The government can't afford for regional services to be cut in advance of the election. They are already on the nose in the regions so they have no choice but to continue to fund the REX regional operations.
Post election, regardless who wins, a more permanent solution will need to be found probably through subsidised routes to various other airlines such as Skippers, Link, Air North etc. In theory, QF Link could play a part but they don't have a fleet that could handle these small routes. Even their smallest Dash 8-200 is probably too big and they are in the process of being retired anyway.