Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I do thank the member for New England for his question. He knows as well as we all do, and should, that keeping our aviation sector viable through this global pandemic is not only crucial to our health outcomes but also vitally important to our economy. The aviation and tourism sectors were hit first and hit hardest when this virus came to Australia. The government's measures have been targeted, they've been temporary and they've been scalable, but they've been substantial—more than $3.8 billion so far.

Last Thursday, I was joined by the tourism minister, the Treasurer and the Prime Minister at Mascot airport, and as we addressed the media the roar of the engines could be heard in the background, and that's what we want to hear more of—the roar of those engines. But of course many planes are grounded. We know that planes in the air mean jobs on the ground. What we want to do, as part of the international aviation support, and what we will do as part of that $1.2 billion package of measures is not only get planes back in the air but also keep them the way they need to be. You can't just roll a Boeing 787 or an Airbus 330 out of a hangar and then expect to fly. It needs a lot of preparation, as do the workers in reskilling and retention of those accreditations. They need that support, and we, as the Liberal and National government, are giving them that vital support.

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