05january2015

MON 05 JANUARY 2015

Mediaportal Report

Cairns is caught in the middle of a price war between budget airlines. A limited number o...30 Dec 2014 6:13 PMSeven Cairns, Cairns, Seven Local News, Rob Brough and Joanne Desmond

Duration: 1 min 35 secs • ASR AUD 1,254 • QLD • Australia • Company Radio & TV • ID: M00060108035

Cairns is caught in the middle of a price war between budget airlines. A limited number of Tigerair flights between Cairns and Brisbanewent on sale today for $20, according to Adam Rowe, Commercial Director, Tigerair. This came just days after Jetstar released itsown end-of-year sales, including $69 one-way tickets to Brisbane or the Gold Coast. Kevin Brown, Cairns Airport CEO says this trendis set to continue.

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Interviewees

Adam Rowe, Commercial Director, Tigerair|Kevin Brown, Cairns Airport CEO

Hold the bug spray, these ants are welcome01 Jan 2015Gold Coast Sun - Central, Gold Coast QLD, Regional Changes - South

Page 8 • 268 words • ASR AUD 1,016Photo: Yes • Type: News Item • Size: 248.00 cm² • QLD • Australia • Sponsorship Press • ID: 357355169

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Airport adds fresh routes01 Jan 2015Gold Coast Sun - Central, Gold Coast QLD, Regional Changes - South

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Bird strike diverts plane01 Jan 2015Courier Mail, Brisbane, General News

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Helipad gives a lift to the region01 Jan 2015Gold Coast Sun - Central, Gold Coast QLD, Regional Changes - South



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I WHOLEHEARTEDLY01 Jan 2015Gold Coast Sun - Central, Gold Coast QLD, Regional Changes - South



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New Year brings plenty of promise for business sector01 Jan 2015Gold Coast Sun - Central, Gold Coast QLD, Regional Changes - South



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Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has delivered on nearly all of his election promises, ...01 Jan 2015 5:43 PMChannel 9 Gold Coast, Gold Coast North, Gold Coast News, Carrie-anne Greenbank

Duration: 1 min 14 secs • ASR AUD 2,146 • QLD • Australia • Issues Radio & TV • ID: M00060126547

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has delivered on nearly all of his election promises, including extending the free seniors travel trial,keeping water increases down, absorbing Commonwealth Games debts, improving the town's credit rating a year early and creatingthe Gold Coast Cultural Precinct. Tate did not deliver on two election promises - turn left on red and the cruise ship terminal - whichhe says are Qld Government issues he is still working on. Tate would next like to focus on Gold Coast economic growth.

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Interviewees

Tom Tate, Gold Coast Mayor

Also broadcast from the following 1 station

Juice 107.3 (Gold Coast)

Centralians look back and ahead02 Jan 2015Centralian Advocate, Alice Springs NT, General News

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Additional flights helped to boost airport's profile02 Jan 2015Centralian Advocate, Alice Springs NT, General News

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As bilateral restrictions bite, Australia’s secondary airports have an opportunity to bloom02 Jan 2015 8:00 AMCentre for Asia Pacific Aviation

4112 words • ASR AUD 222,861 • Internet • ID: 357346325

© CAPA

The withdrawal of regularly scheduled international Qantas services from Perth is giving reason for the Western Australian capital tosuggest bilateral air service agreement caps should not apply to it, allowing Perth to grow in the absence...

Read on source website

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SKYTRANS NOSE DIVE03 Jan 2015Weekend Post, Cairns, General News

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Regional carrier in crash landing03 Jan 2015Courier Mail, Brisbane, General News, Anthony Marx



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Optimism for business year03 Jan 2015Weekend Post, Cairns, General News, Nick Dalton



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Luxury homes lead revival03 Jan 2015Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin, Gold Coast, General News, Connor O'Brien



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Flight finale for Skytrans03 Jan 2015Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin, Gold Coast, General News



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Skytrans collapse cuts off the Cape04 Jan 2015Sun Herald, Sydney, Regional Changes Qld, Cameron Atfield

Page 1 • 768 words • ASR AUD 14,854Photo: Yes • Type: News Item • Size: 348.00 cm² • NSW • Australia • Company Press • ID: 357750138


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Brisbane West Wellcamp airport plans to go international this year04 Jan 2015Sun Herald, Sydney, Regional Changes Qld

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Badgerys airport plan threatens mountains heritage04 Jan 2015Sun Herald, Sydney, General News, Kirsty Needham

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Guests on the Coast deserve a lot better05 Jan 2015Gold Coast Bulletin, Gold Coast QLD, General News



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Airport plan requires more land, says expert05 Jan 2015Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, General News, Tom Allard

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Concern over cost of flying to coast05 Jan 2015North West Star, Mount Isa QLD , General News



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Regional Express grabs Skytrans routes05 Jan 2015Australian Financial Review, Australia, Companies and Markets, Jamie Freed

