
Issue No 113		28 September 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Tool Shed

Ansett Killer Qu’est-ce Que C’est?

C'est John Anderson! But alas, Anderson The Terminator hasn't been able to pull it off for his Qantas mates. Ansett lives on no thanks to the slick Lib in sheep's clothing.

John Anderson is so dry he's combustible but this week he made a fairly good attempt at a joke. He claimed it was he and his Government that got Ansett back in the air and that the unions weren't responsible for even one of the resurrected jobs. Nice try Arnie!

It's a joke unlikely to get many belly laughs from 17,000 Ansett employees and tens of thousands of others affected by Ansett's crisis who have had to drag Arnie and his deficit daleks kicking and screaming to the table to save a corner pillar of a viable and competitive Australian aviation industy.

While Anderson, backed by his PM, has been proclaiming Ansett a carcass other people are busily and successfully trying to get the troubled airline back into the air, save jobs and try to re-establish a transport lifeline for what is meant to be the Nats constituency - the bush. Those other people are called unions.

Strangely for a man supposedly from the country, Anderson seems to have trouble telling the difference between a dead animal and one that is sick and in need of help.

But the truth is, John Anderson is really a slick Liberal in sheep's clothing (we assume those beautiful suits are made from Australian wool and not some chic Italian fabric) - a committed free marketeer and champion of competition policy - a big business Trojan horse in the bush.

The extent of Anderson's dissembling and hypocrisy through this national tragedy has been staggering. The ACTU and Ansett unions got hold of documents which reveal Anderson's callous disregard for the fate of Ansett and his loyalty to his mates at Qantas. These documents show that:

· Anderson and his department met with representatives of Air New Zealand on several occasions prior to August 14 and were provided with financial information regarding the 'very serious losses of Ansett'.

· they confirm that John Anderson was told in June that Ansett was losing $18 million a week.

· Anderson's support for the Qantas plan to buy into Air New Zealand was a significant impediment to a resolution to Air New Zealand and Ansett's problems.

· Howard and Anderson were aware that Air New Zealand and Ansett were facing a serious liquidity crisis which would cause 'major disruption to the business' if the situation was not resolved before September.

These letters prove show how John Anderson misled the Australian public about the extent of his knowledge of Ansett's problems.

These documents were backed by revelations on Channel Nine's Sunday program from Air New Zealand Chairman Jim Farmer and Chief Executive Gary Tooomey that the Howard Government's support for Qantas and its commercial interests had contributed to Ansett's collapse.

Through unbelievable circumstances and luck Anderson and his cronies have been spared the full grill of the media over Ansett but concerted and sustained effort from Ansett employees and their unions has seen the phoenix rise. No thanks to the Minister For Liquidation.

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Issue 113 contents

Interview: The Custodian
Labor's arts spokesman Bob McMullan on the role government can play in nurturing national culture.

Media: Chucking a Wobbly
Veronica Apap meets Dan Buhagiar, the programmer of Labor Council's new online initiative, Wobbly Radio.

E-Change: 3.3 Unleashing a Networked Culture
Politics does not occur in a vacuum - it's is as much a product of its culture as it is an influence on it. In the post-Industrial Age how will this relationship change?

Unions: Are You a Terrorist?
Away from the talkback noise, Mark Hearn reports on how a Sydney workforce is taking up the cause of racial understanding and tolerance.

Organising: STAA Performers
Film industry workers are acting collectively to ensure they don't become Mexicans with Mobiles.

Workplace: Making Art Work
The Workers Cultural Action Committee is a community cultural development provider. What is this? And what does it mean for the union movement?

History: Creative Alliances
Neale Towart wanders through the archives to look at how unions' have worked with artists to promote progressive casuses.

Performance: Tales from the Shop Floor
Peter Murphy profiles Sydney's New Theatre and the role it has played in fostering working culture.

Review: Homegroan
In an extract from her new book, The Money Shot, Jane Mills argues that the local film industry needs more than patriotism to get bums on seats.

Satire: PM Pleads To Nauru: Take Our Aborigines Too
In the wake of Nauru’s acceptance of the Tampa refugees, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has struck a new deal with the small island nation to take our Aborigines as well.

» Abbott Stacks Commission on Election Eve

» Trades Hall to Be Fit for the Arts

» Olympic Builders Honoured in Oil

» Terror Shockwaves Hit Security Workers

» The Ansett Phoenix Rises

» 'The General' Makes Ansett Stand

» One Dollar Workforce Highlights Workcover Concerns

» Email Workers Saved

» Union Power Gets Tilers Paid In Full

» NSW Nurses (Pro)Claim Their Worth

» AOL Sheds Non-Union Staff

» Building Inquiry Faces First Test of Integrity

» Telstra Guilty Over Union Discrimination

» Paint Workers Finish the Job

» New Project Agreement A Template

» The Workers United, Need a New Slogan!

» Activists Notebook