Rex jumped early on rebate: Minister - Local News - News - General - Daily Liberal
The en-route rebate introduced in “extraordinary” circumstances during 2001 to shore up air services to rural communities would be available to Rex Airlines for another four years, a spokesman for federal transport minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed.
This week Rex Airlines announced it would cease flights from Dubbo to Cobar, Bourke, Walgett, Lightning Ridge and Coonamble from December 20.
Among its reasons was the Federal Government’s intended “termination” of the en-route rebate.
Marginal routes would not be commercially viable without this incentive, Rex managing director Jim Davis said.
However, the minister’s spokesman has told the Daily Liberal that the rebate would be available to the airline for four more years.
He noted that Rex had recently achieved a “record profit” but would not be drawn on its withdrawal from remote airports in western NSW.
“We understand they have made a commercial decision,” the spokesman said.
Nor would the minister’s spokesman indicate if the affected communities had a chance of convincing the Government to continue the rebate.
Instead, he said it had always been a “transitional arrangement” put in place to ensure flights to regional and rural communities were sustained after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and the collapse of Ansett Airlines a day later on September 12 in 2001.
“It was introduced in extraordinary circumstances as a temporary measure,” the spokesman said.
“By the time it ends in 2012 it will have been in place for 11 years.”
Since Rex’s announcement on Monday, the Federal Government has come under fire for moving to wind up the rebate program.
State MP for Barwon Kevin Humphries says if the Federal Government can “subside the Bass Straight Ferry for an alleged $500 million a year”, it should revisit the issue of the remote air operator rebate.
Federal MP for Parkes Mark Coulton is calling on Mr Albanese to “act immediately to protect local communities”.
The minister’s spokesman said the Government was about to release an aviation green paper addressing the major issues facing regional aviation.
“Communities will be asked to have input into that process,” he said.