BARRIE CASSIDY, PRESENTER:
Our program guest this morning - coming up shortly - is the Trade Minister Craig Emerson.
But for a federal government perspective on the Qantas issue we are joined now by the assistant treasurer and former secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Bill Shorten.
Good morning, welcome.
BILL SHORTEN, ASSISTANT TREASURER:
Good morning Barrie.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
What do you make of the behaviour of Qantas?
BILL SHORTEN:
Well I was listening very carefully to the panel beforehand. And what I have to say is this argument that says that Qantas had no choice but to ground 108 planes and inconvenience 68,000 Australians, that Qantas just had to do that, that the board woke up Saturday morning without any planning and said, righto, we're shutting down the airline today - I don't believe that.
There are plenty of legal avenues available to Qantas and the Government certainly knows that and Qantas certainly know that.
There is no question in my mind that 68,000 Australians and the tourism industry has been grossly inconvenienced by this high-handed ambush of the passengers.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
How embarrassed is the Government about that? Not only that passengers have been stranded. There are somewhere between 17 to 20 world leaders stranded in Perth at CHOGM and of course MPs are trying to get to Parliament tomorrow.
BILL SHORTEN:
Sure it's inconvenient for a lot of people. But you know the world leaders will probably sort that out.
I am really frustrated though for all the people who are on holiday or coming to the Spring Carnival in Melbourne or trying to get away after Derby Day.
There are no case for this radical over-reaction and certainly no warning.
I, industrial disputes - sure employers have views and unions have views. What I don't support though is the no warning nature of what's happened.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
The unions though are not free of criticism surely because this has been going on for weeks. A lot of people have been inconvenienced. It's costing Qantas millions of dollars.
BILL SHORTEN:
Oh let's be clear. And despite what people say, one way or the other, the Government's not picking sides between the unions - only some of which are taking this action for the record - and the company.
We're on the side of the public. We certainly don't think when there's other legal tools and other means available that people should be waking up this morning on friends' bedroom floors or on couches or in hotels, that they should have had to be put through this.
This is not the way, this is not the way to do things in Australia. You don't lock out your passengers to square off with your employees.
I'm not picking sides. But if the unions had locked out all the passengers I'd be equally outraged. But in this case it's the Qantas management who've done in my opinion the premature and wrong thing when there was in fact plenty that could be done of a sensible nature.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
Well Tony Abbott and the premiers, some of them, says the Federal Government should have intervened weeks ago.
Why didn't you? Why did it take this dramatic escalation?
BILL SHORTEN:
Well let's be clear. Again, Qantas will have to explain some of their dealings with the Government in recent weeks. There have been plenty of Government ministers monitoring the issue. There's been plenty of discussion.
The reality is that this dispute wasn't holding, grounding the whole airline. Qantas say that at some point in the future it was so we had to bring matters on.
But if they really believe that, and they clearly do, why didn't they go and try and suspend the bargaining period, take the legal steps which now the Government's got to do?
We've got to be the sensible third party broker to ensure that the planes get back up in the air and this dispute reaches a resolution.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
Bill Shorten, thanks for your time this morning.
BILL SHORTEN:
Thanks.
BARRIE CASSIDY:
Bill Shorten there.