The Prime Minister is calling it "our ticket to recovery", but his proposal for half-price flights to regional locations across the country is having a rough take-off.
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Merimbula is among the destinations listed for the initial rollout of the rescue package announced on Thursday - in fact it's the only destination in all of NSW.
However, the government-subsidised tickets are only applicable to carriers on the the Melbourne-Merimbula route, not the busier Sydney route. And Avalon is the only location in Victoria, with the 800,000 flights favouring popular Queensland destinations, Alice Springs, and north-west Tasmania.
The package is part of a push by the federal government for state leaders to avoid snap lockdowns and border closures and give people confidence to book holidays.
However, NSW Labor's spokeswoman for Tourism and Investment Jenny Aitchison said the package was "simply inadequate" and left many NSW tourist towns that have been crying out for assistance "out in the cold".
The discounted flights will be available between April 1 and July 31, which includes Easter and school holidays around the country, with the 50 per cent discount to be on flights both to and from the destinations.
It's hoped the program will increase demand on the routes, increasing the number of flights running to the destinations.
Labor Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain welcomed the announcement, saying local tourism operators and the wider regional economy "have waited a long time for this very welcome news".
"Together we have lobbied hard for greater support and attention after two failed summers due to bushfires, COVID-19 and border closures," Ms McBain said on Thursday.
"I look forward to finding out more about this package and how it will roll out, and I welcome feedback from the local industry as it becomes a reality.
"The visitors who will come on the back of this initiative will have a great time in our beautiful environment and community, they will leave with a big smile, but more than that they will leave knowing that they have played their role in helping our community rebuild and recover."
While acknowledging the $1.2billion package will help the struggling aviation and regional tourism sectors transition past the end of the JobKeeper program, Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) said it offered nothing substantive to regional airports, many of which are struggling to survive.
"Local government has been given little direct financial support during Covid-19, apart from subsidies to help meet the costs of government-mandated security screening of passengers and freight," ALGA president Linda Scott said.
"Because of the rising costs of compliance, few regional airports came to this crisis in strong financial position.
"Nonetheless, they have waived landing fees and passenger levies for airline operators so their communities can continue to travel for work, health or education."
Merimbula-Eden Liberals president Scott Kennedy said he had "no doubt" the inclusion of flights from Melbourne to Merimbula was a result of the delegation of local businesses that met with the Treasurer and officials from Tourism Minister Dan Tehan's office on February 4.
"I am very grateful to members of the delegation and they deserve great credit in bringing this benefit to the region.," he said, reiterating they were not aligned to the Liberal Party.
"The Morrison government has taken on board the delegation's clear message that tourism is critical to the local economy, heavily reliant on visitors from Victoria and that there is the need for tourism support after two difficult summers.
"Although the inclusion of the route in the aviation package is not direct funding to the businesses impacted by the NYE border closure, it does provide a strong leg-up for tourism to the Sapphire Coast to boost visitation following Easter until the end of July.
"I expect that accommodation, hospitality, entertainment, recreation and retail will all be winners over this period as a result of the flights to Merimbula," Mr Kennedy said.
Both Qantas and Regional Express operate a service between Merimbula and Melbourne (Avalon) and the BDN was awaiting a statement from Rex at the time of going to print.