Renewed attention?

The Minister for Everything, Anthony Albanese, was set an impossible task in the last parliament and industry pleas for a Transport/Aviation junior minister or parliamentary secretary, previously ignored, may now be heard. Regional issues will now be prominent whenever parliament sits and the bush’s aviation needs will be very much part of that mix.

Pilot and engineer shortages have been mentioned so many times it is almost an industry cliché. Vet Fee Help was supposed to assist in encouraging candidates into the industry via the CASA approved flying schools. However large policy barriers remain in place. A very well credentialed flight training college with RTO status and attached to an airline was told recently by the federal Department of Education that it did not qualify for Vet Fee Help because flight training was not its primary business. Rubbing salt into the wound, successful graduates of the college are offered at least a year’s employment with the airline on completion of their course. Why should an aviation business be forced, through government policy, down a costly company splitting path when it is doing a great job training and employing young Australians? Isn’t this exactly the type of aviation company that the Vet Fee Help scheme should be targeting?

University flight training schools attract HECS/Fee Help assistance because trainees are part of a degree or post graduate course. The non-university flight training schools are trying to use the VET Fee Help scheme to also attract students but are blocked by the policy anomalies outlined above. Schools that are closely attached to the industry should be further encouraged and not have the market skewed by government policy. In short, the Vet Fee Help scheme is not working for a large slice of the pilot training industry. Given Australia is probably the best country in world to train pilots and engineers, the scheme must be redesigned to encourage Australian students to consider all aviation training options, not just those available at universities. The fault is not with the universities but lies within the government policy design.

Regional communities are taking a new interest in trying to re-establish their air services. RPT route numbers dropped from 278 in 1984 to 138 in 2008. There is a growing sense in regional areas that these numbers have fallen far enough. More regularly now, operators are fielding questions from media and local people wanting to discuss developing an air service that connects to a major city. While local expectations are sometimes unrealistically high, operators are discussing ways with the community and the local airport as to what would work in the long-term. Given that regional aviation must be considered basic, essential transport infrastructure in Australia such meetings between operators and towns may be the first sign that regional aviation is coming off the bottom.

Operators want to offer more services to regional Australia but burdens such as unrealistic airport charges, high security costs, and increased fuel tariffs must be examined and not be road-blocks to this growth.

Regional Australia is about to enjoy some time in the political sun. We must use this unique opportunity judiciously and begin the long-term rebuild of regional aviation.