Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Davey for her question. Without a doubt, 2020 presented the domestic aviation network with the greatest challenges it has ever faced. The Morrison-McCormack government were proud to support the domestic aviation network through these challenges. That was actually demonstrated again last week when we announced a $1.2 billion package to support the tourism sector and to encourage more Australians to have a holiday domestically but in particular in regional Australia.

When the pandemic first hit, aviation without a doubt was hit, and it was hit hard. The government at that time put in place key supports to keep essential services running throughout the pandemic not only to support regional airlines but also to ensure that they could keep as many jobs as possible that are actually supported by our regions. Currently there are around 12 commercial regional airlines which operate regular scheduled passenger services across Australia.

It's almost one year to the day since the government announced its initial package to assist regional airlines to support critical air services to regional and rural communities, securing access to critical medical supplies and testing, securing freight and securing transport of essential personnel through the regional aviation support program. The government provided an additional $100 million in funding to directly support the smaller regional airlines if they needed it. The reason we did this is that those regional airlines are critical supports for regional communities, providing critical aeromedical services and links to capital and metropolitan areas for medical appointments, medical freight and locum doctors. Certainly, we are committed to ensuring that these services continue.