Qantas’s direct line to PM necessary for the national carrier, says Hudson
Qantas has declared it’s ready to move on from the ‘serious mistakes’ of the past, even as a new book threatens to dredge up events the airline would rather forget.
Qantas has vowed to move on from the “serious mistakes” of ex-boss Alan Joyce but defended the tight relationship with Anthony Albanese amid concerns Labor has favoured the airline over competitors.
In a lively annual general meeting in Hobart, chair John Mullen acknowledged the “unfortunate events of the last year or so” adding it “was time to put this period behind us and move on”.
Those events included the illegal outsourcing of almost 1700 ground handling workers, the sale of thousands of tickets on already cancelled flights, the management of Covid travel credits and very public support for the divisive referendum on the voice.
“I don’t think anybody is shying away from the issues that happened in the past, but I do think it is appropriate that at some stage you draw a line under these things and move on. Otherwise we’ll spend the rest of our time looking backwards rather than forwards,” Mr Mullen told the meeting.
“We have new board members and we’re working to fully refresh the board over the coming months with new members as well. We have a new CEO in Vanessa (Hudson) and we have a largely new management team under Vanessa as well.”
Ms Hudson was also firmly focused on the future, and downplayed the likely impact of a book by journalist Joe Aston examining Qantas’s cosy relationship with government.
The relationship came under close scrutiny last year when the government denied Qatar Airways’ more flights into Australia in a decision that was seen to benefit Qantas and partner Emirates.
Making matters worse, Mr Joyce then agreed to emblazon three Qantas planes with “yes” livery in support of the voice referendum apparently without first consulting the board.
Mr Aston’s book The Chairman’s Lounge was expected to revisit those issues but Ms Hudson would not say if she planned to read it.
“The one thing I know about the book is that it’s going to reflect on the period post-Covid and I have reflected publicly on that myself that we didn’t get everything right and we’ve learnt from that, and I think that’s really important,” said Ms Hudson.
“But my focus now is looking forward and making sure that my role as a leader is to keep my leadership team focused on the future, and focused on our people.”
She said it was not inappropriate for a CEO to have a “direct line” to the Prime Minister, saying for Qantas that sort of access was necessary.
“With the amount of employment and the contribution we make to the economy, we play a very important role for Australia and for the economy and I think we should be speaking to our elected officials about what’s coming,” Ms Hudson said.
“Whether it’s sustainability, whether it’s about repatriating Australians, that’s all important. It’s important for the Australian national interest.”
All resolutions put to the annual general meeting were passed by shareholders, including the executive remuneration report that paid Mr Joyce $3.4m in salary and bonuses for just two months work in the 2024 financial year.
The former CEO is still in line for another $2.5m or more in the current financial year under the airline’s long-term incentive plan.
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