Transport Minister will not meet with individual Rex bidders

“I can’t, for probity reasons, meet with them. I have met with their peak body [the RAAA] before, I meet with them regularly, but I can’t meet with individual airlines who may be bidders in terms of Rex itself,” said Minister King.

“The department’s been meeting with potential bidders all the way along, and that’s been happening. That’s been happening all the way along. But I can’t meet with them because this is now a process where the Government will step in with some support, and we will need to treat every single bidder exactly the same.

“I don’t know who those are going to be, so I can’t meet with individual potential bidders, and I really welcome that there are airlines wanting to do that.”

Several of Rex’s smaller regional rivals, such as Skytrans and Hinterland Aviation, have previously suggested they could take over some of the larger carrier’s routes if Rex is liquidated, with Skytrans saying it has been left in “limbo” over whether to move in on those markets.

Rob Walker, CEO of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia, has urged the government to keep its members in mind during the sale process.

“RAAA airline members look forward to being provided an opportunity to work with Government and the administrators as part of an upcoming competitive sale process by providing industry knowledge, and a range of options and potential solutions,” he said.

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“Many RAAA member airlines already operate on the same routes with similar sized regional aircraft. We believe that we can collectively provide real industry-led solutions for the Government and help secure the future viability and sustainability of aviation support for regional and remote communities.

“We ask the Government to continue to consider all regional airline operators during the REX sale process. Providing services to regional and remote communities continues to be challenging for all operators, and the potential government ownership of one regional airline could lead to an inequitable situation across the regional aviation industry.”

According to Minister King, the Government is looking to keep regional routes open “from the first principles of policy”.

“We want to keep them flying and we want to make sure they’re viable, not just in the short term but in the longer term as well, which is why we think the second sale process won’t be successful without government support, and that’s why we’ve got this process now in place,” she said.

“Different bidders will come forward and say, you know, we will buy the airline if you do X, Y and Z. And that is the competitive tension that needs to happen as part of this second sale process.

“We will have to look at what someone is bringing to the table and what is the best value for taxpayer money; where we’re going to be able to keep as many of the routes going as possible – I want to keep all of them going if we can.”