Overview

• Joyce returned after a two-year hiatus to argue that Qantas was just 11 weeks from insolvency in 2020 and that hard cost-cutting decisions kept the airline afloat.
• He contrasted Qantas’s resilience with rivals that entered administration or folded, saying foresight and unpopular choices ensured long-term survival.
• In his speech he likened sustainable aviation fuel to solar energy and urged governments to introduce mandates and subsidies to build investor certainty.
• The Federal Court is due to rule on a Transport Workers Union bid for an additional roughly $121 million penalty over Qantas’s unlawful outsourcing of 1,800 ground-handling staff.
• Qantas is implementing a $120 million compensation fund and has absorbed a $100 million ACCC fine while CEO Vanessa Hudson focuses on restoring trust.