30 Aug 2023

Australia: Qantas anger, Voice date, women with the whistle

From Nine To Noon, 9:45 am on 30 August 2023
08 November 2021, Saxony, Dresden: A Qantas Airways Airbus A380 takes off from Dresden Airport. The aircraft will make the long-haul flight to Sydney following maintenance work at Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW). Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa (Photo by Sebastian Kahnert / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP)

Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa via AFP

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to talk about how the country's 'national carrier' is feeling the wrath like it rarely has in the past, following it posting a $2.4b profit this week off the back of a shambolic post-pandemic performance and ultra high airfares.

Retiring Qantas CEO Alan Joyce revealed to a parliamentary committee this week that travellers hold $500m in credit from cancelled Covid-era flights but the airline's giving them till Christmas to use it or lose it.

Australia will learn today when the proposed indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum will be held, two women will referee NRL matches this weekend and former deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has backed a recent call from retiring NZ Labour MP Jamie Strange to merge Australia and New Zealand.

Karen Middleton is chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper.