Ms LAWRIE - 2003-02-18
Could you please update the House on developments in the domestic aviation capacity in the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. Certainly, tourism is facing challenging times and, I guess, the international situation is not assisting. I welcome the announcements by Qantas last week to substantially increase air services in the Territory. That represents some 12%, seasonally adjusted, an increase into Darwin, and some 5% into Alice Springs. I will cover Alice Springs and the Virgin Blue issue soon, but I would like to detail some of the announcements that Qantas made because they are significant.
The latest schedule, according to Qantas, will include an additional six flights a week into Darwin from other capital cities, more daytime services from Sydney and Cairns, and a small increase in capacity into Alice Springs. There are an additional two weekly return Darwin/Sydney, with three services flying in the daylight hours. That is significant, because everyone would agree we have enough back-of-the-clock flights at present. There will be an additional two weekly return flights Darwin/Adelaide, and an additional weekly return Darwin/Brisbane. Similarly with Melbourne/Darwin, and an additional weekly return to Alice Springs and Brisbane.
We all welcome the increase in capacity that Qantas has announced and, although they do get some criticism from time to time, Qantas needs to be congratulated because they have supported the Territory during some very difficult times - the collapse of Ansett, 11 September - they have supported the Territory to a large degree.
We welcome more Qantas seats coming into the Northern Territory, but we are also working very closely with Virgin Blue Airlines, putting a business case to them about increasing capacities into the Northern Territory. That business case is crucially important, because what Virgin Blue is looking for are sustainable routes. We believe, along with the Alice Springs community, that Alice Springs is a very sustainable route. In fact, I would also like to be seeing services between Darwin and Alice Springs, including Adelaide, with Virgin Blue. It is crucially important for competition on routes in the Territory.
Originally, we provided a package of support for Virgin Blue to encourage them to become established in the Northern Territory. The opposition, unfortunately, has constantly criticised that package, and we even had the member for Drysdale …
Ms Carney: Do better! Do something else. For 12 months: ‘business case’. You tell the people in Alice Springs how impressed they are with drivel like that!
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Member for Araluen, enough!
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, you were talking about interjections before, and here is an interesting interjection from the member for Drysdale on 27 February 2002, page 824 of the Parliamentary Record. In reference to Virgin Blue, he said: ‘They’ve got a shoddy fleet’, that is what he interjected.
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I would ask, for the clarity of Hansard, that he read the whole quote, including the preceding bit.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. We are not going to sit through a whole reading of Hansard. You can look it up yourself.
Dr BURNS: Well, I have touched a bit of a nerve there. Originally, when the Virgin Blue package was announced, the Leader of the Opposition accused us of throwing money at Virgin Blue as a pre-election stunt. Yet, last week, he said:
The CLP will continue to petition the Territory Labor government to commit necessary funds and/or resources for a
second airline into Alice Springs.
So, really, he changes his tune. We are throwing money early in the piece, now we are all easy with money.
In the shadow tourism minister’s press release last week, she said, talking about a petition of Alice Springs residents, which is a very, very worthwhile thing.
Ms Carney: Well, they are so desperate they have to do something.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, member for Araluen!
Ms Carney: My apologies, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Well, cease.
Dr BURNS: It is a very positive thing for Alice Springs people to be petitioning Virgin Blue Airlines to let them know the level of support they have in wanting Virgin Blue to come into Alice Springs. What I am trying to highlight here is some of the negativity around the statements of the opposition.
It was not a petition to Virgin Blue Airlines that secured a service for Darwin, it was a financial incentive package.
Then, going back to the Parliamentary Record on Tuesday 23 October 2001, page 227:
This government elects to support Sir Richard Branson over local operators, which is a disgrace.
She is calling it a disgrace. Now what sort of welcome can Virgin Blue expect with this sort of negativity from the opposition? I might add, a well known CLP figure, who is the mayor of Darwin, ridiculed our support for Virgin Blue Airlines: ‘It is a ridiculous proposition’, he said.
Ms Carney: What are you going to do, Chris? What are you going to do?
Dr BURNS: No, that is what his press release said. I am telling you what I am doing; we are putting a business case to Virgin Blue.
Members interjecting.
Ms Carney: I must have been hearing something else.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister.
Dr BURNS: Oh, you are a bit sensitive about that. You might put out a lot of press releases, but we are putting hard data. We are putting a business case. We are …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, resume your seat. There have been some outrageous - you are on a warning, member for Araluen. You are out of order and right over the top and most disorderly. You know that any interjection that stops the flow of the speaker is out of order. Take this as a serious warning.
Now, minister would you please hurry up and finish the answer to the question, because you are taking a long time.
Dr BURNS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I guess I would like to ask the question: why hasn’t the opposition condemned these statements by the Lord Mayor about ridiculing Virgin Blue Airlines?
