September 10, 2023 • 8 mins
You may have been hearing stories in the news over the last few weeks about the Federal Government facing questions over Qatar Airways. On the surface, this is a story about one political decision. This saga however, has raised questions about political transparency, Australia’s relationship with Qantas, and how Australian women on Qatar flights came to be strip searched in 2020.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bunjelung Cargotin woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Straight Island and nations. We pay our respects to the
first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily os. It's Monday,
the eleventh of September.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I'm just Sam and I'm just Zara, and we are
going back to basics because that's what you told us
you preferred. Thank you for that feedback.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
So you might have been hearing stories like this in
the news over the last few weeks.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
There's a new twist in the ongoing Kata Airways saga.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
The embattled transister couldn't escape an old decision.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
To reject a request from Qatar Airways to increase its
flights into Australia.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
From political transparency to allegations of traumatic unlawful actions associated
with Qatar Airway, Yes, there is a lot of different
angles to unpack in this story. We're going to do
all of that in today's deep dive, but first the headlines.
The death toll from the earthquake in Morocco has now
exceeded two one thousand people, with over fourteen hundred people
(01:15):
in a critical condition. The magnitude seven point two earthquake
was the most severe in the country in over sixty years,
with many residents in affected areas sleeping in the streets
and parks for fear of further building collapses. A number
of international organizations, including the UN and the World Bank,
have offered their full support.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
DIMIs has worn customers that personal data may have been
leaked following cyberbreach last week. Customers were asked to change
their passwords and monitor their bank accounts after they were
made aware of the breach last Wednesday. An investigation into
what happened has now commenced.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
The New South Wales government and New South Wales Teachers
Federation Council have reached an agreement to increase the pay
of the state's teachers from the ninth October, with a
base salary now increasing by nearly ten thousand dollars to
eighty five thousand dollars a year. It means teachers in
New South Wales will have the highest salaries in the country,
and we'll also see school counselors and casual teachers receive
(02:16):
a paymump. For more on the background of this story,
I've put a link to a previous episode of this podcast.
In today's show Notes.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
And the Good News, an island in the Great Barrier
Reef has become the first of its kind to become
carbon negative. It comes after a large scale renewable energy
system was completed on the Economy Island Education Center. What
this basically means is that the island is actually removing
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So there's been a new story flying around it that's
been surrounded by some controversial early Sorry, it's about Qatar
Airways and the Australian government's decision not to allow them
more flights. But what's interesting this story is that it's
not just about the decision made by politicians in Canberra.
It also touches on other conversations we're having about political transparency,
(03:11):
our rocky relationship with Quantus, as well as allegations that
made headlines last year about unlawful conduct associated with Qatar Airways.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
This is one of those stories that I've truthfully seen
the headlines of many, many times. I'm feeling a bit
of quantus fatigue.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I must say, I.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Feel like we have been speaking and thinking and reading
about quantus so much that I think it's actually turned
me off really reading into this story. So can you
just help me understand the basics of this Qatar story
and why my quantus fatigue is even related.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Well, Quantus plays a role, but the story starts with
Qatar Airways, and it starts in October of last year
when Qatar Airlines asked the Australian government for more flights
into Australia. Why so, they wanted to sell more roots
services in and out of the country, and they were
specifically looking at in and out of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
And to understand why that's even a question why an
(04:08):
airline needs to ask the government for permission, you need
to understand a little more about how airlines operate. There's
limits on how many planes can take off and land
at airports, and that's all for a couple of reasons.
One of them is to make sure that the number
of flights in and out of the country actually matches
up with the capacity that airports have. And I immediately
(04:28):
think of gates and queues at gates, so what the
airport can process, But there are other reasons around border
security and Australia's national interest. There's also some trade agreements
flying around between some countries and making sure that the
Australian airlines get a fair share of the market. That's
why in twenty twenty two, Katai Airways ask the Australian
(04:49):
Federal government if they could have an extra twenty one
weekly flights to Australia on top of the twenty eight
they already had. But in July of this year, the
Transport Minister, Catherine King rejected their bid.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
All right, So what was the basis on which Catherine
King made this decision? Like why why would the government
not want this?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Well, that's the question that a lot of people have
been asking the government and specifically the Transport Minister. In
the last couple of weeks. Towards the end of last month,
the Australian Financial Review published some comments from the Assistant
Treasurer his named Stephen Jones, saying that the decision not
to allow Qatar Airways those extra flights was in the
national interest. New information came to light when now former
(05:33):
CEO of Quantus, Alan Joyce, was questioned at a Senate
committee hearing. Joyce told the hearing that when the Government
was considering the request from Qatar, Quantas had contacted the
government about the proposal and.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
We did put our case to the government and are
granting a carrier doubling their traffic right, so the short
term would cause distortion, And so.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
What does Alan Joyce actually mean the distortion? What's he saying?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
So you have to remember that for Quantas and increase
the number of Qatar Airways planes coming in and out
of Australia means Quantus would have to work harder for
their slice of the market. It also means if Qatar
Airways offers lower airfares, it may put downward pressure on
Quantus's airfares.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
So why is that important? Why does it matter if
Quantus made a recommendation to the government that it shouldn't
accept Qatar's bid.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Well, Ultimately, what the opposition is saying is that by
not allowing other airlines to enhance their services to Australians
and by limiting airline competition, it's a bad result for
Australian consumers. Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume in particular, has
been making this argument.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
We know that that Qatar Airways decision I, had have
gone ahead, would have lowered the cost of airfares for
all Australians. Okay, so that's one part of the story.
