Media Release

27 September 2017: KAP Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter launched a scathing attack against the major airlines at a media conference on Tuesday afternoon, labelling them ‘un-Australian’ for jacking up the prices of flights from North Queensland to Sydney for the NRL Grand Final this weekend.

Mr Katter said, “If there has ever been an un-Australian, it is the leadership of Qantas – Mr Joyce.”

Mr Katter pointed out that Qantas was founded in and around Cloncurry noting that many people (his grandfather included) invested their money to provide a service to the people of Australia.

“That service, which we call Qantas, has become a service to the CEO cabal that runs this country,” Mr Katter said.

“They all seem to be foreigners. The head of the instrumentalities that were once government run; postal services - $5.8m Mr Fahour had been paying himself, Mr Hockridge of Aurizon was paying himself $6.1m before he retired, and Mr Joyce is the world champion – he’s paying himself $25m a year.

“Now while he is paying himself $25m a year, he’s skinning the people in NQ, the most outrageous and Un-Australian thing, he’s stopping North Qlders from getting to the NRL grand final.

“But you wouldn’t know that this is called being un-Australian if you came from another country.

“The stench of their self-servicing greed revolts every person; every Australian in this country has had enough.”

Mr Katter has written to the Chairman of the ACCC for a third consecutive year. In his letter Mr Katter warned that major airlines should not be using events such as grand final football to flex thin oligopolistic market power at the expense of everyday Australians.

“It’s the duty of the ACCC to be a watchdog and oversee fair trading practices in our country.

“Well when I went to university I did economics. I was told that supply and demand only determined price in the presence of an infinite number of buyers and sellers. In this case, there are many thousands of desperate buyers, and there are only three, arguably two sellers. That was called an oligopoly, which is bad enough in itself, but the use of that powerful position is in fact in breach of statutory law, as well as common law.

“Protective mechanisms of Government such as the ACCC are there to ensure these things don't happen.

“Normally it is $423 from Townsville to Sydney with Qantas. Well this grand final weekend it is $1,056 dollars –courtesy of Mr Joyce.

“Jetstar is usually $367. This weekend - $1,277. Why thank you Mr Joyce!

“And Virgin aren’t innocent either. Usually $476 return, now $1,404. What a disgrace. How un-Australian.

“Meanwhile, the price to get from Brisbane to NZ is $430. These people are not Australians.”

##ENDS##