As part of it’s Qantas headquarters refurbishment, the airline board has erected a gold statue as a tribute to CEO Alan Joyce.

The statue was commissioned by the Qantas board earlier in the year.

“This is a tribute to a great man, a visionary, and a master of destiny, “ said board member Patrick McNeil at the opening ceremony.

“The fact that Alan Joyce made the bold, yet last minute decision to ground the entire airline only makes us prouder of our decision to erect something in his honour. We also wanted to capture the spirit of Alan, which is why the statue is made of solid gold and is five feet tall.”

“The statue has a golden spear in one hand, which represents his stance against the treachery of militant unionism and the rising cost of aviation fuel. His other hand holds an A380 Airbus which he has plucked from the sky.”

At a cost of $7 million dollars, the statue has been seen by some as a gross misuse of corporate funding during a time when the airline is attempting to reduce costs by wage rise restrictions and overseas labour subcontracting.

Alan Joyce was not available for comment but is said to be “humbled” by the tribute.