But you did mention that there was another part to
all of this, which is an allegation of unlawful actions
that's been associated with Qatar Airways.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, so this is a totally different side of the issue.
But also we've learned a new detail about it this week,
and it relates to an incident we already knew about
in Qatar in twenty twenty so a group of Australian
women were pulled off a Qatar flight headed for Sydney
and were invasively strip searched. This came after a baby
had been born prematurely and abandoned at a Qatari airport,
(07:20):
and essentially authorities were trying to work out what had happened.
Some of those women have spoken about how it is
an incredibly invasive and scary experience, and five of the
women are in an ongoing legal dispute about the event.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
The Minister for Transport, Catherine King, has now said that
this event was a factor in her decision on Qatar
and not allowing those extra flights into Australia. We now
know that on the day the Minister rejected the Qatar
Airways bid, she also sent a letter to five of
the women involved in that event at the Qatar airport
back in twenty twenty to inform them of her decision.
(07:56):
They had previously written to very interesting well, they'd written
to her asking her not to accept Qatar's bid.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
With all of that in mind, and with all of
these factors at play, where does that leave us. It's
clearly been an issue for the government of the past
couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
It's been a major issue for them, particularly with some
of the bad pr coming out around the transparency of
their decision making. And so the Coalition took to the
Senate and they managed to get the numbers for it
a bid to launch a Senate inquiry into the government's
decision on Katar Airways. So undoubtedly we're going to be
hearing more about this when the committee presents its final
(08:34):
report in October. That's all we've got time for on
today's episode of The Daily Ours, But I hope you
have a good start to the week. If you have
some thoughts on today's episode, I'd love you to leave
a comment in the little question box on Spotify if
you're listening there. We'll be back again in your ears tomorrow.
Until then, have a great Monday.
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bunjelung Cargotin woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Straight Island and nations. We pay our respects to the
first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily os. It's Monday,
the eleventh of September.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I'm just Sam and I'm just Zara, and we are
going back to basics because that's what you told us
you preferred. Thank you for that feedback.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
So you might have been hearing stories like this in
the news over the last few weeks.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
There's a new twist in the ongoing Kata Airways saga.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
The embattled transister couldn't escape an old decision.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
To reject a request from Qatar Airways to increase its
flights into Australia.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
From political transparency to allegations of traumatic unlawful actions associated
with Qatar Airway, Yes, there is a lot of different
angles to unpack in this story. We're going to do
all of that in today's deep dive, but first the headlines.
The death toll from the earthquake in Morocco has now
exceeded two one thousand people, with over fourteen hundred people
(01:15):
in a critical condition. The magnitude seven point two earthquake
was the most severe in the country in over sixty years,
with many residents in affected areas sleeping in the streets
and parks for fear of further building collapses. A number
of international organizations, including the UN and the World Bank,
have offered their full support.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
DIMIs has worn customers that personal data may have been
leaked following cyberbreach last week. Customers were asked to change
their passwords and monitor their bank accounts after they were
made aware of the breach last Wednesday. An investigation into
what happened has now commenced.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
The New South Wales government and New South Wales Teachers
Federation Council have reached an agreement to increase the pay
of the state's teachers from the ninth October, with a
base salary now increasing by nearly ten thousand dollars to
eighty five thousand dollars a year. It means teachers in
New South Wales will have the highest salaries in the country,
and we'll also see school counselors and casual teachers receive
(02:16):
a paymump. For more on the background of this story,
I've put a link to a previous episode of this podcast.
In today's show Notes.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
And the Good News, an island in the Great Barrier
Reef has become the first of its kind to become
carbon negative. It comes after a large scale renewable energy
system was completed on the Economy Island Education Center. What
this basically means is that the island is actually removing
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So there's been a new story flying around it that's
been surrounded by some controversial early Sorry, it's about Qatar
Airways and the Australian government's decision not to allow them
more flights. But what's interesting this story is that it's
not just about the decision made by politicians in Canberra.
