Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

I thank the member for this motion. The truth is that airfares remain ludicrously high in this country, and any honourable member that has any clue whatsoever would agree. Domestic airfares were 32 per cent higher in May of this year than they were before COVID. A Darwin to Canberra flight will range from 500 bucks to over 1,100 bucks, depending on the airline, and that's a one-way ticket only. Is it any wonder that we have not yet seen passenger levels recover to pre-pandemic levels? In April this year, 4.6 million passengers flew, and that is only 92 per cent of April 2019 levels and only marginally more than this time last year. I'm certainly not surprised about that.

There is some good news in the latest ACCC airline monitoring report released in June. It found that airfares continued to fall this year, as pent-up demand for travel eases and the price of jet fuel continues to fall—the latter by almost half since its June 2022 peak. The price of discount airfares reduced slowly by 14 per cent in real terms between February and May 2023, and that's a very good thing, but it's still too high. Qantas is expecting a record $2.4 billion in profits this year, which is still above pre-pandemic levels, so we shouldn't forget that. The price drop isn't across the board. The price of several routes has more than doubled, including Brisbane to Darwin, which is up 172 per cent to $622 or thereabouts. I've often called out uncompetitive behaviour in the airline industry and I will continue to do so.

Prices are not the only metric that is still not right. The industry cancelled 3.9 per cent of flights in April alone—and that's over 1,700 flights—compared to a long-term average of 2.1 per cent. One airline cancelled 8.1 per cent of its flights, and only 71.8 per cent of flights were on time, compared to an historical level of 81.5 per cent. So that's clearly not good enough.

We know the root cause of the issue is mostly a lack of competition. The duopoly market structure, which has largely been the situation in Australia, has made it one of the most concentrated industries in the country, and Aussies are sick of picking up the tab—nowhere more than in the Northern Territory, where the high cost of flying interstate is an issue constantly raised with me. Territorians are often faced with sky-high airfares and tough choices when hoping to visit family and friends. Along with the community, tourism operators and businesses also feel the effect of higher airfares. We know that Darwin is a magnificent and popular tourist destination, but people need to be able to get to the Top End and get from the Top End to visit family and friends at a reasonable price.

Connectivity is a necessity for us, not a luxury. I'll continue to fight to make sure that Territorians get a fair deal. In fact, when I was elected I launched a campaign called Fair Fares NT because the situation was very bad and it was clear that there was price-gouging going on when it came to our Northern Territory routes. I also helped to bring a Senate transport committee to Darwin in that first term of parliament to look at how airlines determine prices in country areas of our nation. I regularly remind the airlines of their responsibility to the people of the Northern Territory. Indeed, in Qantas's case, NT is in its very name.

Only today my office sent a very clear message to a major airline about the cost of flights in and out of the Territory. Going forward, the domestic airfare index will continue to be published monthly by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics, and I want to acknowledge the work of the ACCC. Our government is committed to delivering an aviation white paper to set the scene for the next generation of growth and development across the aviation sector. What it absolutely must do is ensure that the gouging of regional areas of Australia and the NT stops.

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