Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I said, that inquiry looked at the workforce challenges facing the industry, including the long-term impact of Qantas's aggressive outsourcing and labour hire strategy. The two coalition senators on that committee said in their dissenting report that looking at those workforce issues was a waste of time and a failure to properly examine genuine aviation issues.

But what did we see once aviation ramped up after lockdowns ended? We saw severe staffing issues that created chaos at our airports, leading Alan Joyce to shift the blame onto passengers for not being 'match fit'. It showed that those opposite have no idea about, or interest in, the broad range of challenges within the aviation industry. We have inherited a real mess in aviation, with a policy for the last decade that left the airlines and airports to self-regulate. Even in the rare cases where those opposite seemed to recognise there was an issue, as in the case of slots at Sydney airport—following a report commissioned by the Harris review—they never bothered to act on the recommendations. The report was left to gather dust.

Then, last year—you won't believe it—Senator McKenzie recommended to her inquiry that the government should 'urgently respond to that report'. They didn't respond to it when they were in government, but now they are out there saying we should respond to it urgently. You can't take them seriously. There is no serious solution being offered for the aviation sector by those opposite. They are just lame attempts to get a headline or to pre-empt what the government is already considering and trying to get ahead. It is not a serious approach for them.

In contrast, we are looking at the sector holistically through the aviation white paper, which will be released in the coming months. That will include looking at the consumer rights that this bill purports to deal with. As the minister said in a press conference on the release of the green paper late last year, 'We are seeking to deliver a more competitive aviation sector. It covers issues in relation to complaint-handling processes, particularly when it comes to canvassing whether we do need a consumer bill or rights when it comes to aviation.' She also said, 'We are considering whether options pursued in other jurisdiction such as a consumer rights charter or a stronger ombudsman model would deliver benefits for Australian aviation sector.' These are part of a string of critically important aviation responses that go to the whole series of matters, including the Harris review. Again, their comments were made more than six months ago, long before this latest thought bubble from the opposition. It couldn't be any clearer when looking at this issue.

When the minister refers to other jurisdictions, I note there have been longstanding policies in places in a number of countries. While the previous government did nothing on this for over nine years, the EU has a scheme where passengers can get up to 600 euros if their flight is delayed by over three hours, and there are similar schemes in the UK and Canada. But it needs to be considered in the context of the broad range of reforms needed to begin fixing the industry. Each piece relates and impacts on the next piece. Pretty logical. But why would we have logic when we want to deal with the aviation industry when there's a chance to get a headline rather than an outcome?

The Transport Workers Union also proposed a safe and secure skies commission. It's an admirable suggestion. It would be an independent body empowered to keep skilled workers in jobs and to lift standards by holding airports and airlines to account for safety and fairness. These are proposals the white paper should be exploring because the industry needs genuine reform after a decade of malaise and inaction by those opposite. There's a real opportunity to get this right. There's a real opportunity for proper debate. There's actually an opportunity for proper consideration.

This multibillion-dollar industry is critical to the arteries of this economy, critical to the social fabric of this country and critical as a fundamental strategic economic approach to how we run our economy. It requires a sophisticated approach, not because I'm opposed to any suggestions but because this is a stunt of a suggestion taken without consideration of all the other impacts on policy that's needed in this area. A white paper going to the strategies, the implementation, the impacts of all those reports that for nine years those opposite have sat on needs to be properly considered and properly weighed up in the interests of all the travelling public and the Australian economy, because the aviation industry deserves something better than a political stunt by those opposite.