Business now knows no handouts: Turnbull

Malcolm Turnbull says business will be "recalibrating" its view of the Abbott government after its refusal to bail out Qantas and SPC Ardmona.

The senior frontbencher says business will now recognise the coalition "is not going to be rushing in and writing out cheques and providing guarantees".

While government intervention had a short-term political plus, in the long-term it was "counterproductive", Mr Turnbull said.

The federal government last week refused to help Qantas out with a debt guarantee or unsecured loan, instead proposing changes to the Qantas Sale Act to lift foreign ownership restrictions.

It followed the government's refusal to provide $25 million in assistance to food producer SPC Ardmona, and its reluctance to get involved in the troubles of carmaker Holden.

"I think the message should be getting through now," Mr Turnbull told Sky News on Sunday.

"I think business will be recalibrating and saying `Gosh, these guys actually mean what they say'. And that's good, because we do."

Mr Turnbull was also critical of the way in which Qantas lobbied for government assistance, saying it wasn't the "wisest thing" to create the impression the airline needed help.

"If ... in order to do that (seek assistance) you emphasise your vulnerabilities and then you don't get the government assistance, all the market is left with is the impression that you have vulnerabilities that perhaps ... have been given a disproportionate emphasis," he said.

ACTU boss Dave Oliver was also scathing of Qantas chief Alan Joyce for talking up a crisis at the airline.

But he was equally critical of the government for at first hinting it would provide help, then only offering to change the Sales Act because "everything is OK with the airline".

"Then it seems that (Qantas boss) Alan Joyce is saying it's not as bad as we thought," he told ABC television.

"Meantime we've got 5000 workers that have been told that they're going to lose their jobs (and) 26,000 that don't know the future of the airline."

Labor and the unions are opposed to lifting foreign ownership restrictions on Qantas, which will only apply to its domestic services, saying it will lead to thousands of jobs going overseas.

Speaking specifically about Qantas maintenance jobs, Labor's transport spokesman Anthony Albanese said: "If you export them overseas, you'll never get those skills back."

He said governments around the world propped up their aviation industries.

"This is not some free market operation," he told Network Ten.

"Governments intervene directly and indirectly all the time because they recognise that aviation plays a critical role in the national economy."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott last week accused Opposition Leader Bill Shorten of being "reckless" when he linked the offshoring of maintenance jobs to safety.