance ramping?

Scott Morrison:

Well, what we have done over the course of the pandemic is we’ve funded 50/50, hospitals here in South Australia and across the country for all of their Covid-related expenses and that continues out to the end of September, where it will be considered again.

We also struck an agreement with all states and territories, Labor and Liberal, about our health reform agreement that takes us well out for many years yet, and we struck that agreement and we’ve honoured it. And what that means is that our increase in investment in public hospitals across the country outstrips, outstrips state government expenditure increases in public hospitals every single year.

So we are increasing our investment and particularly over the next few years. We’re increasing it by another $5bn of further investment in public hospitals right across the country. What I’d like the state governments to do is use it wisely and run better hospital systems.

Every government can say it is making record funding in heath, as it increases with the population.

Q: Can I ask you about the RBA: are you disappointed the Reserve Bank indicated rates would stay at historic lows until 2024, misguiding many Australian people in their investment choices? And what does this mean for the nation’s debt repayments, interest repayments, as interest rates continue to go up? We’re obviously already carrying a record rate of national debt. How much do you estimate that the nation’s interest repayments will go up in terms of billions of dollars?

Scott Morrison:

Well, a couple of things. Retaining our AAA credit rating means that those impacts will be limited. And because of the debt profile that we’ve been able to secure through our bond issuances, then Australia’s management of those issues under our jurisdiction, I would say, in the short to medium term, will continue to be in the know.

Those matters haven’t been recalculated on our most recent. But our current level of debt is on current bond issuances and those rates are fixed on those bond issuances and as you go forward and do further tranches of bond issuances – I was the treasurer to do the first 30-year bond.

We did 30-year bonds, locking in those rates over 30 years and we did that smartly during the course of the pandemic, and earlier when rates were really, really low.

We’ve done the same thing as a government that Australians have been doing with their own finances. We’ve been locking in lower rates while rates have been low with our own bond issuances.

I was doing that as a treasurer well before the pandemic hit. And we’ve certainly been doing it over the course of the last few years.

And because Australia’s AAA credit rate something only one of nine countries to have it, that means when we go to the market to support our programs and when we did this in the middle of the pandemic – I can tell you on my dashboard that I would see every single day, particularly in those early phases of the pandemic, I was watching our issuances on bonds every single day and how many times coverage we were getting on those bonds because that was essential to be able to do what we were doing on jobkeeper.

Now, we were getting many times coverage on those bonds every single day and that says the world’s financial institutions knew Australia had a strong economy, strong economic management, which would be able to see Australia through.

Now, that has been proven by the endorsement of our AAA credit rating, one of only nine countries to do so, through the pandemic. So in answer to your question, Jono, economic management and strong financial credibility means that those borrowing costs are as low as you can get them.

Look, on the RBA, no one has a crystal ball, and everyone can be critical in hindsight. But in the last 12 months, we have seen Russia invade Ukraine. And to think that that is not going to have an impact, particularly on energy prices, and supply chains and disrupt the global economy, well, I think that would be unfair.

And I don’t think that would be a realistic … I mean circumstances change. Events change. That’s what volatility and uncertainty means. And what I’m saying to the people of Australia is that uncertainty will continue. It will continue past 21 May.

I mean, the waters will remain choppy globally and the headwinds will still be there. And what you will need is a government that knows how to handle this, that has been through the testing times of these last three years and has brought the Australian economy through.

Now is not the time to risk Labor, who over three years still do not have an economic plan* and a Labor leader that doesn’t even know what’s going on in the economy and couldn’t tell what the cash rate or the unemployment rate even was three weeks ago. It’s not that he just got it wrong. He didn’t know.

*Labor has an economic plan