Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thirty-eight aviation workers have been stood down without pay at Launceston and Hobart airports because flights have collapsed due to the lockdowns on the mainland—lockdowns that are a direct consequence of this Prime Minister's failure to roll out vaccines and create fit-for-purpose national quarantine. A federal aviation support package has finally been created, but it only assists airlines; not one cent goes to the 38 workers stood down in Tasmania. These are workers who check you in, handle baggage and clean buildings. At Hobart, these workers do 100 per cent of the ground operations; elsewhere, it's 80 per cent. They are essential to aviation. But because their employer is a labour hire company and not the airline, they don't get a cent of the $750 support per week. They are stood down with bills and rent to pay, food to buy and families to support. No wage and no support.

Whether you fly a plane or pack a bag, you deserve to be treated the same. Without support, some of these devastated staff say they have no choice but to seek other work. It takes six months to recruit, train and accredit new aviation staff, and that means Tasmania faces critical shortages when flights resume. We can't afford to lose these essential aviation employees. I've written to Transport Minister Joyce, calling on him to immediately extend aviation support to all aviation workers. No worker should be left behind.