The state government has said it was reviewing its response to the federal regional airline inquiry which handed down its report just after the election.
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State member for Traeger Robbie Katter criticised the report's nine recommendations, including another inquiry by the Production Commission, as a "waste of time" and at Transport Committee Estimates hearings last week asked the state government what it was doing on the matter.
"The average airline price in the north-west, particularly on the market route from Mount Isa to Brisbane, has consistently risen as price gouging is occurring," Mr Katter told Transport Minister Mark Bailey.
"Will your government continue to sit back and let the big corporates gouge, or is it willing to act to protect the battler?"
Mr Bailey said the Palaszczuk government subsidised over $250 million in regional transport services with services on seven regulated air service routes.
"All seven contracts have now been extended to December 2020 to provide surety for regional Queensland while allowing the department to undertake planning activities for the upcoming procurement of the future regional air service contracts," Mr Bailey said.
However Mount Isa is not one of the subsidised routes and Mr Bailey said the government would like to see more competition from the airlines.
"On this particular route there is significant demand, and airlines need to respond to that by being more competitive," he said.
He said the state government provided a submission to the Senate committee inquiry about its regulation of regional air services and the Local Fare Scheme and the inquiry handed down the report on June 7.
"We are reviewing that report; we are considering the findings and recommendations and we will certainly be responding to them," he said.
Mr Katter asked if the department had pricing software which he said was the "first step in reining in gouging or market failure."
Transport and Main Roads director-general Neil Scales responded saying they monitored on-time departures and arrivals but not pricing.
"Because this is a market route, we cannot do a great deal to influence the direct prices they charge," Mr Scales said. "All our travel is done by a central agency. We can track prices on that, but, as far as I am aware, we do not have any software that does that."
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
