1
00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:03,560
Speaker 1: My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda

2
00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:08,600
Speaker 1: Bungelung Calcuttin woman from Gadigl Country. The Daily oz acknowledges

3
00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:10,840
Speaker 1: that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the

4
00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:14,400
Speaker 1: Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres

5
00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,360
Speaker 1: Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the

6
00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,120
Speaker 1: first peoples of these countries, both past and present.

7
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,080
Speaker 2: Good morning, a welcome to the Daily os It's Wednesday,

8
00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:30,400
Speaker 2: the thirtieth of August. I'm Sam Kazlowski.

9
00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:31,400
Speaker 3: I'm Zara Seidler.

10
00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,440
Speaker 2: Just last week we were sharing the news that Quantus

11
00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,519
Speaker 2: was reporting a record annual profit. Post COVID, the Flying

12
00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:40,520
Speaker 2: Kangaroo with soaring again.

13
00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:44,200
Speaker 4: Quantus has posted a record two point five billion dollar

14
00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:45,280
Speaker 4: underlying profit.

15
00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:48,960
Speaker 2: But as Quantus recovers, questions remain about how the company

16
00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,519
Speaker 2: handled things during COVID cancelations.

17
00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,280
Speaker 5: So what's tens of millions of dollars when other people's

18
00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:54,840
Speaker 5: money isn't.

19
00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,160
Speaker 2: So what's led to this point and what do you

20
00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,560
Speaker 2: need to know? If you still have Quantus credits, We'll

21
00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,200
Speaker 2: let you know in the deep dive. But first hour

22
00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:04,560
Speaker 2: we're going to get an important piece of information from

23
00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:05,360
Speaker 2: the government today.

24
00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,040
Speaker 3: That's right. The date of the referendum on the Indigenous

25
00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,040
Speaker 3: Voice to Parliament will be revealed today by Prime Minister

26
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,480
Speaker 3: Anthony Albanesi. He is set to make this announcement from

27
00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:20,200
Speaker 3: Adelaide after months of speculation. October fourteenth has been widely

28
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:22,639
Speaker 3: tipped as the day that OSSI's will go to vote

29
00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:24,119
Speaker 3: on changing the constitution.

30
00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:28,560
Speaker 2: The Victorian government has introduced draft laws to ban Nazi

31
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,840
Speaker 2: symbols in the state. Under the reforms, anyone found intentionally

32
00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,720
Speaker 2: displaying or performing Nazi symbols or gestures in public could

33
00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,280
Speaker 2: face penalties of more than twenty three thousand dollars, twelve

34
00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:44,199
Speaker 2: months imprisonment or both. A group of Neo Nazis clashed

35
00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,320
Speaker 2: with police outside Parliament House in Melbourne earlier this year.

36
00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,600
Speaker 3: Worsening air quality in South Asia, one of the world's

37
00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,080
Speaker 3: most polluted regions, could cut life expectancy by more than

38
00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,640
Speaker 3: five years per person. A new air quality report has

39
00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,160
Speaker 3: found that air pollution level have increased by more than

40
00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,760
Speaker 3: fifty percent in South Asian countries such as India, Nepal

41
00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,560
Speaker 3: and Pakistan since two thousand. The University of Chicago study

42
00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,040
Speaker 3: also found the people in the world's most polluted country, Bangladesh,

43
00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,800
Speaker 3: stand to loose almost seven years of life if nothing

44
00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:16,160
Speaker 3: is done to combat pollution.

45
00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,960
Speaker 2: And today's good news, move over, Superman. There will be

46
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,919
Speaker 2: a super moon above Australia tonight, meaning a full moon

47
00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,560
Speaker 2: is happening at the same time the moon is closest

48
00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,320
Speaker 2: to the Earth and that makes it appear bigger. Although

49
00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,840
Speaker 2: a supermoon is a lunar rarity, this is the second

50
00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,000
Speaker 2: time we've had one this month. Experts say the best

51
00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,440
Speaker 2: times of view the supermoon will be at dusk, when

52
00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:45,120
Speaker 2: the moon is on the horizon. Okay, Zara, I really

53
00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,120
Speaker 2: hate to take us back to that dark, dark time.

