Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Leader of the Nationals, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. Will the Deputy Prime Minister please inform the House how the McCormack-Morrison government, through its investment in aviation, is supporting local jobs and rebuilding the economy as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 crisis?

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to 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.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

You may laugh, and this may be really funny for you, but it's not really funny for the 8,600 workers who are relying on this package, who are relying on this support, who are relying on this investment to ensure that they stay connected with Virgin Australia and with Qantas. That is why we are providing this package. We are ensuring that the international fleet of aircraft are ready and safe to fly. We are ensuring that our airlines retain those 8,600—that's how many there are in the international workforce, the international air crew. They are important.

The assistance that we've provided has been sector-wide of course. Just with the aviation support that we've provided as far as the tourism package is concerned, flight searches on Virgin Australia's website increased almost 80 per cent, bookings increased almost 40 per cent and about 400 crew have been brought back from the end of March. And it is anticipated that more than 1,000 workers—

Opposition members interjecting—

You once supported the workers, but you don't, obviously, anymore, but we do. They will be stood up or given more hours as demand returns. For Qantas, its website searches spiked 73 per cent. So they're good results. We're getting planes back in the air, we're keeping workers with their skills and we're getting on with the job. (Time expired)