Dean Smith: Federal Labor has neglected WA’s aviation interests

With the news of the collapse of Rex Airlines, life has just got that much harder and less secure for WA’s regional communities — especially those in Esperance, Carnarvon and Albany. And loss of these services will be felt the hardest by the people we need the most in our towns and regional centres — the doctors, nurses, schoolteachers, police officers and construction workers. It’s easy to forget, from the relative comfort of Perth, the lifeline Rex provides to WA’s regions with its 24 weekly flights between Perth and Albany, or the 22 flights each week to Esperance and other regular services to Carnarvon. Even those of us travelling from Perth to the Eastern States were enjoying the benefits of Rex. For too long airfares between Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide have been outrageously expensive and we’ve known that Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar have taken us for granted. In some instances, the lowest available fare has been 45 per cent more expensive than the 2019 pre-COVID lowest price. Further proof has been provided by the Australian Airports Association whose analysis showed Qantas typically charged between $400 and $450 a fare on Melbourne to Perth, Jetstar $380 and Virgin between $280 and $310. When Rex began flying the same route in late June this year it heralded a new era of competitive pricing for WA travellers, with the average cheapest fare falling between $200 and $340. In the space of a month the benefits of this “new era” look to be very short lived and perhaps lost forever. In May, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission reported that Rex had the lowest cancellation rate of just 0.8 per cent compared to Qantas at 3.8 per cent, Bonza at 3.5 per cent, Virgin Australia at 2.8 per cent and Jetstar at 1.5 per cent. The most aggrieving part of this decision is that the Albanese Government was given plenty of warning signs that more had to be done to urgently support aviation competition. Labor’s go-slow on competition reform has left West Australians paying the price. In November 2023, the ACCC proposed to Labor’s Transport Minister, Catherine King, a suite of reforms that would promote airline competition both at Sydney airport and across Australia, including reforming the Sydney Airport Demand Management Scheme which would have a positive effect on regional routes. And again, in February this year the ACCC’s regular Domestic airline competition in Australia report urged the Government to adopt aviation reforms “as soon as possible”. In May, the ACCC highlighted that “without Bonza, the prospects for a more competitive domestic aviation industry in coming years would rely more heavily on Rex expanding its offering”. Now, six months since the ACCC first rang the alarm bell on regional aviation issues, these much-needed reforms to aviation are yet to be enacted. At this critical juncture, it’s timely to ask what needs to be done to improve regional aviation and build a truly competitive aviation market. The answer to this question can be found in several distinct but complementary approaches. Some will argue it’s now necessary to extend and expand taxpayer-funded aviation grant programs such as the Regional Airports Program and the Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program to improve access and connectivity across regional communities. Others will argue the need to increase Federal funding of the Remote Air Services Subsidy scheme to areas such as the Pilbara and the Kimberley, or expanding further the $64.6 million WA-funded Regional Airfare Zone Cap, which reduces the cost structure for regional airlines and the price of airfares for travellers. More transformative would be to embrace this moment to encourage competition through assisting new entrants by removing cabotage restrictions on select routes, with the express aim of improving regional aviation opportunities for both freight and passenger travel. At a minimum, the Albanese Government should fast-track the release and implementation of initiatives contained in its Aviation White Paper expected later this year. It is true that regional West Australians are among the most enduring and patient among us, but Labor’s continued neglect is surely the last straw. For those of us with regional family members, businesses and a passion for travel, the upcoming Federal election presents a clear choice — more aviation competition, better reliability and more affordable airfares, or three more years of stagnation and loss of air services under Labor. Dean Smith is a Liberal Senator for WA