Quote:
Prime Minister Helen Clark argued that the move was essential to the national interest. A national carrier was needed, she said, to ensure a measure of control and certainty over such vital economic activities as tourism, overseas trade and domestic and international travel. The country’s other main airline, Qantas New Zealand, a privately-owned local franchise of the Australian carrier Qantas, collapsed in April with the loss of 1,100 jobs and debts of over $NZ20 million.
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Finance Minister Michael Cullen made clear that the government did not intend to be the airline’s “long-term owner”. The government plans to maintain its control long enough to restore its profitability then sell it off to big business.
So reading into that, a bailout was necessary since Air New Zealand was the sole major carrier at the time in NZ, and it was uneconomical to operate an airline under the prevailing conditions. (Note that Qantas NZ, formerly Ansett NZ, went under