Queensland tells NSW to ‘back off’ Virgin Australia saying it won’t let airline go without a fight

Queensland won’t let Virgin go without a fight as NSW confirms it wants to entice the airline’s HQ from Brisbane to Sydney.

Grounded Virgin Australia aircraft are seen parked at Brisbane Airport.

The Queensland government has warned NSW to “back off” Virgin Australia, as NSW reveals it wants to entice the headquarters of the airline from Brisbane to Sydney.

State Development Minister Cameron Dick on Monday morning said Queensland would not let it go without a fight. The Queensland government put $200m on the table as a rescue package for Virgin, contingent on federal government backing and Virgin’s headquarters staying in Brisbane.

There are 5000 Virgin jobs in QLD, including 1200 jobs at its headquarters in Bowen Hills.

“There’s nothing more dangerous than Queenslanders with their backs to the wall ... we will stop at nothing to ensure the headquarters of Virgin remains in Queensland,” Mr Dick said.

The NSW government has confirmed it is in talks with Virgin about giving the cash-strapped airline a possible financial lifeline, but only if it moves its national headquarters from Brisbane to Sydney.

Virgin is carrying about $5 billion in debt and its domestic and international business has been hit due to the impact of the coronavirus.

The carrier has been seeking federal help to keep it running but the Morrison government has rejected its request for $1.4 billion. The Victorian government has also said no to being part of any bailout.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet told Sky News on Sunday night the state was considering offering support and pointing to the new aerotropolis being built at Badgerys Creek in western Sydney.

“Virgin should have their headquarters for both Virgin and Tiger in Sydney,” Mr Perrottet said. Tiger Air is owned by Virgin Australia.

“I’m always open for businesses right across the country to relocate to New South Wales and create jobs here in our state, particularly when you look at the aerotroplis in western Sydney.

“It provides a significant opportunity for Virgin and other airlines to relocate to our state.”

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has indicated his state is unlikely to be part of a bailout of troubled airline Virgin, unless there are jobs for Victorians or the federal government gets involved.

Mr Andrews said he had been in discussions with Virgin “well before this pandemic”.

“I think the notion of Victorian taxpayers chipping in with no jobs coming to Victoria, I think that’s a pretty challenging thing for us to do,” he told the Nine Network.

“I think a second carrier is something that every Australian benefits from, but if all governments were involved then we’d of course have a close look at that.

“But the notion that Victorian taxpayers would fork out hundreds of millions of dollars to have every single job remain up there in Brisbane, or in Sydney, I don’t know that that’s necessarily something that we would be interested in.

“If governments want to come together, and the national government would need to be part of this, then of course we’re happy to look at that.”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday morning confirmed her government is considering bailing out Virgin Australia to “create jobs and save jobs” in the state.

“That is definitely something that is on the agenda for us and we are considering all options moving forward,” she said.

“If there are other opportunities the NSW government can support businesses re-tooling or looking at other opportunities to set-up their head office here in NSW, we are open to all of those things.”

The premier said she would not provide any further detail on the possible move, including if NSW support will be contingent on the federal government also backing the bailout with funding.

“I don’t want to provide any more details than that,” she said. “But just to say that as a government our focus remains very strongly on protecting jobs.”

Ms Berejiklian said she does not “apologise” for championing NSW, even if it means Queensland losing jobs. “At the end of the day my government is responsible for NSW, I don’t apologise for that,” she said.

“My role is to promote jobs and a strong economy in NSW.”

The additional funding announced by Queensland is short of the $1.4bn sought by the airline but was designed to encourage other states to chip in and increase pressure on the Morrison government to reverse its refusal to provide an assistance package.

The Morrison government is under pressure from its own ranks to mount an 11th-hour ­rescue bid to save Virgin Airlines, with the company poised to go into voluntary administration within days.

The calls by Coalition MPs to prevent the airline’s collapse came as former Queensland premier Peter Beattie warned the tourism sector would be devastated if Virgin were allowed to go under.

It echoes calls from the competition watchdog that the government needed to step in to protect competition in the aviation sector, with the loss of Virgin reducing Australia to a single-major-carrier market.

Federal Liberal MP Jason ­Falinski said the airline should be saved amid conflicting government messages about ­potential plans to rescue the airline.

Mr Falinski doubted whether a Chinese state-owned entity would be allowed to take control of Virgin under current foreign investment rules relating to state-owned foreign enterprises.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg recently reduced to zero the threshold to trigger Foreign Investment Review Board intervention for ­foreign bids on local assets amid fears China would launch raids on distressed Australian companies.

The Australian understands the airline is expected to be put into voluntary administration within days unless a private sector solution can be found or the federal government steps in.

With AAP