The announcement of the delivery of the $2.25 million in State funding towards the paving of the road to Winton’s popular Age of Dinosaurs (AOD) Museum was great news. Full credit to Winton Shire Mayor Butch Lenton and his council who fought very hard with me to get the funding over the line.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
I am always thankful for when I am able to travel around the electorate and over the past month I got to visit Julia Creek, Urandangi, Burketown, Normanton and Mornington Island to listen to councils and people on the ground about the day to day issues facing remote and rural Queenslanders.
Despite the diverse issues, they all had a common concern, regional airline services and cost of fares.
This is a serious issue for the exploited people of not only the Mount Isa electorate, but for regional Queensland as a whole.
The Airlines are using their advantage to charge exorbitant prices to the north west as residents have no other practical choice but to fly. I recently lobbied Qantas, Virgin and Rex airlines to reduce their airfares for the One Night Stand event in Mount Isa. This took letters, several emails and discussions back and forth to eventually get to the fare price that was offered, which wasn’t anything to get to excited about. This is how tough it is to get action at all by acting nicely.
This week I also questioned the office of the Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport Jackie Trad on the release of the review into regional airlines which was due at the end of March 2017.
In news that will shock exactly no one, the release of the report has been delayed until the middle of this year.
While we don’t need a report to tell us there’s a problem, I hope the Government’s findings don’t gloss over what is bleeding obvious and a serious issue for regional Queenslanders.The Government and its departments are also one of the biggest users of the airlines, so you would think it would be in their best interests to complete and release the review immediately.
The issue is not only pricing but the service issues. The record of service throughout the North West should be nothing short of embarrassing for the large airline operators. We will also now be seeking an alternative independent report on pricing and service issues to expose this all.
You can also help with the fight. Call Jackie Trad’s office on (07) 3724 9100 and write to her, and tell her you want action, now.
