Name: Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee - Cairns, QLD (part 2 of 2)
Uploaded: 2026-07-29T04:45:00+00:00

00:00 - 02:55

Speaker 4

Prosperity of communities in regions in in remote Australia, such as those in Far North Queensland. Regional aviation should not be viewed through the lens of a competitive commercial market. Rather, for regions like Kansas, it should be viewed as essential economic and social infrastructure with appropriate government interventions to support equitable access to it. When we talk about regional and remote services in this inquiry, Cairns sits at both ends of the spectrum simultaneously. We are ourselves a regional center competing for national and international connectivity, and we are also the essential air link that smaller and more remote communities depend on to reach the rest of Australia.

The dual role shapes how we experience every one of the matters in the committee's terms of reference. On cost, fees and charges, our colleagues at the North Queensland Airport Authority have made a submission outlining specific pricing examples. But essentially, the disparities show up in the price of a ticket out of Cairns are not abstract to us in the region. They affect whether a Cape York family can get to a hospital for an appointment, whether a remote local government can bring a contractor in to do essential works at a reasonable fee, and whether an international visitor chooses Cairns over a competing destination with more cheaper and frequent access. On this point, Council's second recommendation is that greater transparency and consistency are required around airfare pricing on regional and remote routes that will enable appropriate policy settings to be set on a more informed basis.

We ask that the committee give consideration to the lack of competitive pressure on many of these routes and how that can be addressed. On competitiveness and the implications of reduced services, we have watched capacity and route decisions ripple through livability and economic opportunity locally with sometimes very local visibility of the rationale behind those decisions and what we can do to advocate ourselves when those decisions are not in the interest of our community. Our economic development strategy in Cairns sets ambitious jobs targets for our local government area, and aviation connectivity is critical enabler of our achieving those targets. We cannot grow international visitation, attract investment or act as a service and logistics hub for the broader Afar North Queensland region without reliable, reasonably priced air access, both inbound to Cairns and onwards to the communities that rely on us. This is where Council's third recommendation sits.

Regional communities in Northern Australia are uniquely positioned to benefit from improvements in global aircraft technology, which will offer unparalleled access to Asia's growing aviation markets. Consistent air connect activity across Far North Queensland we are vital to the success of many emerging opportunities and we encourage the committee to consider how policy settings can position the North to capture that advantage. In summary, regional and remote aviation should be treated as essential economic and social infrastructure, like roads, like telecommunications, like hospitals and schools. Implementing government interventions with this in mind to support reliability, access, and affordability of regional remote aviation will not only provide our communities with equitable access to those essential services, but also help unlock the full economic and growth potential of the North. Thank you.

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