Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I would have thought that this was not the day to make jokes about airline safety. Funding is by an increase in aviation fuel excise from approximately 2.9c to 3.6c per litre, a smaller increase than if CPI were maintained. The Howard government raised the fuel excise 11 times, to keep pace with inflation, in order to fund safety and regulatory activity. All of this funding is going back into extra front-line staff in aviation security for CASA, and I would hope that it has the support of every member of this parliament.

There is $14.5 million to continue the Indonesian transport safety program. This program was begun by the former government. It is an excellent program. It is an important part of our engagement with our region, and we have determined to continue it. The implementation of national regulators, another important program, is a reform which will boost national income by up to $2.4 billion a year. Can I conclude by saying that we have funding for regional and local community infrastructure in addition to the work that we have done already. (Time expired)

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