Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) under the Government two regional airlines have collapsed and the domestic aviation sector has become more concentrated with just two airline groups representing 98.3 per cent of the market;

(b) major airlines have centralised activities, withdrawing staff, service provision and investment from the regions, closing bases and maintenance facilities in Mildura, Tamworth, Hobart and Canberra;

(c) the Government has committed up to $160 million to extend the Regional Express airline in administration but remains unable to guarantee regional services or affordability, nor whether regional creditors will be paid;

(d) programs to support regional airlines investing in capital upgrades and security screening services have been withdrawn; and

(e) the Government has botched the transition of air services for Australia's island territories; and

(2) calls upon the Government to ensure regional Australians retain access to competitive, affordable, sustainable and safe aviation services.

Air travel is part and parcel of life in regional Australia. My home town of Mildura is the most remote regional centre in Victoria. It is more than six hours drive from Melbourne and almost 4½ hours drive from Adelaide. Sunraysia's geographical isolation means that there are many instances where road travel takes far too long, is just not appropriate and, can I say, dangerous. Air travel is essential not least to access health care and to visit family and friends but also as a connector and driver for our regional businesses and economies.

Under this Labor government, two regional airlines, Bonza and Regional Express, have collapsed, leaving the domestic aviation sector more concentrated than ever. Nationally, just two airline groups, Qantas and Virgin, now represent 98.3 per cent of the market, according to the latest data. This duopoly strangles competition, drives up fares and abandons regional routes to the whims of big city boardrooms. Not only this; also under Labor's watch, major airlines have ruthlessly centralised activities, withdrawing staff, service provision and investment from the regions.

Qantas is closing bases and maintenance facilities in Mildura, Tamworth, Hobart and Canberra. In Mildura, Qantas confirmed on 1 October 2025 that it would shut its longstanding pilot and cabin crew base, forcing dozens of loyal local workers, many with decades of service, to relocate to Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane or lose their jobs. This is not progress. It is the deliberate hollowing out of regional Australia. As I said directly to Qantas Link, this decision is a profound insult to the Sunraysia community that has supported Qantas for generations. The government has committed up to $160 million to prop up Rex in administration, yet it remains utterly unable to guarantee ongoing regional services, affordability for passengers or even whether regional creditors, including airports like Mildura, will ever be paid. Instead, we have a Commonwealth grant program, where creditors might hope to be paid.

Under Labor, programs designed to support regional airlines with capital upgrades and security screening have been withdrawn without any explanation. And let us not forget how this Labor government has botched the transition of air services for Australia's island territories, including the handover from Virgin Australia to Qantas for Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which commenced only on 3 November 2025 after Virgin services ended on 31 October. This chaotic switchover risked stranding remote communities, disrupted essential freight and passenger links and has had financial implications for small island businesses who have contacted me. One stakeholder told me recently about events on Monday 17 November:

… weather stopped Qantas departing, but then all the passengers were effectively left without accommodation. They used to get sent to the ABF accommodation on the island, but this time.. nothing. … sadly- large groups of people, who just experienced a world event of the crab spawning, nature's greatest migration, will only talk about Christmas Island and being delayed, no food at the airport (as Commonwealth won't sign a lease with a supplier) with no accommodation, transport and pouring rain. One of the tour operators ferried people to a restaurant and another purchased food for 30 people! … and the next morning provided a tea and coffee urn.

Labor's mismanagement of the flight arrangements to these remote islands yet again highlights this government's inability to manage critical aviation lifelines for our most isolated Australians. The ACCC has repeatedly warned of the dangers of our concentrated airline market—sky-high fares on regional routes, frequent cancellations and reduced reliability. The human cost is devastating: Mildura's patients missing critical medical appointments in Melbourne, businesses struggling to attract staff and families separated by unaffordable flights. These services are not a luxury. They are essential. (Time expired)

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The motion is seconded, and I reserve my right to speak.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Moruya Airport is the only passenger airport in my electorate of Gilmore on the New South Wales South Coast in the Eurobodalla. It is of course in the southern part of the Gilmore electorate—a very long, long drive to either Sydney or Canberra. Importantly, it provides a vital link for local people to access medical treatment and education opportunities in the city and to stay connected with family and friends. It also helps our many local food producers get their products to national and international markets. My friends, colleagues and community fly from Moruya to Canberra, Sydney and other regional areas in New South Wales.