54
00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,120
Speaker 2: But do you have in your possession right now or

55
00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:53,640
Speaker 2: in your email right now any credit from flights you

56
00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:56,880
Speaker 2: missed during the pandemic, you're in a long distance relationship.

57
00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,360
Speaker 3: At the time, anything else you'd like to divulge about me,

58
00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,720
Speaker 3: I actually do. I got an email about a Jetstar

59
00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,120
Speaker 3: credit that I had for one hundred and eighty dollars.

60
00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:09,959
Speaker 2: And Quantus and Jetstar are the same, ye.

61
00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:14,680
Speaker 3: But one's more affordable than the other, and I don't

62
00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,560
Speaker 3: remember what it's for, Okay, and I can't actually access

63
00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,200
Speaker 3: it so I called Jetstar and was like, Hi, I

64
00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,200
Speaker 3: got a random email about a credit I have. I'd

65
00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,680
Speaker 3: like to use said credit that I forgot I had

66
00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,360
Speaker 3: and they were like, nap, that doesn't exist. Sorry, So

67
00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:31,240
Speaker 3: I don't know if I've been scammed. I don't know

68
00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,679
Speaker 3: what's happened. But that is my jet Star story. Thank

69
00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:34,320
Speaker 3: you for listening.

70
00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,960
Speaker 2: So there are lots of thank you for your thank

71
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,800
Speaker 2: you for sharing in this very safe space. There are

72
00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,720
Speaker 2: a number of Australians who are in similar positions, and

73
00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:48,040
Speaker 2: this week the outgoing CEO of Quantus, Alan Joyce, has

74
00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,680
Speaker 2: been accused of misleading the Australian public around how much

75
00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,800
Speaker 2: Quantus still owes Australians because of these credits.

76
00:03:55,080 --> 00:04:00,520
Speaker 3: I think I maybe distorted people's understandings of flight at

77
00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:02,640
Speaker 3: the beginning there. So can you just explain what a

78
00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,080
Speaker 3: flight credit is and where this story has come from.

79
00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,520
Speaker 2: I'll take you back to a wonderful place of early

80
00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,880
Speaker 2: twenty twenty where flights were just being canceled en mass.

81
00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:14,600
Speaker 2: It didn't matter whether you were traveling domestically or overseas.

82
00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,120
Speaker 2: It was pretty hard to get on a plane. And

83
00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:20,840
Speaker 2: during that time, Quantus was offering travel credit in return

84
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,599
Speaker 2: for cancel flights. But then travel recommenced and people started

85
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,160
Speaker 2: trying to use their flight credits. That's when reports started

86
00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:33,080
Speaker 2: to emerge that many people were struggling to actually use them. Now,

87
00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:35,880
Speaker 2: one of the issues here was the terms and conditions

88
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,360
Speaker 2: around the credits, which meant customers could only use their

89
00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,520
Speaker 2: credit for flights that either cost the same or more

90
00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,200
Speaker 2: as the original fair. There was also an expiry date

91
00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,680
Speaker 2: on some fares, giving people a very limited window in

92
00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:51,240
Speaker 2: which to use their credits.

93
00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:53,800
Speaker 3: So what are the rules here when it comes to

94
00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,800
Speaker 3: flight credits? What should Quantas have done in the first

95
00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:58,520
Speaker 3: place in this situation.

96
00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:00,760
Speaker 2: Well, I think a lot of customers would have been

97
00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,480
Speaker 2: hoping for a full refund and just some money back in.

98
00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:07,360
Speaker 3: Case these flights were canceled on their control. Of course,

99
00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:11,880
Speaker 3: they couldn't decide either way, and so they wanted refunds exactly.

