#alanjoyce

The recent political kerfuffle over politicians getting free upgrades on Qantas flights misses the point somewhat, I think. It is the corrupt and odious practices of Qantas management which should be called out rather than merely berating the politicians, in my view. Qantas upgrade palm greasing of politicians. Alan Joyce was one of, if not, the most ruthless CEOs in Australian corporate history. This chief executive of our defacto national carrier for more than a decade, instigated repeated purges of the Qantas workforce. These were undertaken whilst simultaneously currying favour with the political movers and shakers by making them and their families feel special in the air and within the infamous Qantas Chairman’s lounge. Old fashioned graft and palm greasing really. “Qantas employees have been expressly warned over potential “bribery” risks and reputational damage when offering “gifts” to Australian politicians worth more than $200 in a new all-staff training module. News.com.au has confirmed that the training was rolled out by the airline on Monday and it urges employees to run any “gifts” to public officials and politicians past Qantas’ legal department.” (Samantha Maiden, 5 November 2024)

Joyce & Qantas Graft Merchants For Political Power

It is the elite looking after their own while the workers cop it in the neck. The mass sackings of Qantas workers happened repeatedly over the 15 years the diminutive Irishman stood tall in Australian aviation. We now know why little was ever said by politicians, even on the Labor side, as they were too busy taking backhanders  in the form of pampered treatment aboard the Qantas juggernaut. Human beings are simple social animals at heart and few are immune from deferential behaviour, especially in the rarified atmosphere way up there and at the airport.

Aussie Politicians Trade Their Integrity For Qantas Upgrades

Yes, the politicians should have resisted it if they were sticklers for integrity but few are in reality. I would like to see corporations prosecuted for this kind of thing – graft and bribery. The media is focusing on the tit for tat political spats, as they always do – with the ABC being the worst offender. It is the private sector initiating this kind of thing and seemingly getting away with it scot-free. A ‘scot’ was an arcane term for a tax. This is a good segway to the fact that some 42% of corporations doing business in Australia paid no corporate tax at all in the most recent financial year. This is a growing number every year of tax avoiders. What is the government doing about this since the infamous PwC betrayal under the LNP Coalition federal governments of Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison? We, the people, have heard little about this since it broke news several years ago.

Neoliberal champions who led us where we find ourselves - ripped off by our own economy! National Corruption Watchdog Rolling Over & Playing Dead The NACC or the SNACC, as some pundits call it because it is so secret that nobody ever hears about it, has been a total failure and embarrassment. It reaffirms the mutual complicities of both main political parties in avoiding accountability at the federal level. We have just seen the conflict of interest at play between the head of the NACC and senior bureaucrat Kathryn Campbell, who has been under investigation for her major role in the Robodebt illegal scandal. Both are active old fellows of Sydney University involved in shared pursuits pertaining to that organisation. “The decision by the National Anti-Corruption Commission not to investigate the six public servants over the Robodebt scandal appears to have been “infected by the bias of Commissioner Justice Paul Brereton and, if so, should now be disregarded”, says Stephen Charles AO KC, a former judge at the Victorian Court of Appeal and a former board member of the Centre of Public Integrity.” (https://michaelwest.com.au/why-did-nacc-decline-to-pursue-the-robodebt-scandal-conflicts-of-interests-revealed/) Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©WordsForWeb

The recent decision by the Queensland state government not to build another sporting stadium for the Olympics is a sign of maturity. Brisbane and Australia are in the midst of an acute housing crisis, with too few houses and apartments available for demand. It would be a gross display of economic irresponsibility to build a massively expensive stadium when there are not enough affordable accommodation options available for the people of Brisbane. The builders and the investment should be engaged and spent on social housing rather than infrastructure for sport. Enough with the elitist sporting indulgence when a city, a state, and a nation is not taking care of its ordinary citizens. Not building another stadium is a win for Queenslanders. “No one wants to see money spent on facilities that are only needed for four weeks.” Premier Steven Miles “The Queensland government says it won’t be demolishing the Gabba and building a new Olympic stadium in Brisbane, despite the recommendations of an independent review of venues for the 2032 Games.” (https://www.governmentnews.com.au/queensland-says-no-to-new-olympic-stadium/)

