Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I am glad that the minister is staying in the chamber, and I hope that she stays in the chamber for this important debate because, so far, we've hardly heard a jot—not a whisper, not a peep, not a word—from the minister about a very important sector in our economy. It is a sector which represents five per cent of the economy. It is a sector called aviation. It is important: 700,000 workers rely on a job in aviation. Workers are the ones that Labor once represented but now have long deserted. There are 206,000 full-time employees at airport sites alone, and many of them are union members. You would think that those opposite would place more priority on those workers—on those union ticket holders—but, no, we don't hear very much very often from the minister about aviation.

Aviation is critical in this nation. It is a huge land mass. We all know how important aviation is to connect people and to connect business. It is the gateway to our nation, and the problem is that, in recent days and weeks, we've had an issue with Qatar Airways being blocked from those important gateways. I don't know why this is so—maybe the minister might explain—but I was asked by Joe Kelly from theAustralian as to why this might be the case. I explained to him that, when I was the transport minister, I did in fact have discussions with the now Prime Minister over aviation because I respected his judgement. I respected his view. But it seems that the Prime Minister and the aviation minister—the transport minister—have not had similar discussions about Qatar. I welcome the minister coming to the dispatch box and answering those important questions, which people in the public are also asking—people in the public who are now being charged too much for their tickets and too much for their flights.

This will bring competition. Qatar coming into Australia means more flights at more ports, and that will bring competition. Why is it that the government doesn't want this competition? So far, we've heard seven excuses—seven reasons. That's six too many. One of those reasons was, 'Qatar planes aren't as modern as Qantas planes, and that will increase emissions.'

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