A day after the Labor government announced the possibility of nationalising an ailing regional airline, one country political party says it would cost too much.
Rural Queensland’s Katter’s Australia Party (KAP) is calling on the federal government to reconsider thoughts of nationalising the ailing regional airline, Rex.
The party says taking on an airline with an ageing fleet would fail to give taxpayers value for money. Instead, KAP suggests that the government should consider taking up a newer or brand-new airline.
On Feb. 12, Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced he was working with administrators and bidders to find a long-term solution for Rex, which went into voluntary administration last year.
The Prime Minister put forward the idea of Commonwealth acquisition of the airline, stressing the importance of service availability and affordability.
However, KAP Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said taking on the airline, which services a large number of rural and regional routes in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia, would cost more than it was worth.
Katter described the airline as a “dead horse” with a fleet ill-suited for hot North Australian conditions.
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The Saab 340B turboprops, Katter noted, perform better in the Northern Hemisphere’s cooler climate, making them unsuitable for the challenges of Australia’s tropical and remote areas.
Rex Airlines Boeing 737 planes lay idle on the tarmac at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport on July 31, 2024. William West/AFP via Getty Images
Katter, a private pilot, also criticised Rex’s underperformance had been underperforming over the last decade—in some cases even dropping passengers at the wrong rural airport because the plane had to rush off.
He argued that rather than competing on metropolitan routes with airlines like Virgin and Qantas, Rex should have focused on upgrading its fleet and prioritising its rural services.
Katter also referenced the $67 million government incentive Rex received during the COVID pandemic and the $80 million bailout it was granted in Nov. 2024, as well as purchasing $50 million of the airline’s debt.
“Given the government’s already wasted investments in Rex, it seems an extremely questionable approach by the federal government to look to sinking more money into this failed business with old aircraft not fit-for-purpose in hot northern conditions,” Katter said.
The KAP has long supported the return of a nationalised airline to the Australian taxpayer. Bob Katter, a member for Kennedy, said the last three decades of an entirely privatised airline industry was an unbearable anomaly.
“For almost all of this nation’s history in aviation, we have had a peoples’ owned airline, which at the very least is a policeman that keeps the other mob a bit honest,” he said.
“It is absolutely imperative that Australia returns to its roots with a government-owned airline.
“While this regional oligopoly remains our reality, it will continue to cost residents—in more ways than one.”