I have a keen interest in this matter, I am working hard to encourage Virgin Blue to come into Alice Springs and extend into other routes in the Territory. I just hope that the negativity opposite does not discourage Virgin Blue from coming and expanding their services in the Territory.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. Certainly, tourism is facing challenging times and, I guess, the international situation is not assisting. I welcome the announcements by Qantas last week to substantially increase air services in the Territory. That represents some 12%, seasonally adjusted, an increase into Darwin, and some 5% into Alice Springs. I will cover Alice Springs and the Virgin Blue issue soon, but I would like to detail some of the announcements that Qantas made because they are significant.
The latest schedule, according to Qantas, will include an additional six flights a week into Darwin from other capital cities, more daytime services from Sydney and Cairns, and a small increase in capacity into Alice Springs. There are an additional two weekly return Darwin/Sydney, with three services flying in the daylight hours. That is significant, because everyone would agree we have enough back-of-the-clock flights at present. There will be an additional two weekly return flights Darwin/Adelaide, and an additional weekly return Darwin/Brisbane. Similarly with Melbourne/Darwin, and an additional weekly return to Alice Springs and Brisbane.
We all welcome the increase in capacity that Qantas has announced and, although they do get some criticism from time to time, Qantas needs to be congratulated because they have supported the Territory during some very difficult times - the collapse of Ansett, 11 September - they have supported the Territory to a large degree.
We welcome more Qantas seats coming into the Northern Territory, but we are also working very closely with Virgin Blue Airlines, putting a business case to them about increasing capacities into the Northern Territory. That business case is crucially important, because what Virgin Blue is looking for are sustainable routes. We believe, along with the Alice Springs community, that Alice Springs is a very sustainable route. In fact, I would also like to be seeing services between Darwin and Alice Springs, including Adelaide, with Virgin Blue. It is crucially important for competition on routes in the Territory.
Originally, we provided a package of support for Virgin Blue to encourage them to become established in the Northern Territory. The opposition, unfortunately, has constantly criticised that package, and we even had the member for Drysdale …
Ms Carney: Do better! Do something else. For 12 months: ‘business case’. You tell the people in Alice Springs how impressed they are with drivel like that!
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Member for Araluen, enough!
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, you were talking about interjections before, and here is an interesting interjection from the member for Drysdale on 27 February 2002, page 824 of the Parliamentary Record. In reference to Virgin Blue, he said: ‘They’ve got a shoddy fleet’, that is what he interjected.
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I would ask, for the clarity of Hansard, that he read the whole quote, including the preceding bit.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. We are not going to sit through a whole reading of Hansard. You can look it up yourself.
Dr BURNS: Well, I have touched a bit of a nerve there. Originally, when the Virgin Blue package was announced, the Leader of the Opposition accused us of throwing money at Virgin Blue as a pre-election stunt. Yet, last week, he said:
The CLP will continue to petition the Territory Labor government to commit necessary funds and/or resources for a
second airline into Alice Springs.
So, really, he changes his tune. We are throwing money early in the piece, now we are all easy with money.
In the shadow tourism minister’s press release last week, she said, talking about a petition of Alice Springs residents, which is a very, very worthwhile thing.
Ms Carney: Well, they are so desperate they have to do something.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, member for Araluen!
Ms Carney: My apologies, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Well, cease.
Dr BURNS: It is a very positive thing for Alice Springs people to be petitioning Virgin Blue Airlines to let them know the level of support they have in wanting Virgin Blue to come into Alice Springs. What I am trying to highlight here is some of the negativity around the statements of the opposition.
It was not a petition to Virgin Blue Airlines that secured a service for Darwin, it was a financial incentive package.
Then, going back to the Parliamentary Record on Tuesday 23 October 2001, page 227:
This government elects to support Sir Richard Branson over local operators, which is a disgrace.
She is calling it a disgrace. Now what sort of welcome can Virgin Blue expect with this sort of negativity from the opposition? I might add, a well known CLP figure, who is the mayor of Darwin, ridiculed our support for Virgin Blue Airlines: ‘It is a ridiculous proposition’, he said.
Ms Carney: What are you going to do, Chris? What are you going to do?
Dr BURNS: No, that is what his press release said. I am telling you what I am doing; we are putting a business case to Virgin Blue.
Members interjecting.
Ms Carney: I must have been hearing something else.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister.
Dr BURNS: Oh, you are a bit sensitive about that. You might put out a lot of press releases, but we are putting hard data. We are putting a business case. We are …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, resume your seat. There have been some outrageous - you are on a warning, member for Araluen. You are out of order and right over the top and most disorderly. You know that any interjection that stops the flow of the speaker is out of order. Take this as a serious warning.
Now, minister would you please hurry up and finish the answer to the question, because you are taking a long time.
Dr BURNS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I guess I would like to ask the question: why hasn’t the opposition condemned these statements by the Lord Mayor about ridiculing Virgin Blue Airlines?
I have a keen interest in this matter, I am working hard to encourage Virgin Blue to come into Alice Springs and extend into other routes in the Territory. I just hope that the negativity opposite does not discourage Virgin Blue from coming and expanding their services in the Territory.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016