Not everyone is happy with the Federal Government’s new aviation and tourism support package, with many saying it’s no match for JobKeeper, and one aviation union representative describing it as “like a band-aid on a broken arm”.
The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has been lobbying for an extension of JobKeeper. While it’s grateful for the promise of $128 million of extra grants for tourism operators in the new package, it needs more details.
AFTA Chair Tom Manwaring was quoted as saying that without tailored support, the industry would see eight in every 10 people still working in travel out of a job, with three in 10 businesses having to close and a further 52% uncertain about their future.
For details of the support package, see: Federal Govt unveils main elements of support package
One criticism is that the support package does nothing to boost capital city getaways, an important sector. While Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce cheerfully remarked that the package “ticks all the boxes”, Accommodation Association chief executive Dean Long pointed out that while the program would support many tourism regions which were hard hit by bushfires and the subsequent shutdowns, the package did nothing to support Australia’s two major international gateways: Sydney and Melbourne.
Both markets currently have a forward booking rate of less than 10% for the next 90 days.
“For Sydney and Melbourne where 80% of the market is from international and corporate markets, which are still not operating due to Government restrictions, the lack of support in this package will result in a loss of jobs and slow our recovery once borders are open,” Long said.
“Our hotels in these two major international gateways currently have a forward booking rate of less than 10% for the next 90 days and desperately need immediate support.
“Our workforce is highly skilled and the Government has not provided the support for our skilled chefs, waiters, revenue managers and duty managers in the same way as they have for airlines. This means it will have a dramatic negative impact once international borders open and we don’t have the team members to provide the high service levels they demand.
“Loans are only helpful when you have a level of certainty of revenue to service debts and a clear strategy to keep the economy open. Without this, Australia’s accommodation businesses can’t take on new debit even if banks are prepared to lend to them.
“The Accommodation Association will be making urgent representations to the Federal Government for additional support to ensure our important Sydney and Melbourne accommodation sectors get the support so urgently needed.”
Similarly, aviation unions are writing to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, urging him to reverse the decision and introduce “AviationKeeper”, for all aviation workers, with strict conditions capping executive salaries, banning bonuses and dividends and banning outsourcing.
Association for Virgin Australia Group Pilots President, John Lyons said the announcement was “focused entirely on companies – not workers or passengers. The taxpayer is being expected to bail out the aviation industry without an equity stake or return to the community in the form of protections for workers or passengers.”
Transport Workers Union (TWU) National Secretary Michael Kaine said JobKeeper had been a vital lifeline in helping workers pay their bills and support their families – and this had now gone.
“The Federal Government is ripping away a vital support to the aviation industry at a critical moment. Domestic aviation is poised to make a comeback but it is not there yet. The Australian taxpayer has effectively paid the wages of thousands of aviation workers for almost a year. Stopping that support at the final hurdle makes no sense and amounts to a scandalous waste of hundreds of millions of dollars spent to date,” he said.
Australian Services Union (ASU) Assistant National Secretary Emeline Gaske said AviationKeeper, a targeted wage subsidy with built-in timescales and strict conditions, should be the focus of support to save jobs and businesses.
“Without the connection to jobs, or putting money in the pockets of workers who need it, this [the new aviation and tourism support package] is just corporate welfare,” Gaske said.
“This is taxpayer money designed to flow into the pockets of businesses, not workers, with no strings attached.”
Gaske told ABC Radio: “As a replacement for JobKeeper, it’s like a band-aid on a broken arm”.
The ASU is the largest union of workers employed in the aviation industry.
Written by Peter Needham
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