MLC Wes Fang questioned State Tourism Minister Stephen Kamper on the price of regional air travel and why he is yet to meet with Regional Express executives. Photo: Wes Fang MLC.
NSW Tourism Minister Stephen Kamper has told a parliamentary inquiry that regional airfare prices are a “matter for the airlines”, after being questioned on the topic by Wagga MP Wes Fang.
Region has highlighted the soaring cost of flying for those travelling from the Riverina, with return flights from Griffith to Sydney as high as $1309 in the coming weeks. Direct airfares from Wagga to Sydney are as high as $839.
Mr Fang expressed his frustration at the Tourism Minister for appearing not to know how much rural NSW residents were paying.
“Minister, what do you think is a reasonable price for a regional flight, say, to Tamworth?” Mr Fang asked.
“I really couldn’t give you an answer to that,” Minister Kamper responded.
“This is one of those ‘How much is a dozen eggs?’ questions.
”What do you think is an appropriate price for somebody to pay for a regional flight to a regional centre in New South Wales?” Mr Fang pushed.
“I haven’t got that off the top of my head. I don’t know what a reasonable price is. It’s not a quiz show here,” Mr Kamper said.
The Minister said he believed regional airfare prices were “a matter for airlines”.
Mr Fang asked him whether he thought an $800 flight from Sydney to Tamworth was reasonable.
“That’s return?” Mr Kemper responded.
“No, that’s one-way,” Mr Fang replied.
Mr Kemper said the $800 airfare was quite excessive.
“That’s one example. I don’t know in terms of every other regional destination,” he said.
Using Mr Fang’s example, the highest price for a direct flight on a round trip for a passenger travelling to Sydney from Tamworth, leaving on Friday (5 September) and returning Sunday (7 September) using Qantas, is $1314, according to Flight Centre.
It was later revealed during the inquiry that Mr Kemper has yet to meet with executives from regional carrier Rex Airlines since he was appointed Tourism Minister in March.
“I haven’t met with them. There hasn’t been a meeting request, and I haven’t gotten around to doing that,” he said.
Region asked Rex Airlines why flights were so expensive and whether it had any advice for customers wanting cheaper fares, but it did not respond.
Qantas has told Region there has been no increases in regional flight prices over the past few months.
The airline said return airfares above $1000 from Sydney to Griffith were rare and occurred only if a booking was made at short notice when few spots were still available on the plane.
Nevertheless, Griffith Can Assist president Olga Forner said the rising cost of regional flights was placing enormous stress on those who had to travel to big cities for medical treatment.
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve noticed the prices have been really high,” she said.
Ms Forner said she always looked to book flights as far in advance as possible, when return fares could cost between $400 and $600.
“But it’s not always possible to book in advance,” she said.
“If a patient is transported to Sydney by air ambulance after an emergency, the family might want to be there when the patient arrives or soon after. That’s when prices are the worst, when you need to go as soon as possible.”
