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

Thank you, Member for Isaacs and Attorney-General. It says: 'By signing I support Labor's efforts to keep Rex flying.' Okay. It's a petition and so you'd say: 'Well, that's fair enough. They want to get people to support the government's initiative to keep Rex flying.' You have no bigger supporter of Rex than right here speaking right into these microphones. I am a supporter of Rex and I urgently encourage people who have a flight to take, if they have the option, to please fly Rex, because we won't know how valuable it is until we lose it. Let me tell you, if we lose it, the prices are going to go up and up. For communities such as Ceduna, Parkes and Narrandera, those towns which only have Rex flying into them, it is a matter of life and death. They won't get Rex to fly in to make their vital medical appointments, for tourism, for business, for all the rest of the appointments and for the business activity that they need.

Getting back on to Labor's petition, I really need the Labor members to listen to this. Question 1: 'What is your first name?' Fair enough. Question 2: 'What is your last name?' Question 3: 'What is your email address?' Question 4: 'What is your mobile number?' Question 5: 'What is your house address?' So they're the first five questions. Then we get on to question 6: 'Do you have any other issues the federal government can help you with?' I'm thinking, 'Okay,' but wait for this one. Question seven: 'Do you wish to be contacted about volunteering opportunities for the upcoming federal election?' Under it, they've got a Rex logo and then a Labor logo. That is disrespectful to Rex. That is disrespectful to regional Australia. That's what it's worth. You know what? If people sign that petition, they're going to get Labor paraphernalia and they're going to get bombarded with Labor material: 'How to vote for Labor.'

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