❓ Mr. Watson questions the Minister for Transport about an incident where a Rex flight to Albany allegedly removed luggage and refused medical supplies due to weight restrictions. The Minister acknowledges the questions but was not aware of the specific incident and offers to investigate.
AnsweredQoN 134Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
AIR SERVICES — ALBANY
134. Mr P.B. WATSON to the Minister for
Transport:
I refer to the five-year agreement
signed by the minister with Regional Express Airlines to provide air services
to Albany and to the minister's comments that Rex would provide air
services to Albany and Esperance to the benefit of locals in those areas.
(1) Is the
minister aware that Rex recently had to remove passengers' luggage from
a flight to Albany without those passengers' knowledge because the
plane needed to carry extra fuel to enable take-off because it was a hot day?
(2) Is the
minister aware that Rex refused to transport on that flight critical medical
supplies for a cancer patient in Albany?
(3) How is this providing services
that benefit Albany locals?
134. Mr P.B. WATSON to the Minister for
Transport:
I refer to the five-year agreement
signed by the minister with Regional Express Airlines to provide air services
to Albany and to the minister's comments that Rex would provide air
services to Albany and Esperance to the benefit of locals in those areas.
(1) Is the
minister aware that Rex recently had to remove passengers' luggage from
a flight to Albany without those passengers' knowledge because the
plane needed to carry extra fuel to enable take-off because it was a hot day?
(2) Is the
minister aware that Rex refused to transport on that flight critical medical
supplies for a cancer patient in Albany?
(3) How is this providing services
that benefit Albany locals?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) Rex Airlines started
service to Esperance and Albany around a month ago, on 27 or 28 February.
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : It was 28 February. It is a regulated air route, and Virgin
had withdrawn its service. We were facing the real possibility of no air
service to Albany so we put it out to the marketplace. Rex Airlines came along,
and I am thankful that it did. It has been voted the best regional airline in
the world for the last four years. It has not even been up and running in Western
Australia for one month. I know with the level of flights that it is now doing —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : The minister cannot get off the ground with his answer with you
shouting out. Give the minister a chance. Minister, get off the ground please.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Thank you for that support, Mr Speaker.
The airline has been going less than
a month. We are delivering more flights and more seats to the people of Albany
and Esperance. Not only are there more flights to the City of Albany and to
Esperance, but also we have changed the times. Departures are first thing in
the morning so businesspeople can spend a full day in Perth without having to
necessarily stay overnight. The last flight is down there because the airline
is overnighting pilots in Albany.
Point of Order
Mr
P.B. WATSON : The minister gave this speech in Parliament a while ago. I asked
whether the minister was aware that vital blood supplies for cancer patients
had been taken off the plane because the airline could not put luggage on
because it could not get its plane of the ground because it had to put in more
fuel and fewer customers.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Albany.
Questions without Notice
Resumed
Mr
D.C. NALDER : The member has the right to a supplementary question. If
members listened to his whole question, they would have heard that he
criticised the government for putting Rex Airlines into service in Albany and
Esperance, so I am responding to that criticism. That is a fair enough
response.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : I think the minister is very clear about what the question is—a
succinct answer, thank you.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : The member referred to a specific incident that I am not aware
of at this time. I have not been made aware of the specific —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany! That is enough; I call you to order for the
first time.
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I beg your pardon?
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I call you to order for the third time.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I am not even going to respond to that but if you want to
start attacking me personally, member for Warnbro, have some courage and stand
up to do it. Stop smirking behind those little seats.
The
SPEAKER : Through the Chair, a short answer.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : You are so brave, member for Warnbro.
The
SPEAKER : Through the Chair.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Show some courage and a little of bit of integrity for a change.
The
SPEAKER : That is enough; a short answer through the Chair.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : If the member for Albany would like to share the details with
me, I will make sure that they are investigated and I will respond
appropriately.
service to Esperance and Albany around a month ago, on 27 or 28 February.
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : It was 28 February. It is a regulated air route, and Virgin
had withdrawn its service. We were facing the real possibility of no air
service to Albany so we put it out to the marketplace. Rex Airlines came along,
and I am thankful that it did. It has been voted the best regional airline in
the world for the last four years. It has not even been up and running in Western
Australia for one month. I know with the level of flights that it is now doing —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : The minister cannot get off the ground with his answer with you
shouting out. Give the minister a chance. Minister, get off the ground please.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Thank you for that support, Mr Speaker.
The airline has been going less than
a month. We are delivering more flights and more seats to the people of Albany
and Esperance. Not only are there more flights to the City of Albany and to
Esperance, but also we have changed the times. Departures are first thing in
the morning so businesspeople can spend a full day in Perth without having to
necessarily stay overnight. The last flight is down there because the airline
is overnighting pilots in Albany.
Point of Order
Mr
P.B. WATSON : The minister gave this speech in Parliament a while ago. I asked
whether the minister was aware that vital blood supplies for cancer patients
had been taken off the plane because the airline could not put luggage on
because it could not get its plane of the ground because it had to put in more
fuel and fewer customers.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Albany.
Questions without Notice
Resumed
Mr
D.C. NALDER : The member has the right to a supplementary question. If
members listened to his whole question, they would have heard that he
criticised the government for putting Rex Airlines into service in Albany and
Esperance, so I am responding to that criticism. That is a fair enough
response.
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : I think the minister is very clear about what the question is—a
succinct answer, thank you.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : The member referred to a specific incident that I am not aware
of at this time. I have not been made aware of the specific —
Mr
P.B. Watson interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Albany! That is enough; I call you to order for the
first time.
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I beg your pardon?
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I call you to order for the third time.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : I am not even going to respond to that but if you want to
start attacking me personally, member for Warnbro, have some courage and stand
up to do it. Stop smirking behind those little seats.
The
SPEAKER : Through the Chair, a short answer.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : You are so brave, member for Warnbro.
The
SPEAKER : Through the Chair.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : Show some courage and a little of bit of integrity for a change.
The
SPEAKER : That is enough; a short answer through the Chair.
Mr
D.C. NALDER : If the member for Albany would like to share the details with
me, I will make sure that they are investigated and I will respond
appropriately.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.