Court orders Qantas to pay $20m

The Federal Court of Australia has ordered national carrier Qantas Airways Ltd to pay $20 million in pecuniary penalties for breaching the price-fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) instituted proceedings in October 2008 alleging Qantas had reached an understanding with other international airlines in relation to the imposition of fuel surcharges on air cargo across its global networks between 2002 and early 2006.

The ACCC said Qantas admitted to making and giving effect to the understanding, repeatedly exchanging assurances among airlines in the implementation of fuel surcharge increases and reaching local agreements in certain Asian countries collectively.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said the penalty reflected the seriousness of the contraventions and Qantas' large share of the market.

"Cartels - particularly those that are engaged in by large businesses with broad application over a period of time - have a significant effect on consumers," Mr Samuel said.

"They are an unseen fraud on the community that must be uncovered and punished." (lets NOT just stop at one company, Mr. Samuel, TELSTRA has been named, and ASIC has all the relevant paperwork,and SLATER & GORDON has confirmed it is FRAUD! What more do you NEED ??? !!! ??? !!! )

He said Qantas had undertaken an exhaustive probe of the allegations after being made aware of the conduct.

Qantas has been restrained from engaging in similar conduct for three years and ordered to pay $200,000 towards the ACCC's costs.

The Federal Court also ordered British Airways PLC to pay $5 million for price fixing in relation to fuel surcharges applied to international carriage of air cargo between 2002 and early 2006.

British Airways has reached agreement on the penalties after admitted it arrived at an illegal understanding with Lufthansa on fuel surcharges on some of their international air cargo services.

Mr Samuel said the case should send a strong message to cartels.

"That the ACCC will not relent in its pursuit and the bringing to account of those who engage in illegal behaviour," he said.

"There are no safe havens for illegal cartel conduct.

The court also restrained British Airways from engaging in similar conduct for a period of five years and to pay $200,000 towards the ACCC's costs.

11 Dec 2008.

In another matter regarding corporate fraud, Telstra is responsible for a fraud that is worth approximately $10 million per year, BUT all the relevant channels WIPE their hands clean, as at the time Telstra was government owned, and NO GOVERNMENT wishes to implicate itself.

Since Telstra is now under the leadership of Solomon Trujillo, who resigned as CEO of US West Communications Inc. See excerpt from the now deleted article from Wikipedia :

• He resigned as CEO of U S West Communications, Inc. just before the company became the subject of a federal criminal probe for overstating nearly a billion dollars in profits. [7] He was not charged by the justice department and has denied any knowledge of accounting irregularities.

there is NO hope of the wages fraud seeing the light of day in ANY court.