It also touches on other conversations we're having about political transparency,
(03:11):
our rocky relationship with Quantus, as well as allegations that
made headlines last year about unlawful conduct associated with Qatar Airways.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
This is one of those stories that I've truthfully seen
the headlines of many, many times. I'm feeling a bit
of quantus fatigue.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I must say, I.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Feel like we have been speaking and thinking and reading
about quantus so much that I think it's actually turned
me off really reading into this story. So can you
just help me understand the basics of this Qatar story
and why my quantus fatigue is even related.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Well, Quantus plays a role, but the story starts with
Qatar Airways, and it starts in October of last year
when Qatar Airlines asked the Australian government for more flights
into Australia. Why so, they wanted to sell more roots
services in and out of the country, and they were
specifically looking at in and out of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
And to understand why that's even a question why an
(04:08):
airline needs to ask the government for permission, you need
to understand a little more about how airlines operate. There's
limits on how many planes can take off and land
at airports, and that's all for a couple of reasons.
One of them is to make sure that the number
of flights in and out of the country actually matches
up with the capacity that airports have. And I immediately
(04:28):
think of gates and queues at gates, so what the
airport can process, But there are other reasons around border
security and Australia's national interest. There's also some trade agreements
flying around between some countries and making sure that the
Australian airlines get a fair share of the market. That's
why in twenty twenty two, Katai Airways ask the Australian
(04:49):
Federal government if they could have an extra twenty one
weekly flights to Australia on top of the twenty eight
they already had. But in July of this year, the
Transport Minister, Catherine King rejected their bid.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
All right, So what was the basis on which Catherine
King made this decision? Like why why would the government
not want this?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Well, that's the question that a lot of people have
been asking the government and specifically the Transport Minister. In
the last couple of weeks. Towards the end of last month,
the Australian Financial Review published some comments from the Assistant
Treasurer his named Stephen Jones, saying that the decision not
to allow Qatar Airways those extra flights was in the
national interest. New information came to light when now former
(05:33):
CEO of Quantus, Alan Joyce, was questioned at a Senate
committee hearing. Joyce told the hearing that when the Government
was considering the request from Qatar, Quantas had contacted the
government about the proposal and.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
We did put our case to the government and are
granting a carrier doubling their traffic right, so the short
term would cause distortion, And so.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
What does Alan Joyce actually mean the distortion? What's he saying?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
So you have to remember that for Quantas and increase
the number of Qatar Airways planes coming in and out
of Australia means Quantus would have to work harder for
their slice of the market. It also means if Qatar
Airways offers lower airfares, it may put downward pressure on
Quantus's airfares.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
So why is that important? Why does it matter if
Quantus made a recommendation to the government that it shouldn't
accept Qatar's bid.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Well, Ultimately, what the opposition is saying is that by
not allowing other airlines to enhance their services to Australians
and by limiting airline competition, it's a bad result for
Australian consumers. Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume in particular, has
been making this argument.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
We know that that Qatar Airways decision I, had have
gone ahead, would have lowered the cost of airfares for
all Australians. Okay, so that's one part of the story.
But you did mention that there was another part to
all of this, which is an allegation of unlawful actions
that's been associated with Qatar Airways.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, so this is a totally different side of the issue.
But also we've learned a new detail about it this week,
and it relates to an incident we already knew about
in Qatar in twenty twenty so a group of Australian
women were pulled off a Qatar flight headed for Sydney
and were invasively strip searched. This came after a baby
had been born prematurely and abandoned at a Qatari airport,
(07:20):
and essentially authorities were trying to work out what had happened.
Some of those women have spoken about how it is
an incredibly invasive and scary experience, and five of the
women are in an ongoing legal dispute about the event.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
The Minister for Transport, Catherine King, has now said that
this event was a factor in her decision on Qatar
and not allowing those extra flights into Australia. We now
know that on the day the Minister rejected the Qatar
Airways bid, she also sent a letter to five of
the women involved in that event at the Qatar airport
back in twenty twenty to inform them of her decision.
(07:56):
They had previously written to very interesting well, they'd written
to her asking her not to accept Qatar's bid.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
With all of that in mind, and with all of
these factors at play, where does that leave us. It's
clearly been an issue for the government of the past
couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
It's been a major issue for them, particularly with some
of the bad pr coming out around the transparency of
their decision making. And so the Coalition took to the
Senate and they managed to get the numbers for it
a bid to launch a Senate inquiry into the government's
decision on Katar Airways. So undoubtedly we're going to be
hearing more about this when the committee presents its final
(08:34):
report in October. That's all we've got time for on
today's episode of The Daily Ours, But I hope you
have a good start to the week. If you have
some thoughts on today's episode, I'd love you to leave
a comment in the little question box on Spotify if
you're listening there. We'll be back again in your ears tomorrow.
Until then, have a great Monday.
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