The discussion was had at a meeting hosted by the Legislative Council’s Standing Committee on State Development after the Moree council was asked to make a submission as part of an inquiry into regional air services.

Councillor Humphries said the airport was convenient for the many locals who used the Moree/Sydney service to attend medical and business appointments, as it was only 40 minutes into the city.

She said it was important Moree was able to continue using the current airport, rather than the new one being built in western Sydney as it would take too long to travel to appointments.

Another key subject discussed yesterday was the “horrific” Brindabella saga.

“I think this has been a timely inquiry and we can only learn from the debacle that was Brindabella,” Cr Humphries said.

“From first-hand experience, if it ain’t broken then don’t fix it. We had a reliable air service for over 20 years and three months into Brindabella being awarded the tender, the wheels started falling off,” she said.

Cr Humphries expressed her concerns about the responsibility of who chose time slots to fly into Mascot airport.

When Brindabella went into receivership KordaMentha, as administrators, were handed that responsibility, despite Qantas supplying a relief service, because time slots remain with the contract regardless of who the license holder is.

“The inquiry should look into the time slots and who takes the responsibility when something like this happens. They have to stay with the bush because the time slots are vital for the community and should be maintained and owned by them,” she said.

Chairman of the meeting, Richard Colless, said the issues of time slots had previously been brought to the attention of the committee during the inquiry.

Another issue raised by Cr Humphries and general manager David Aber was the lack of inclusion the Department of Transport had with locals when the tender was open for the Moree/Sydney route.

Committee members asked the two what the process was, and how the council was involved.

“We were asked to write a letter to the Department of Transport highlighting a few things the community would like out of an air service and in the letter I described a Dash-8 aircraft without blatantly saying it, but that was all until the decision was made,” Mr Aber said.

Cr Humphries and Mr Aber agreed a long-term partnership with an airline and a council was beneficial for the local community.

They also agreed there should be direct links with Department of Transport and a council when a tender process was underway.

Mr Aber highlighted the loss of $200,000 from the airport reserves as a result of Brindabella’s collapse, and said the council had never been interested in making a profit out of the airport.

“In the time I’ve been with council the landing fees have not changed, and all of the money earned from the running of the airport has gone into the reserves,” he said.

Cr Humphries told the committee she thought the hub and spoke idea could work, and said it was practical.

When asked by a committee member how the council thought the hub and spoke could run, and what aircraft could be used, Cr Humphries and Mr Aber said a 30-seater would be suffice. 

“The issue is members of the community said they won’t travel on a single engine aircraft on a commercial basis,” Mr Colless said.

A committee member said during the inquiry, different airlines expressed their frustration with councils over-developing their airport, and asked as part of council’s master plan had they consulted with their local airline.

“We spoke to Qantas last week and have set-up a meeting with them to discuss the plan,” Mr Aber said.

The submission also included key points such as the cost of airport access, financial management, economic impacts and the potential for development which were also discussed by Mr Aber and Cr Humphries.

Mr Colless thanked the council for the comprehensive submission and said he understood the trauma they faced during the Brindabella collapse. “Because of the timing of the inquiry, we watched the event closely,” he said.