Olympic Dreams Can Take A Backseat To Building Social Housing

The Olympics has its place but it should not gazump the responsibility that governments have to their subjects. The Olympics is cream and there is no cream if the basics have not firstly been put in place. The market has failed renters in Brisbane, in Queensland, and around Australia. The neoliberal economic policies of the last few decades have seen an abrogation by government’s of their responsibilities. Housing and providing shelter at an affordable rate should be at the top of the list for our society at both state and private sector levels. Profitability has replaced all other concerns and we have been let down by this.

Shameful Behaviours By Corporate Australia During Cost Of Living Crisis There are families who have been forced to live in tents on the fringes of the city because of the unaffordability of rents in Queensland. The market has not taken care of business and governments have failed their constituents. The cost of living crisis has sucked the modest savings out of the working poor families. People are living hand to mouth. Australian corporations have recorded record profits during this time, which says something about the morality of our businesses. Profitability has become everything and basic decency has left the building. It is pretty lousy really. We got through a global pandemic only to come out the other side and have businesses target the government assistance funds via price gouging. Corporate Australia should hang its head in shame. Woolworths, Coles, Qantas, Commonwealth Bank, Ampol, Santos, PwC, News Corp and all the many companies that don't pay tax have been taking a crap on all of us at our expense. Wildly overpaid CEO's like Alan Joyce - it is a disgrace. ©WordsForWeb

Australians are really dumb if you go by their behaviour over the last 20 years. They have bought the whole anti-union narrative spruiked by conservative politicians like John Howard, Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison and their ilk. These guys demonised and attempted to criminalise unionists and their ALP mates. The whole anti-Bill Shorten campaign painted Bill as some union crook – for which there was no real evidence. Despite this voters bought it hook, line and sinker. Now, we are where we find ourselves with record low wage growth over decades. Unions stripped of power by laws. Labour hire companies ripping off workers. Workers with bugger all rights. Big companies lording it over little workers with no bargaining power.

Shabby Australians Deserve Qantas

Qantas has finally been pulled up by the High Court of Australia – after the unions took them on and fought their appeal against the wrongful dismissal of 1, 700 baggage handlers during the Covid pandemic. Australians didn’t stand up to Qantas, the Coalition government backed them with billions of tax payer’s money, whilst Virgin went down the gurgler. Australians have become pretty shabby people, sitting back and watching workers being shafted by Corporate Australia and not saying boo.

Alan Joyce has been an absolute disgrace, as Qantas CEO for years and years. Under his leadership this once great company has become a vampire for shareholders. Sucking the life out of long serving staff and treating its customers like shit. “ "It now stands their actions against these Qantas families as the largest sacking in Australian corporate history that has been found to be illegal," Transport Workers' Union national secretary, Michael Kaine said in the minutes after the landmark verdict was handed down. "These workers have been put through hell. Their families have been put through hell. Their lives have been dislocated, some of them forever … that's the consequence of this illegal decision.” - (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-14/qantas-workers-high-court-illegally-sacked-twu-compensation-bill/102848854)

Qantas flying off with your money

Joyce Took Australia On A Joy Ride At Our Expense

Australians are only just waking up to the litany of unfair and low life actions taken by the airline’s management and board. Joyce has walked away with $24 million in bonuses, after destroying the culture and reputation of a once mighty business and brand. Australians and Qantas shareholders should hang their heads in shame really. We all sat back and watched the destruction of people’s lives and livelihoods. What for? All for money, of course. We have very few standards of morality left in this nation, especially after a decade of Coalition governments under the guise of liars like Morrison and leering scumbags like Abbott.