100
00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,320
Speaker 2: I mean, ultimately, it was pretty hard to travel for

101
00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:17,200
Speaker 2: almost three years, so that's a long time to hold

102
00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,400
Speaker 2: on to the potential of a trip for and I

103
00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,039
Speaker 2: think a lot of people just wanted the certainty of

104
00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,240
Speaker 2: a refund. At least that's what they told the A

105
00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:29,080
Speaker 2: trible c which is Australia's consumer watchdog. They've received hundreds

106
00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:33,120
Speaker 2: of complaints from passengers who received credit instead of a refund. Now,

107
00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:36,240
Speaker 2: according to the A Triple C, Quantus's own terms and

108
00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:40,040
Speaker 2: conditions say that customers are entitled to a refund if

109
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,200
Speaker 2: the airline makes significant changes to their flights and an

110
00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:47,040
Speaker 2: acceptable alternative isn't offered. But the A Triple C found

111
00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,760
Speaker 2: that quantuses communications to customers in twenty twenty didn't adequately

112
00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:55,200
Speaker 2: inform customers about this right they had to a refund.

113
00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,560
Speaker 2: In some cases, the airline actively encouraged customers to cancel

114
00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,120
Speaker 2: the flights themselves so they would receive credit instead of

115
00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,640
Speaker 2: a refund. Now, that finding from the Adriable C was

116
00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,600
Speaker 2: in June of twenty twenty, so it was pretty speedy finding,

117
00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,360
Speaker 2: after which Quantus then sent an email to customers reminding

118
00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:16,599
Speaker 2: them about their right to refunds. The Ageable C of

119
00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,080
Speaker 2: in fact looked at that email and they say even

120
00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:20,799
Speaker 2: that email isn't particularly clear.

121
00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:25,240
Speaker 3: Okay, Ultimately, thankfully we're talking about three years ago, from

122
00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,960
Speaker 3: June twenty twenty till now. What's happened in that period.

123
00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,720
Speaker 2: Well, I think the interesting part about this story is

124
00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:34,400
Speaker 2: that a lot of people still have credits and are

125
00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:38,000
Speaker 2: still struggling to use them. The credits were meant to expire,

126
00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:41,560
Speaker 2: but Quantus has now pushed the expiration of the credit

127
00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,200
Speaker 2: and they're currently now due to expire at the end

128
00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:45,000
Speaker 2: of this year.

129
00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,120
Speaker 3: So those COVID era credits.

130
00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:49,400
Speaker 2: Exactly, and so what the airline is doing now is

131
00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:53,760
Speaker 2: currently asking for people to redeem their credits before that deadline.

132
00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:56,719
Speaker 2: It even launched a tool called find my Credit to

133
00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,080
Speaker 2: help people find bookings that are up to three years

134
00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,839
Speaker 2: credit and it says that it streamlines the process to

135
00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,240
Speaker 2: get that credit back into your account. Now. It is

136
00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:08,599
Speaker 2: worth noting that complaints about Quantus to the A Triple

137
00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,400
Speaker 2: C have continued, and it wasn't that long ago the

138
00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,840
Speaker 2: AH Triple C told us that Quantus was the most

139
00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:16,640
Speaker 2: complained about organization in Australia.

140
00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:19,840
Speaker 3: So when we're talking about these flight credits, how much

141
00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:24,000
Speaker 3: does Quantus actually owe customers? Like, what sort of ballpark

142
00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:24,840
Speaker 3: are we talking here?

143
00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:27,040
Speaker 2: Well, this is kind of why it's in the news

144
00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,920
Speaker 2: this week. There's been some contention around what that number

145
00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,680
Speaker 2: actually is. So according to Quantus, from the start of

146
00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,600
Speaker 2: the pandemic, the company says it distributed around two billion

147
00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,720
Speaker 2: with a b worth of flight credits in response to

148
00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,960
Speaker 2: Australia's border closures. Now the number of how much has

149
00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,160
Speaker 2: been refunded and how much is still owed as credits

150
00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,800
Speaker 2: is changing all the time. People are claiming their credits

151
00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,840
Speaker 2: and refunds pretty much every day. But last week Quantus

152
00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:56,080
Speaker 2: was saying the company is sitting on three hundred and

153
00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,840
Speaker 2: sixty million dollars worth of Australian credits and again those

154
00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,360
Speaker 2: are the ones expiring in six months time at the

155
00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:03,040
Speaker 2: end of this year.

156
00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,040
Speaker 3: When we were talking about if we should cover this

157
00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,200
Speaker 3: story today, my strong opinion was that we talk about

158
00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,760
Speaker 3: Quantas legitimately every week, like it is always in the

159
00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:17,400
Speaker 3: news for either a controversy, a profit. You know, something

160
00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,680
Speaker 3: good's happened, something's bad happened. Quantus is in the news

161
00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,280
Speaker 3: a lot, definitely, So why are we talking about it today?