I know how important regional air services are for local people, businesses and communities like mine, which is why I'm thrilled that the Albanese Labor government stepped up to support Rex Airlines through a voluntary administration process. We've been working with the administrators of Rex to ensure crucial regional aviation services can remain in the air. We are committed to maintaining access to aviation services for regional and remote communities and recognise the critical role Rex plays in supporting local economies. The Albanese Labor government continues to back regional aviation just like we back regional telecommunications, because we know our great country towns and villages deserve quality services and connectivity just like our cities.

This government has also stepped up to support regional airport upgrades, because we know they matter. We're investing almost $12 million to upgrade regional airports across New South Wales, including at Moruya. This funding, under round 4 of the Regional Airports Program, is delivering essential upgrades, such as runway resurfacing, fencing, lighting and drainage, which will improve safety, enhance accessibility and boost capacity at our regional airports. Work is underway to reseal the runway, taxiways and apron pavement and replace the apron lighting at Moruya Airport. This work ensures the continued safe operation of the airport, safeguarding its role as a lifeline for the community and a gateway for access to vital services and for visitors to the South Coast. Works will also support the continued use of the airport by emergency services including the Royal Flying Doctor Service and aerial firefighting, even for night and low-visibility operations, as well as by regular passenger services.

I am absolutely delighted to see improvements at Moruya Airport, which is a lifeline for our economy. Our investment is helping to create more jobs, helping local farmers and supporting our social and economic connections across Australia. It is great news for our region. Upgrades like these aren't just improvements; they're the difference between regional residents getting medical help, firefighters getting access during an emergency and economies growing through tourism.

The Albanese government represents more regional electorates than any other party, so we know the challenges they face when it comes to connectivity. That's why we have welcomed the recent announcement that the majority of creditors have voted in support of Air T's bid to acquire Rex. Air T's bid was endorsed by the government and includes a support package comprising a new loan of up to $60 million and a restructuring of existing Australian government debt. I am delighted that Air T has agreed to a range of commitments, including returning more aircraft to service and increasing the frequency of profitable flights across the Rex network.

To safeguard this public investment, the government will retain its security over all Rex's aircraft and its simulator. This will ensure Rex's Saab fleet cannot be sold without the government's permission and will continue to service communities across regional and remote Australia. To further support local communities, we've established a new program, capped at $5 million, for local government and regional and remote airports that supported Rex through the voluntary administration process.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mallee for bringing forward this very important motion. I just want to take the member for Gilmore up on a little point she made about Labor representing more regional electorates. I think, if you look at the actual landmass, the actual geographical size of the electorates that the coalition—the Liberal and National parties—represent would far exceed what the Labor Party represents.

You have to be honest in politics. I will give a speech now that you would never hear from those opposite. Since my time in parliament—15 years—there have been two people who I know have really understood aviation. It's a complicated sector. It's a detailed industry that requires people who not only get it but love it. The two people foremost in that regard are Warren Truss, the previous member for Wide Bay, and Anthony Albanese, the current prime minister. They actually fully understand aviation and the complexities of making sure that aviation is well supported in this place. I worked closely with the Prime Minister when I was the transport minister, and I thank him for the role he played, with me, to ensure that we had an aviation sector that was viable, because that industry operates on very thin margins.

We saw what happens when those thin margins turn into disaster. It happened with Rex. They tried to take on the capital city to capital city routes. It was never going to work for a regional airline that was internationally acclaimed for servicing country people. They say in their logo, 'Our heart is in the country,' and it should have remained thus. But they tried to take on the big boys on particularly the Melbourne to Sydney route, and it was never going to work—never, ever going to work. Good luck to them for trying, but it then required the bailout, and I do thank the government—the Labor government—for ensuring that that bailout occurred. I had any number of conversations with the Prime Minister and the transport minister, the member for Ballarat, in relation to this. There is more work to be done. Yes, Air T have come on board—we respect that process—and it was a big sigh of relief.