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In training for Chinese New Year05 Jan 2015Cairns Post, Cairns QLD, General News



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Cairns businesses fear cost of Skytrans collapse05 Jan 2015Courier Mail, Brisbane, Business News, Glen Norris And Sarah Vogler



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Skytrans collapse blamed on LNP05 Jan 2015Cairns Post, Cairns QLD, General News, Scott Forbes



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FLYING INTO THE GAP05 Jan 2015Cairns Post, Cairns QLD, General News, Shannon Power



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Airline blow to mining05 Jan 2015North West Star, Mount Isa QLD , General News, Chris Burns



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NO WAY HOME05 Jan 2015Sunshine Coast Daily, Maroochydore QLD, General News, Roxanne McCarty-O'Kane



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BULLY SOAPBOX05 Jan 2015Townsville Bulletin, Townsville QLD, General News



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Wing and a prayer05 Jan 2015Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth NSW, General News, Ross Tyson

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Skytrans pull-out to hit hard05 Jan 2015North West Star, Mount Isa QLD , General News, Chris Burns

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Moves to cover loss of Cape York air services05 Jan 2015North West Star, Mount Isa QLD , General News

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West Wing starts temporary air routes in north05 Jan 2015Courier Mail, Brisbane, Edition Changes



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Collapsed Skytrans hit trouble in 201105 Jan 2015The Australian, Australia , Business News, Anthony Klan

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Hold the bug spray, these ants are welcomeANTS would normally be un-wanted visitors at a picnic, butBleach Festival organisershave thrown out the welcomepicnic rug to some special in-sects who will be ‘bugging’ nextyear’s event.

Planning for the annual fes-tival, from March 6-22, is welladvanced and will see activitiesrun the length of the GoldCoast.

The program will feature an

inspiring and entertainingfeast of Australia’s best con-temporary theatre, music andvisual arts catering to all agesand tastes on three weekends.

During Bleach 2015, theArts Centre Gold Coast will

become headquarters for aspecial juniors program full ofimaginative, whimsical andheartwarming children’s ac-tivities from March 20-22.

Giant ants from the Poly-

glot Theatre will create theirown surreal style of perform-ance and initiate large-scaleinteraction with kids at specialperformances during theBleach Jnr weekend.

The human-sized ants willinvade the Arts Centre GoldCoast, but there will be no needto break out the bug spray –these insects are bound to be-come crowd favourites as theyencourage kids to watch, learn

and participate in many activi-

ties. The ants will take overpublic spaces in search of food,intent on their task, barely no-ticing what is going on aroundthem, inviting the kids to jointhem in their multiple tasks.

The Bleach Festival coin-cides with the Quiksilver andRoxy Pro.

For more about the fullBleach program, check outbleachfestival.com.au

Bleach Festival managing producer Jo Thomas gets to know one of the many giant ants which will interact with patrons at the 2015 Bleach Festival, which will come to life on the Gold Coast in March. Picture: REGI VARGHESE

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Gold Coast Sun - Central, Gold Coast QLD01 Jan 2015

Regional Changes - South, page 8 - 248.00 cm²Regional - circulation 170,949 (--W----)

ID 357355169 PAGE 1 of 1

Airport adds fresh routesTWEED and Gold Coasterswill now be able to spread theirwings east and west with newservices announced from GoldCoast Airport.

From March 29, Jetstar willprovide a direct service to NadiInternational Airport in Fiji, aswell as direct services to Perth.

Gold Coast Airport chiefoperating officer David Collinssaid the new Fiji service wouldprove popular from an out-bound perspective.

“Fiji is a great internationaltravel destination, particularlyfor couples and families whoare looking for a relaxing get-away that is only about fourhours’ flight time away,” hesaid.

The Nadi announcementfollows on the back of Jetstarcommencing services to Well-ington and Queenstown andcomes a week after the airlineannounced direct services toPerth from the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast-Nadi ser-vice will operate three times aweek using an Airbus A320.

The service adds more than50,000 seats a year into andout of Gold Coast Airport.

Mr Collins said airportmanagement had also beenworking with the airlines to re-instate the service to Perth.

“Market conditions haveimproved considerably sincethis route was suspended in2013,” he said.

Jetstar will operate up to sixovernight services a week.

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ID 357355150 PAGE 1 of 1

Bird strike diverts planeA TIGER Airways planebound for Sydney from Cairnswas yesterday forced to makean unplanned landing at Bris-bane Airport.

Tiger Airways flight TT677is believed to have been struckby a bird which caused inter-ference.

Airline spokesman SimonMurphy said that bird strikeswere regular occurrences inaviation and the plane’s pilotsalways have a contingencyprocess they are obliged to fol-low in those circumstances.

“It will have been diverted

waapl

(to Brisbane) as a safety proto-col,” Mr Murphy said.

The flight took off fromCairns just after 10am and wasscheduled to land in Sydney at2pm local time.

Mr Murphy said it was like-ly the bird hit an engine orwindscreen.

