Perin Davey (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Hansard source

I started my contribution to the debate on the Airline Passenger Protections (Pay on Delay) Bill 2024 with a case study about regional Australians because, when we see flights cancelled and flights excessively delayed, the impact on regional Australians is often not thought of. People think, 'You get to the airport. It's inconvenient, but no worries,' but, if you've driven for two or three hours to get to the airport, the inconvenience is exacerbated. This bill, while it's not a silver bullet and while there may still be delays, will make airlines accountable. It will actually put the focus back on consumers.

I remember when I was growing up that, if you were in retail or in any sort of customer service industry, the mantra was 'The customer is always right.' That has been forgotten in this day and age, particularly when you look at industries like the airline industry, which is serviced by the duopoly of Qantas and Virgin and, to a lesser extent, Rex. They are so big, and competition is so lacking, that no-one is holding them accountable for their actions. We hear anecdotally all the time that airlines take bookings for flights, and, when they see that that flight isn't necessarily full, they just cancel it: 'They can catch the next flight.' It doesn't always work. When we're talking about people in regional areas who are going from A to B via C on separate airlines because one airline doesn't service that route and another airline doesn't service that route, the inconvenience and the cost to the consumer is not fair; it's not justified.

This bill will establish minimum standards, which is not too much to ask. This bill will have standards for how passengers should be treated when they experience delays, cancellations and sometimes denial of boarding because of the airlines. It's not because of the fog, not because of safety issues, but because the airlines are treating customers as fools. I commend this bill to the Senate. I implore my colleagues to support this bill, hold the airlines to account and put customers first. It is good customer service and it is good common courtesy.