Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Rex Airlines Rex Airlines The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN Legislative Council Rex Airlines The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:31): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Leave granted. The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN Legislative Council The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Members would have heard reports that Rex Airlines is cutting back services to Mount Gambier, the only airline that provides services to us up there and an important avenue to help tourists travel to the South-East. Can the minister explain why he has failed to advocate to retain the Rex services to Mount Gambier? The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY Legislative Council Minister for Trade The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:31): I thank the honourable member for her question. The Minister for Regional Development has been taking up the cause on behalf of South Australian taxpayers and the South Australian community. The Hon. R.I. Lucas Legislative Council The Hon. R.I. Lucas: We're a team. The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY Legislative Council The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: As my colleague the Leader of the Government interjects, we are a team. The Hon. Tim Whetstone has been doing that, and we do not like to double up. I haven't had an update from him from what I saw yesterday, which was that he was uncertain of Rex's reason for scaling back their services other than perhaps that they were struggling to find pilots and staff. If there is more information that I can get from the Hon. Tim Whetstone, I will be happy to bring that back to the member.