162
00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:25,560
Speaker 3: What is the newshok?

163
00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:25,800
Speaker 5: So?

164
00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:29,000
Speaker 2: In Canberra there was some Senate Committee hearings this week,

165
00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:32,319
Speaker 2: and a Senate Committee hearing is an opportunity for senators

166
00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,199
Speaker 2: to question people relevant to certain issues, and this week

167
00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,440
Speaker 2: they were talking about the airline industry and things got

168
00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:44,040
Speaker 2: very heated between Quantus outgoing CEO Alan Joyce and Labour

169
00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,720
Speaker 2: Senator Tony Sheldon. This is how Tony Sheldon started his

170
00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:48,600
Speaker 2: line of questioning.

171
00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:50,840
Speaker 4: I's going to start with the extraordinary revelation of the

172
00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:55,400
Speaker 4: Financial Review this morning that you've been misleading the Australian

173
00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,920
Speaker 4: public about outstanding flooded credits, mister Joyce.

174
00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,559
Speaker 2: And basically what's happened is that when Quantas have been

175
00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,920
Speaker 2: talking about three hundred and sixty million dollars of credit owing,

176
00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,960
Speaker 2: they're actually leaving out money owing to international customers or

177
00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,880
Speaker 2: customers of Jetstar, because remember that's owned by Quantus.

178
00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:21,160
Speaker 5: Look, seriously, we are here asking questions about substantial sums

179
00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:25,239
Speaker 5: of money that is owed to the Australian public overseas

180
00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:29,080
Speaker 5: and through the jet Star operations that has not been paid.

181
00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,200
Speaker 2: Alan Joyce and other representatives from Quantus weren't able to

182
00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,600
Speaker 2: say how much credit was owing overall.

183
00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:37,880
Speaker 5: I'm asking you, was it more than fifty million dollars?

184
00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:39,760
Speaker 2: I honestly not sure.

185
00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:42,719
Speaker 5: We can come back to you're not sure, My goodness,

186
00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:45,880
Speaker 5: what's tens of millions of dollars when some other people's

187
00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:46,319
Speaker 5: money is it?

188
00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,800
Speaker 3: So it's obviously getting heated in the political sphere, but

189
00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,760
Speaker 3: In the last week, we've also seen a lawsuit that's

190
00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,720
Speaker 3: been brought against Quantus for this very reason.

191
00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,080
Speaker 2: Right they're kind of getting hit from both sides here.

192
00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,800
Speaker 2: There's a class action lawsuit. That's when multiple people are

193
00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:05,720
Speaker 2: making the case together that customers were given travel credits

194
00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,000
Speaker 2: or vouchers when they were indeed entitled to that refund.

195
00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:12,920
Speaker 2: Quantus rejects the allegations, arguing it has made clear to

196
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,960
Speaker 2: eligible customers that they are entitled to a refund for

197
00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:19,920
Speaker 2: councel flights. The firm representing the customers said they're also

198
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:25,040
Speaker 2: looking into similar allegations against Jetstar. That case is still ongoing,

199
00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:26,520
Speaker 2: so we're going to have to watch and wait with

200
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,760
Speaker 2: that one. But it's fair to say there's considerable pressure

201
00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:33,240
Speaker 2: being placed on Quantus right now, especially in the context

202
00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,360
Speaker 2: of the company announcing its biggest ever before tax profit

203
00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,520
Speaker 2: of two point four to seven billion dollars last week.

204
00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,400
Speaker 3: What a note to end on just pondering the size

205
00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,880
Speaker 3: of that profit. Thank you very much for joining us

206
00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,400
Speaker 3: on The Daily OZ. If you do have any questions

207
00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:49,920
Speaker 3: or feedback and want to let us know what you think,

208
00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,880
Speaker 3: there's a message box under the show notes on Spotify.

209
00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:56,160
Speaker 3: We'll be back again tomorrow, but until then have a

210
00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:57,120
Speaker 3: wonderful Wednesday.