Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the significant role of air travel and air freight in keeping regional communities connected;

(2) commends the commitment of the Government to support air travel through regional Australia through:

(a) supporting the conclusion and purchase of Rex Airlines through a commercial loan of $60 million and the restructuring of $108 million in existing debt to keep regional air routes running during the voluntary administration process;

(b) an additional $50 million over three years in the 2024-25 budget to extend the Regional Airstrip Upgrade program;

(c) the extension of the Regional Airports Program for three years with an additional $40 million for competitive grant funding in the 2024-25 budget; and

(d) the establishment of the $5 million Regional and Remote Airport Support Program for local government and regional and remote airports impacted by the Rex Airlines voluntary administration; and

(3) recognises the ongoing commitment of the Government to representing regional Australians and investing in the services they deserve.

Love Actually is a 2003 film. It is a favourite at Christmas, and it starts in an airport with families happy to be reuniting, with hugs, kisses and all those great things. It shows the airport as the central hub of togetherness, a place where you go to leave for holidays and where you come back to your loved ones. But, for those of us in the regions, the airport is so much more. It is our lifeline.

My electorate is huge. You cannot drive from one end to the other. You especially cannot drive from one end to the other in the wet, and, to be frank, the islands kind of make that a bit hard as well! The airports that service those communities—and there are 25 of them—matter. They take kids to school, they bring in the doctors, they bring in the food and they bring loved ones home when it is time for them to rest. This is a very important piece of infrastructure, often run by the local councils. Most councils aren't equipped for that sort of thing, but the people in the regions find a way to get it done. Our airports in our remote and regional communities are our connection to the rest of the world. They are our lifeblood.

There is good news. The good news is that Labor is delivering an additional $50 million over three years, from the 2024-25 budget, to extend the Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program, as well as an additional $40 million in competitive grant funding. What that means for where I'm from is $4 million to reseal the Boigu Island airstrip and $2 million to extend the aircraft parking space at Horn Island. We'll replace airport fencing at both the NPA and Cooktown Airport. In 2024, we delivered funding to improve the Lockhart River, Aurukun and Kowanyama airstrips, and in the first year of government, in 2022, we delivered funding for Aurukun, Cooktown, Horn Island and Mapoon to improve their airports.

This matters. Often these communities feel left behind, feel left out and feel forgotten. When the central hub gets upgraded—the place where their food comes from, where the Christmas presents arrive from and where their health care and emergency services arrive from—that is them being told that we care. It is more than economic opportunity; it is an absolute moral obligation.

It's more than that, though. We're also delivering the $5 million Regional and Remote Airport Support Program for local government and regional and remote airports that were impacted by the Rex Airlines voluntary administration. For many of us here today, our towns and communities were impacted by Rex going under. It's very, very difficult sometimes to find someone to take those small routes that might only have 50 or 60 people at a time. Like I said, it is the lifeblood.

We've been supporting the purchase of Rex through a commercial loan of $60 million and the restructuring of $108 million in existing debt to keep regional air routes running during the voluntary administration. The airports that were impacted and lost money have the opportunity now to apply for funding to claw that back, and that will make such a difference in small communities that often have a big lot of space, a small number of people and not a huge rate base, and the rate bases carry the airports. This is giving back to our airports. This is giving back to our community.

I'm very proud that Minister King has delivered this for our regions. It makes a difference; it really does. I have flown to just about all 25 of those airports in my electorate. I prefer to drive, but sometimes that isn't possible. Quite often I'm there with elders, sometimes accompanying a body back and sometimes bringing a newborn baby back—both ends of life, both ends of the spectrum. Our airports mean more to us than people in the cities can possibly imagine, and the continued support of them is essential to the growth and security of our regions. I love our regions. I love my region, and I'm so proud that we're taking notice and delivering the infrastructure that makes such a difference to the way our people get to live.

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