Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Can the minister outline which current provisions of part 3 of the Qantas Sale Act he proposes to retain in the Air Navigation Act?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not quite sure what the deputy leader is actually talking about. We are repealing the whole of part 3 of the Qantas Sale Act. The Air Navigation Act is a separate act of parliament. There are some minor modifications to be made to that because currently it excludes Qantas in certain areas, and those modifications will occur. However, the criteria for designating a national carrier are determined by the government. There are a series of issues. They require two-thirds of the board of directors to be Australian, the chairman to be Australian and the head office to be in Australia, and require majority Australian ownership. Those criteria will remain in place. I made it clear in my second reading speech that we have no plans to change the designation rules for Australian airlines.