In today’s The Mercury, I wrote about the plight of Tasmanian flight attendants who have fallen through the cracks of Australian government assistance to airlines.

It makes no sense that flight attendants directly employed by airlines have their jobs supported by the Australian government, yet flight attendants employed through a labour hire arrangement don’t – even though they do the same job and wear the same uniform!

Not only does this threaten these flight attendants’ financial wellbeing, but if they leave the industry to seek other employment it threatens the capacity of airlines to increase flights as border restrictions ease.