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Qantas
Sale Amendment Bill 2014
Portfolio: Infrastructure and
Regional Development
Introduced: House of Representatives,
6 March 2014 Summary of committee
concerns
1.55
The committee
seeks further information as to the likely impact of the bill on the right to
work. Overview
1.56
This bill
proposes the removal of various restrictions imposed on Qantas by the Qantas
Sale Act 1992, as well as making amendments to the Air Navigation Act
1920. The bill proposes the repeal of sections of the Qantas Sale Act which
require certain restrictions to be included in Qantas’ articles of association
to limit foreign ownership and impose other related restrictions, as well as
compliance and enforcement measures to ensure Qantas abides by these
requirements. The purpose of the bill is to place Qantas on an equal footing
with other airlines by removing the foreign ownership and other restrictions on
its business.
1.57
In particular, the
bill proposes the repeal of Part 3 of the Qantas Sale Act. Part 3 includes the
following:
7 Qantas’
articles of association to include certain provisions
(1) The
articles of association of Qantas must, on and from the day on which Qantas first
becomes aware that a person, other than the Commonwealth or a nominee of the
Commonwealth, has acquired voting shares in Qantas:
...
(h)
require that of the facilities, taken in aggregate, which are used by Qantas in
the provision of scheduled international air transport services (for example,
facilities for the maintenance and housing of aircraft, catering, flight
operations, training and administration), the facilities located in Australia,
when compared with those located in any other country, must represent the
principal operational centre for Qantas ....
1.58
The same section
also provides: that the articles of association of Qantas must require that the
company’s head office always be located in Australia; that at least two-thirds
of the directors of Qantas be Australian citizens; that the director presiding
at a meeting of the board of directors of Qantas be an Australian citizen; and
that Qantas must not take any action to become incorporated outside Australia. Compatibility with human
rights
Statement
of compatibility
1.59
The bill is
accompanied by a statement of compatibility that refers to rights to work in
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It
states:
[t]he
amendments proposed by this Bill to the QSA and ANA do not engage any of the
applicable rights or freedoms. The Bill simply ensures Qantas is subject to the
same regulatory framework as other Australian airlines.
The
Bill will give Qantas greater flexibility in its business structures. These
opportunities will be consistent with the opportunities available to other
Australian airlines, and the Bill will not impact Australia’s broader workplace
relations regulatory framework. The Bill will therefore not impact on human
rights relating to employment under articles 6(1), 7 and 8(1)(a) of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.[1]
Committee
view on compatibility
Right to
work
1.60
The committee
considers that rights relating to work are relevant. The committee notes that
one of Australia’s obligations under the ICESCR is to fulfil the enjoyment of
the right to work by promoting conditions in which persons can find work in
Australia. The committee recognises that there is much contention over the appropriate
role for government in relation to expanding job opportunities and that the
impact of specific policies and measures may be hard to predict with certainty.
The committee considers that an assessment of the compatibility of the bill
with the ICESCR should have included some assessment of whether and how the
bill might affect employment opportunities in Australia.
1.61
The
committee intends to write to the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional
Development to seek further information as to:
- whether the
bill is likely to limit the right to work;
- whether the
government undertook any analysis of the likely impact on the right to work of
the repeal of Part 3 of the Qantas Sale Act 1992 and, if so, what the
results of that analysis were; and
- if the bill
is likely to limit the right to work, whether that limitation is compatible
with Australia’s obligations under the ICESCR.
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