TONY BURKE & CATHERINE KING – MEDIA RELEASE – LATEST QANTAS JOB LOSSES – MONDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2020

Today’s announcement from Qantas is the latest result of the Morrison Government’s failure to plan for Australia’s aviation industry.

Labor’s thoughts are with Qantas’s 2,000 workers and their families on what will be a very difficult day. Coming only months after the loss of 6,000 jobs at the airline, this will be another blow for many.

Aviation is an essential industry in Australia and as we continue to recover from this crisis we will rely on aviation workers to get us in the air and get our economy off the ground.

But instead of developing a plan for aviation, the Morrison Government has denied support to airports, denied JobKeeper to Dnata workers, allowed Virgin Australia to fall into administration and failed to act as Qantas sacked thousands of workers.

That is why Labor this month initiated a senate inquiry into the impact the pandemic has had on Australian aviation, how the Government responded, and – importantly – what the industry will need into the future.

Throughout this year, Australian aviation workers have seen too many days like this. It is past time for the Morrison Government come up with a plan for our aviation sector.

MONDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2020