Jake Nelson

In the 2026 Budget, announced this week, $38.1 million over four years from 2026–27 and $7.3 million per year ongoing was earmarked for the government’s consumer protection priorities, as well as $4.5 million over four years to continue the ACCC’s domestic airline monitoring program.

From January next year, the tax, which is applied to all airfares and cruise tickets leaving the country, will increase from $70 to $80 in what Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond has labelled “an absolute shocker for the tourism industry”.

Around 150 employees at Sydney and Brisbane Airports, currently employed by Qantas subsidiaries Eastern and Sunstate, would be affected by the new arrangements, which the union says would bump their pay by around 30 per cent and “close a long-standing loophole” that lowered wages.

In a letter to Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson, ASU assistant national secretary Scott Cowen noted recent comments by Hudson at the Macquarie Australia Conference this month regarding cost reductions and the integration of AI across the Qantas Group.

Future Form, a subcontractor for construction consortium Parklife Metro, came under scrutiny last year for alleged exploitation of workers and “mafia-style” intimidation tactics. The findings of an investigation have now been referred to police and integrity agencies.

All Link Airways flights from Shellharbour to Melbourne and Brisbane will be suspended starting 20 May due to “increased fuel costs and reduced demand”, meaning residents of Shellharbour and the Illawarra, including Wollongong, will need to travel to Sydney for air services.