I am very concerned that the Australian Airline Pilot Academy on Don Kendell Drive, as you drive into Wagga Wagga Airport, has gone to Ballarat. That academy is training pilots for the future. But they should be trained at Wagga Wagga where they've got the simulator, where they've got the accommodation, where they've got the facility and where they also have, just across the way, the hangar for maintaining the Saab aircraft for Rex, the Saab 340s. That hangar alone puts $12 million into the Wagga Wagga economy. It is perfectly set up and—a parochial call—it needs to be back at Wagga Wagga, not in Ballarat. Also, Wagga Wagga City Council is $210,000 in the red—up the gurgler—because of the Rex situation.

The government needs to work through with the new owner what is happening to the creditors. That is a big concern, and it is a big concern not just for Wagga Wagga. We just heard the member for Mallee talking about her home town of Mildura.

It is vital that we have country air services. Many, many people have said to me, 'Oh, but why should the government prop up a regional airline?' Well, why shouldn't they? These people are all city types—you know the ones—who think that it's okay for a free bus to go to and from accommodation and the SCG or the MCG or wherever they might be happening to play a big sporting event but don't think twice about country people.

I have to say this became a matter of life and death. Without the air services, without Rex flying in, those in one-airline towns of Parkes and Narrandera and Ceduna in South Australia couldn't meet their medical appointments in a capital city. They couldn't get the doctors and the health professionals and the vaccines and the nurses out to the regional and remote areas. The government understood that, and they acted and they did so responsibly. I say that as a member who understands how important aviation is not just to the regional economy but to regional people and their health concerns.

But there is more work to be done. The government needs to be on the front foot with this. I commend them for what they've done so far, but there is, as I say, more work to be done through this process. The new airline is going to require some assistance—some help, some expertise and some support—and I'm sure that the Prime Minister will provide that. He understands the situation—I thank him for it—but there's still a lot more work to be done before we see blue skies ahead.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was an extraordinary admission there by the previous speaker that, yes, the Labor Party now represents more regional seats in this parliament than the National Party. If we're going to start counting regional seats based upon land mass, then I'd suggest he go back and read the Constitution, because, for as long as we've had a federal parliament, it's been the number of people that live in a seat that determines the size of the electorate and how many seats we have. That is what has changed in this parliament. We didn't say 'the number of rural seats'. We didn't say 'land mass'. We said the Labor Party now represents more regional seats in this parliament than the National Party, from Leichhardt in the north and Lingiari across, in fact, most of the Northern Territory to Franklin in the south. Bendigo, Ballarat—you name it. We have lots of regional seats now in the Labor Party, and it is because of that that we have continued to support regional aviation.

I'd like to put on record the investment into my own electorate, the electorate of Bendigo. The Albanese Labor government, representing more regional electorates, understands how critical our regional airlines are to connecting people. The distance between Cairns and Brisbane is the distance between Brisbane and Melbourne. That is the geographical distance that the member for Leichhardt has to ensure is covered, like we have in other regions. Even in Victoria, where distance is smaller, we still make sure there are investments in our regional airlines.

In Bendigo, prior to the election in 2013, the runway in our electorate was so run down that there was fear that it could not be used during critical emergencies like bushfire season or in medical emergencies. I do acknowledge that, after a long campaign locally with the local government, we were able to secure funding from the previous Liberal-National government to upgrade the runway. That did allow and encourage Qantas to start opening up flights from Sydney to Bendigo. It was a game changer for our town. Not only did people not have to battle the traffic to Melbourne or parking at Melbourne Airport; it opened up business opportunity—the ability for people to travel from Bendigo to Sydney and Sydney to the world, a popular flight route being Bendigo-Sydney, Sydney-Queensland, and the opportunity for people who are in those jobs to live in Bendigo and commute for weekly work—but equally encouraged business to come to Bendigo. Further to this investment we secured to upgrade the airport, we've increased investment through the Labor state and federal government. There's $4.5 million from our government to upgrade the new terminal. The terminal expansion is open and is receiving more passengers daily to the airport. Now, through this upgrade and Qantas's investment, we are able to receive larger planes. It is four times larger than the previous building, making for a more comfortable check-in and a more comfortable arrival.

