EMIRATES AIRLINES

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:53): By way of supplementary question, where is Tiger's money? How much of that have you managed to recover from one of those marvellous—

The PRESIDENT: Order! Without information.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: —one of those marvellous entrepreneurial jobs you did and lost a heap of dough?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (14:54): It is not a supplementary—

The PRESIDENT: No, it wasn't a supplementary, so the minister can chuck it in the bin if she likes.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: That is where it deserves to go, but nevertheless I will make a couple of comments. It is obviously a matter with which the Treasurer is dealing. On 1 July the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) suspended Tiger Airways' operating licence and grounded all aircraft until an audit of its safety policies had been undertaken. A hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne was delayed several times because the CASA was not satisfied that Tiger had met conditions imposed on its air operator's certificate. The suspension was partly lifted in August 2011, and Tiger immediately recommenced albeit limited services between Melbourne and Sydney. No Tiger services have been resumed to Adelaide, which is what was underpinned in the agreement.

The SATC met with Tiger in August 2011, and the airline indicated that its initial route preference would be one daily service from Melbourne to Adelaide. The SATC has met with DTF and DMITRE regarding correspondence received from Tiger's lawyers concerning the aircraft base dispute. Discussions between DTF and Tiger are continuing, and we are obviously trying to achieve an acceptable outcome for our interests.