Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I've got a long history in the airline industry—a very long history. I've acted for a range of employees in that industry for 25 years, and what I can tell you about this coalition is that I've seen an abandonment of people in the airline industry and this country, dating back to 2001. In fact, next week is the anniversary of the collapse of Ansett. I remember coming here to these halls, walking around and begging coalition ministers to intervene in the Ansett crisis—begging them. They slammed doors in our faces, and 16½ thousand Australians lost their jobs when Ansett collapsed; 4½ thousand of them were ASU members.

This coalition thinks only about politics when it comes to the airline industry. They do not think about real people. Again—history repeating itself—what did we see when Virgin went into administration in 2020? We saw exactly the same thing again: shut the doors, do nothing, let aviation in this country suffer. So, this born-again view about airfares and how we should negotiate air services agreements—honestly, the previous minister, Mr McCormack, in fact rejected the Qatar Airways application for more flights to Australia. That tells you that this is something that is not in the national interest. And it is ridiculous to sit here and hear Senator McKenzie lecture us about air services agreements, the cost of living and the cost of flights when the senator has little or no understanding of the way the airline industry operates in this country. We have more than 100 air service agreements with different countries around the world. We have eight international airlines from China operating 90 services a week, which is up by 30 services since June. Vietnam Airlines has announced non-stop flights to Vietnam. Cathay Pacific has increased flights to Brisbane. Air India has doubled services to Australia, and Singapore Airlines has announced more flights. It's also the case that Qatar Airways, as we heard during question time, can operate as many flights as it would like through Adelaide, Darwin, Canberra, Cairns and the Gold Coast. The hypocrisy of the coalition in this debate is unparalleled in my view. I don't believe their spin. They don't really have a leg to stand on.

What I know about the cost-of-living matter is that the 2023-24 budget directed nearly $15 billion in targeted support to the most vulnerable Australians who were suffering after a decade of stagnated wages, thanks to the coalition's inaction while they were in government. When I'm casting my mind back and thinking about the government's record on cost-of-living relief in the last 18 months, it strikes me just how much this government has delivered to make life easier for Australians amidst what is a difficult set of economic circumstances. We've got the energy bill relief the government legislated last year which has been rolling out. In my own electorate, I know my office has been dealing with dozens of people in Victoria, mainly seniors and pensioners, who have taken that up. Last week, I went to a childcare centre, and the way they talked about the easing of pressure on the cost of living because of the cheaper child care policy was astounding to me. They told me how this policy is absolutely making a difference to lots and lots of families. I've heard plenty of positive feedback also from constituents, doctors and consumer advocacy groups in relation to the impact of 60-day prescriptions. It will have an effect on millions of Australians with ongoing health conditions.

So really that's what the cost-of-living issue is about—doing real things for people day in and day out—and that is what this government has done in the budget and since the day we took office. As I said, the coalition talking about air services agreements is just galling, to be frank. It's absolutely galling.