What was also invested from our government through round 4 of the Regional Airports Program was safety upgrades to allow the planes to park overnight, allowing Qantas more flexibility for flights. We've also funded in round 4 of this same fund, the Regional Airports Program, upgrades to the Kyneton Airport—$413,500 towards extending and resealing the runway to ensure that not only recreational aircraft are able to use the space but it becomes a critical staging space during those bushfire emergencies. I have to acknowledge the work of the club secretary, Sophie, and her dedication towards this fund.

Labor is committee to the regions. We're committed to investing in the airports as needed and to ensuring that people in the regions have the same access to aviation travel as the rest of the country.

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

I rise today to speak on a critical matter of importance to every Australian who lives or works outside our capital cities. We are witnessing a slow collapse of our regional airline industry that has unfolded under the watch of Labor. The facts are stark. Under this government, two regional airlines have collapsed. First we saw the demise of Bonza, a low-cost carrier that promised to connect our regions but instead left passengers stranded and Boeing 737s repossessed. Now we've watched the slow and painful administration of Rex, an airline that has been the lifeline for bush communities for decades, including Ceduna, Coober Pedy, Port Lincoln and previously Whyalla and Port Augusta.

Although the government is celebrating Air T's acquisition of Rex, the details of the deal paint a concerning picture. The primary beneficiaries of Rex's decline seem to be the administrators, with EY collecting $25 million in fees, while the airline itself faces a heavy financial burden. The new arrangements carry forward $90 million of debt and adds $60 million as a commercial loan, and they're supplemented by $50 million from Air T themselves. This raises a critical question: how will Air T, a company with recent adjusted earnings of only US$7.4 million, finance such a commitment? When paired with their promise to expand an ageing fleet of 30 aircraft to 44, the viability of the plan is uncertain.

What happens in the future when the new owners realise, as others have, that serving our remote communities is difficult? The government has pumped over $160 million of taxpayer money into keeping Rex afloat during this administration, yet they cannot guarantee that the current network will survive. We have heard vague assurances about critical aviation links, but regional Australians know that 'critical' is corporate code for 'profitable'. We face a future where Air T could focus on select high-yield routes, leaving smaller towns even more isolated. Look at the cost being borne by our local communities right now. Rex owns several regional airports managed by local councils. The City of Albany is owed $456,000. The Shire of Esperance is owed $440,000. Under this deal it is doubtful those funds will ever be repaid. The Labor government is effectively asking ratepayers in regional towns to forgive bad debt because the Commonwealth failed to manage the aviation framework correctly.

The collapse of Bonza and the administration of Rex have left us with a sector that is more concentrated than ever. The Qantas Group and Virgin Australia now hold a combined 98.3 per cent of the market. This duopoly is suffocating competition. What is Labor's response to this concentration and soaring costs? A review. The Treasurer has asked the Productivity Commission to investigate why regional Australians are suffering high airfares. This is laughable. They don't need 18 months and a series of public hearings to tell us why airfares are high. I will tell you: prices are high because competition has been decimated by rising costs under this government. The minister's aviation white paper found that the average ticket price per kilometre was 52c higher for regional flights than capital city routes. In Grey, in regional South Australia and in the outback we know this. We live this. Yet this government's solution is to wait for a report that won't arrive for a year and a half. By the time that report lands, how many more routes will have vanished? How many more airports will close?

I'd like to know why an airport like Whyalla, which only receives one flight some days, needs eight staff for security screening? I'm sure the people of Whyalla would happily come to the airport 20 minutes earlier if they halved the cost of security from 60 bucks to 30 bucks. Even better, share the cost of security across every airfare in Australia. We are staring down the barrel of a future where regional travel is becoming a luxury for the wealthy, not a service for regional communities.

The government has botched the transition of air services. They have withdrawn programs that support regional airlines with capital upgrades and security screening costs. They have sat on their hands while fees and charges rise, hurting the ability of smaller carriers to compete with the big players. We need a government that understands that aviation is not just about Qantas and Virgin fighting for the city routes. We need one that understands that this is also about the staff at Anna Creek Station, Indigenous communities on the APY Lands and the students in Port Lincoln.

Regional Australia deserves better than a government that just manages decline while airlines fall from the sky.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 13:31 to 16:00