Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Imagine living in a capital city and waking up to find the train lines dismantled, the buses sold off and the major highway gates shut. That would be a national outrage. Yet this is exactly the kind of isolation being inflicted upon regional Australians by this government, which is flying blind when it comes to regional aviation routes.

Clearly it costs more to run regional routes versus city routes—and that cost difference is 152 per cent and rising. Regional communities and regional councils like Port Lincoln, Ceduna, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy and Roxby Downs know how important regional airlines are not only to see a specialist doctor in Adelaide but also to bring a specialist from Adelaide to their local clinics and their hospitals. They know this because my councils, except for Olympic Dam, run every airport in regional South Australia—and nearly all run at a loss. Port Lincoln, Ceduna, Whyalla, Port Augusta and Coober Pedy are run by the council, and all lose money. Something is clearly not right.

Under this government's watch, the regional aviation sector has become a graveyard. First, Bonza collapsed, leaving a trail of stranded passengers and repossessed aircraft. Then came the agonising, slow-motion administration of Rex, a historic lifeline for bush communities in Ceduna to Coober Pedy and Whyalla to Port Lincoln. The government champions the AAT acquisition as a victory, but a closer inspection reveals that this so-called rescue could easily become a flight of fancy. Unfortunately, the true winners of this scenario are the administrators. EY walked away with $25 million in fees. Meanwhile, the ratepayers in the cities of Albany and the Shire of Esperance are left staring at nearly $1 million in unrecovered debt. Labor is forcing local councils and regional ratepayers to subsidise aviation failures, and it is because Labor and the Greens only care about cities. It's as simple as that.

We're looking at the restructured and flimsy entity burdened with $168 million in debt with no timeline for it to be repaid. Labor's Minister King herself said, 'There is no timeframe.' So we are expected to believe that Air T, a company that recently reported adjusted earnings of US$6.7 million, is going to finance debt of $168 million while expanding an ageing fleet from 30 to 44 aircraft. I'd like to hope so, but it just does not stack up. The government has gambled over $160 million of taxpayer money to keep Rex breathing, yet they cannot guarantee that the smaller routes will not be slashed. Australians know what happens next. High-yield routes will be cherrypicked, and the rest will be forgotten, left on the runway. With the exception of the member for Leichhardt, find me one Labor, Greens or teal parliamentarian who needs to take a Rex flight regularly for work. None. And, because of Labor's mismanagement, we are now facing an unprecedented chokehold on our skies. The Qantas Group and Virgin Australia control an astonishing 98.3 per cent of the market. What is this government's fierce response to this suffocating duopoly? A productivity review. The regions do not need an 18-month academic exercise to tell them they are being gouged. Instead of endless reviews, we need practical, immediate reform.

Take Whyalla as a prime example. Why does an airport receiving just two flights a day require eight staff for security screening? That mandate slaps a ridiculous $60 onto every single ticket. If we shared that cost across the entire national aviation network, regional ticket prices would drop instantly. This is being called for by the Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association and its chair, my friend, Dean Johnson. Aviation is not a luxury in regional Australia; it is used for essential infrastructure. It is the only viable link for the workers in Anna Creek Station, the Indigenous communities in the APY Lands and the students studying in Port Lincoln. Labor has abandoned these people, withdrawing upgrade programs and watching passively as existing operations nosedive and new players falter. If we do not drastically change course, regional Australia will be permanently grounded. They deserve a government that builds bridges and connectivity, not one that manages terminal decline.

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