Mr Kerans
All. At the risk of attracting friendly, unfriendly and random fire (nothing much positive on here) I will have my 2c worth.
I'm sure that you didn't mean to seem patronising by that opening comment.
Further
Now what this has done is prompted AOPA interest in supporting regional thin route airlines. We will be discussing it at out Board meeting this weekend. Perhaps one option is the big carriers (Q) paying a Universal Service fee to support thinner or non-profitable routes to ensure that all Australians have access to reasonably priced air travel.
by all means you should continue your actions and support in this direction.
My only question is,
where then has AOPA been for the last 20 or more years on this subject, the concept is hardly original and has been debated ad nauseum here and in other places, even unto the high altar in Canberra by the interested professionals for yonks.
The horse as they say has already bolted, last seen heading overseas helping repatriate profits.
The recent collapse of Ansett et al simply brought it into sharper focus, if indeed that was needed.
The logic of what you suggest is disarmingly attractive but just a little thought will expose the flaws of the argument and why it will not play.
This is NOT QF or VBs responsibility it is a social issue that belongs to the respective Governments.
They, the Govt., did in the past practise the highly laudable use of "Subsidy" to these socially disadvantaged areas.
But as this "S" word has forever been expunged from the Government lexicon in these modern but not necessarily enlightened times and is now treated by the Speaker and President of the respective Houses as a pejorative like unto the "F" word, much work will be required to return it to its former honourable and moral use.
May I suggest that Mr Hamilton would have served this issue better had he, as is usual, put the horse in
front of the cart and as part of a well thought out strategy to put it on the agenda.
If as I suspect, like Mr Hamilton, that we will be forced to revisit this issue in a very short period of time, we had better have some very well prepared strategy and some very powerful argument, that will get heard above the inevitable gnashing of teeth, wailing, recrimination and general sturm und drang that will surround it.
It ain't nearly over yet.