Dirty Deeds Done In Australia Think about Robodebt and the disgraceful and unlawful scheme of these same jokers. Vulnerable people, wrongly accused of owing thousands of dollars, killed themselves. Ponder on the billions of dollars going to companies like PwC and KPMG, who have been taking the Australian people for a very expensive ride. These are Coalition initiatives and trends massaged and mined for every penny possible. Insider mates getting all the plumb jobs and big government contracts without the normal scrutiny that the public service would be under. Opaque transparency in shady town. Stuart Robert and Alan Tudge have scarpered already to avoid taking any responsibility. Marise Payne has likewise ducked out of the building, just in case people are actually held accountable. I would not hold your breath, however. Australia is a white collar crime and corruption Mecca. Only poor and powerless people get prosecuted and go to prison.

Neoliberal champions who led us where we find ourselves - ripped off by our own economy! Governments Need To Get Back In The Game Of Building Things Will Australians awake from their slumber and pay attention to WTF is going on? Neoliberalism still haunts the halls of power and politics, despite having delivered zero results for the majority of us. The ALP needs to get its head out of its arse and stop playing it safe. The ALP still sucks on the teat of neoliberalist economic beliefs. The housing crisis is a direct result of government neglect in this regard. The market will not take care of everything – that is complete bullshit. Pull your finger out Albo! The housing fund is a cocka-doodle crock of monetary madness. We need governments to get back in the game of building infrastructure – like houses where the working poor can live. It is an emergency and the market is not going to magic up a shit load of social housing.

Richard Goyder Must Go Goyder must go, as he has been the enabler in the whole Alan Joyce disaster. Qantas has been accused by the ACCC of selling seats to 10, 000 customers, which had already been cancelled. This could cost the airline a fine of $250 million. Australian must get back to holding Corporate Australia accountable for its actions. The LNP anything goes days are over. Australians would be best served to remember who has led this trashing of our standards. John Howard used to boast about making us all shareholders. Well, the vast majority of Australians are not shareholders but we have been screwed by Corporate Australia. High prices and rising inflation have been caused by a profit-price-spiral. Record profits have been announced by Qantas and the banks. The duopolies and oligopolies means that they can set the prices in most markets. The ACCC has failed us in terms of protecting competition. Our governments have been asleep at the wheel or looking the other way on the back of grift and graft. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQKnazRIEc8 Australians Are Not What They Used To Be Australians are only really arcing up right now because airfares are really expensive. Self-centred shabby Aussies did bugger all when Joyce was sacking airline staff left, right and centre. Neoliberal economics has pervaded the leadership of our nation and gutted things like mateship and social justice. People are just out for what they can get. Scumbags are the new normal downunder. You know unions have done a lot for this country over the journey. Apart from protecting the basic rights of workers, they have been involved in preserving things like our historical buildings, anti-apartheid campaigns against South Africa, fighting for equal pay for Australian women, and getting equal pay for Indigenous workers on cattle stations. “In January 1965 the North Australian Workers’ Union lodged an application with the Arbitration Commission to delete the provision of the award covering workers at cattle stations that prevented Indigenous workers from gaining equal rights. A campaign of public pressure in support of the claim for wage equality was launched across the country. The Cattle Producers Council submitted a series of racist arguments to the Commission, degrading the contribution of Indigenous workers to the industry.  In March 1966 the commission handed down its decision in favour of equal wages – but in a racist insult to Indigenous workers, deferred this equality until December 1968. Indigenous pastoral workers took action, demanding equality immediately. “ - (https://www.actu.org.au/about-the-actu/history-of-australian-unions) If you have ever lived or spent some time in regional Australia you will well know the heightened level of racism in these communities. Not everyone, of course, but far more blatant expressions of racism than in the city are frequently voiced. You have to ask yourself why is Queensland, especially in the regional parts so racist and anti-union? A history of blackbirding – the indented servitude or enslavement of First Nations people – exists there. The current folk are the descendants of such people. The Lutheran German migrants and other European migrants are well known to be anti-union on the basis of their experiences in their old countries. They hand these attitudes down to their progeny for better or worse. Interestingly the polls predict that Queensland and Tasmania will be bastions for the No vote in the October referendum on the voice to parliament for Indigenous Australians. Two states where massacres of First Nations people were prominent in our history. Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of Money Matters: Navigating Credit, Debt, and Financial Freedom. ©WordsForWeb