The Nationals Senator for New South Wales John Williams says the Gillard government’s inaction over the Qantas dispute is just another example of a lack of leadership.

Senator Williams said on a day when Australians hoped to back the Melbourne Cup winner, they know the government they are saddled with has become an embarrassment.

He listed a litany of policy failures ranging from the Building the Education Revolution to Grocerywatch and the home insulation program as evidence of incompetence.

Senator Williams said Qantas should never have been forced into taking the drastic action of grounding its fleet, but when the unions say they are going to work the airline over, one could understand the dilemma the airline found itself in.

“What was Qantas to do? Stand by and watch its passenger numbers dwindle and its reputation being trashed?

The signs were there this situation was going to get worse before it got better. Prime Minister Gillard and Minister Albanese should have stepped in and sorted out this mess, but like everything else, they have been left lagging behind.

They have been reluctant to act because it meant taking on the unions, and Labor never does that”, Senator Williams said.