Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, the Bureau of Meteorology is centralising Tasmanian forecasting on the mainland. One project, well advanced, bases aviation forecasting in Melbourne and Brisbane, but emergency services, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia, tourism companies and smaller aircraft operators haven't been properly consulted, nor has it been on the agenda of the regular RAPAC meetings between industry and government. Another project to base other forecasting on the mainland is equally irrational—a hit to jobs and puts lives at risk, especially in remote areas and during emergencies. Prime Minister, will you reverse this madness? We've already lost our airport Federal Police. Will you be the PM to accept that Tasmania is a state of the Commonwealth and should be treated equally?

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