Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Here we are again: another Albanese Labor government decision and another industry in shambles. This time it's aviation. Well, I suppose we should all be grateful that at least those opposite are giving our primary industries a break, because they've certainly been thrashing them of late. We're living in a Labor-created cost-of-living crisis: mortgages are going up, fuel prices are going up, insurance is almost unaffordable, power prices are skyrocketing and grocery prices are unaffordable; people are making other choices and buying a cheaper product.

Everything is more expensive under Labor. But, when those opposite had a chance to do something to allow for cheaper aviation travel, what did they do? Nothing. When the Qatar deal was on the table, they said no. When will the penny drop for those opposite that we are in a cost-of-living crisis that was created by them? People are doing it tough. People cannot afford to fly because they can't find a cheap flight. We are not like the Deputy Prime Minister, who can just jump on a VIP flight and fly around the place willy-nilly wherever it suits him. People have to save, and for those people who have saved their money and want to take an overseas flight with all of this cost-of-living crisis, now it will be more expensive.

As a matter of fact, airline flights have gone up by over 50 per cent since pre-COVID levels, and yet the opportunities to have cheaper flights are being lost. And when more opportunities are lost, what about freight? We're talking about outbound here. In my electorate of Dawson we have companies like to Tassal, who grow tiger prawns. We also have the famous Bowen mangoes, another fantastic thing to export. And we have the wild-caught seafood industry. Wild caught fish include trout, live trout and frozen trout. We also have prawns and crabs, and all of this freight can go in the bellies of these aeroplanes.

Let's talk about inbound. Whit Sundays is right in the middle of my electorate of Dawson,. It's the No. 2 international destination in the world. It's famous for its Whitehaven Beach and its 74 beautiful islands. We are the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. Thanks to this very ordinary—actually bad—Albanese Labor government decision not to allow one million more visitors to Australia from Europe and the Middle East, we will be missing out. Why do you not like tourists? I do not get it. Dawson relies on backpackers to come and help pick our fruit. We rely on backpackers to look after our hospitality areas. We also rely on our tourists for our pubs and our clubs and to take our tours such as with Red Cat Adventures, for ocean rafting, and Explore Group, which allows tourists to do overnight tourism to explore the Great Barrier Reef. We have a very, very simple motto: when you've got people, you've got a chance; but when you've got no people, you haven't got a chance. When you have cheaper flights people can spend their money on the destination. They can come here and enjoy the Whitsundays and spend their money in the area.

What about our stakeholders? All other major Australian airlines are asking for the decision to be reversed. Even your mates in other states, including all the Labor states, are asking for the decision to be reversed. I ask: who would rob the tourism industry of $788 million? Who would rob Australians of a greater choice of airlines? I can tell you who: the Albanese Labor government. And they did it so easily too, with just one decision to reject the proposed increase in the number of Qatar Airline flights. It's a decision cloaked in secrecy and obscurity. I think we have a bit more of that coming out from before, and let's see how that works. Yes, I think there will be more, and people will get hold of that. I call on the Albanese Labor government to reverse this appalling decision. Do the right thing, even if it is just for once.

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