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

Here we go again. The Nationals have dropped the regional Aussies they were supposed to represent, faster than a rat up a drainpipe. Labor announced this week that we're saving the future of regional aviation by ensuring that Rex continues to fly to regional airports. That means ensuring regional Aussies can stay connected to the rest of the country, their families and their health care. You might think the Nationals would support that, but again they've been overruled by those inner-city free-marketers in the Liberal Party.

In November last year the Leader of the Nationals said:

It is critical that Rex continues … to run services … …

But now Senator McKenzie wants to cut off towns like that because apparently helping them is a waste of money. We didn't hear her concerns about wasting money when those opposite gave Alan Joyce $2 billion no strings attached or when they gave the previous Rex management—their mates—hundreds of millions of dollars to expand into capital city routes, which is why Rex is in the financial mess it's in now. They think it's fine but they opposed saving Virgin. Now they want to abandon regional communities. The Nationals will roll over and have their tummies tickled every time by the Liberals on anything.

We heard this week that the Liberals have banned Barnaby Joyce, a shadow minister, from travelling outside his own electorate. Well, I say, 'Unleash the beast.' Now they want to stop regional Australians from travelling by killing off Rex. Only Labor is fighting for regional Aussies doing it tough, whilst they make things worse for regional workers.