It took the better part of two years for an aviation green paper to morph into a set of policy recommendations that eventually still left a lot of loose ends last year.

On Thursday, in what can hardly be a coincidence, we have simultaneous reports of a record profit for Qantas – showing a robust, healthy company – and the government’s announcement that Qatar Airways will be permitted to acquire a 25 per cent shareholding in Virgin Australia, along with approval for 28 weekly “wet lease” Virgin flights on Qatar jets.