He apologised to travellerson the flight for the delay.

In 2010 a Tiger Airwaysflight from Brisbane to Rock-hampton returned to Brisbaneafter it was struck by a bird.

Passengers were forced towait eight hours.

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Courier Mail, Brisbane01 Jan 2015

General News, page 3 - 63.00 cm²Capital City Daily - circulation 167,172 (MTWTFS-)

ID 357266004 PAGE 1 of 1

Helipad gives a lift to the regionTOURISM on the southernGold Coast is set to take off –literally – with the completionof the Kirra Groyne helipad.

Gold Coast Mayor TomTate said the helipad was partof the city’s Destination Tour-ism Management Plan, whichhighlighted the need to bringnew tourism products and ex-periences to the table.

Cr Tate said the helipadwould have the capacity to ser-vice tourism during majorevents and emergency opera-tions.

“We’ve already seen stronginterest in using the helipad forevents in the precinct such asthe Cooly Rocks On festival.

“Operators can apply for anaircraft operations licence onour website with no appli-cation charge for businessesthat operate from premiseswithin the city under our ‘nofees’ initiative.”

“Since developing the heli-pad concept just six monthsago, we’ve completed re-profil-ing works on the groyne toallow helicopters to land safe-ly,” Cr Tate said.

“Other landing spots on thesouthern Gold Coast’s fore-shore may be investigated de-pending on the helipad’ssuccess.”

The helipad is at the end ofthe Kirra Groyne.

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ID 357355170 PAGE 1 of 1

I WHOLEHEARTEDLYagree with the comments re air traffic noise from Murray Hill, Sun (4/12), except his thanks to Airservices Australia, who I think couldn’t give a “brass razoo” for those people living under the flight paths that they supposedly monitor.

I also live at Banora Pointand cop the incessant amount of planes arriving and departing from Gold Coast Airport and yes the planes are now flying lower than they have in the past.

I would like to know whoAirservices Australia is? Is it a bunch of people who are amateurs when it comes to a fair distribution of noise which is shared by everybody, & not just us poor suckers who currently are bombarded day and night?

It would be great if BanoraEast took some of the load!

There’s no need pussy-footing around the subject, so why doesn’t ASA do it’s job of sharing the noise among us all?

R BYRNEBanora Point

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ID 357356520 PAGE 1 of 1

New Year brings plenty of promise for business sector

As 2014 draws to a close the Southern Gold Coast Chamber of

Commerce can report some very positive indicators for our business sector coming into 2015.

Business confidence is on the rise with several new businesses opening in Coolangatta and Kirra over the past 12 months – completion of high-rise developments such as Sanbano apartment building in Coolangatta and Pure Apartment Building in Kirra, upgrading of Coolangatta Surf Club,

The Strand and ‘Beach House Commercial Plaza’ shopping centres.

In 2015 we will see redevelopmentof Kirra Hotel.

The Centre Improvement Project that has already commenced and will continue in 2015 will upgrade Griffith

Street from Mclean through to Warner Streets.

2014 brought success too for the wonderful events and festivals held on the southern Gold Coast – Cooly Rocks On (Bronze Winner at the recent Queensland Tourism Awards), Bleach, Opera on the Beach, Swell, Quicksilver Pro, Coolangatta Gold and Tugun Lights Up.

Awards aplenty with Rainbow Bayreceiving The 2014 QLD Cleanest Beach Award and Currumbin RSL 2014 Queensland’s Best Club Award.

Capitalising on 2014 achievementsand leading up to the Commonwealth Games being held on the Gold Coast in 2018, the new year will see the Chamber support the launch of an exciting new Customer Experience Program that will focus on how they can provide exceptional service and raise the bar for the total visitor experience.

The program has been created by aRegistered Training Organisation based in Coolangatta and will be

offered first to southern Gold Coast businesses.

Without giving too much away all Iwill say is ... southern Gold Coast ... it’s our turn to shine!

As our ‘peak season’ commences Iencourage you to embrace visitors to our town, showcase your business, offer excellent customer service and give them every reason to want to come back for another holiday. On behalf of the Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce, Happy New Year to all.

Gail O’Neill is the president of theSouthern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce

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ID 357355182 PAGE 1 of 1

Centralians look back and aheadA number of town identitieswere asked about their high-lights from 2014 and theirgoals and resolutions for 2015.

Some were personal, whilemany had hopes for the futureof the town.

Here are their responses:Alice Springs Airport gen-

eral manager David Batic:His highlight was the Alice

Springs Airport winning thenational ‘Major Airport of theYear’ for its innovative solarexpansion project.

Mr Batic’s goal is to ensurethe airport continues to workwith its airline partners to giveits customers more service op-tions and improve their travel-ling experience.

“Through my various elec-ted roles I resolve to work to-wards continuous improve-ment of tourism and localeconomic development for thecommunity,” he said.

Old Telegraph Stationtourism manager DaleMcIver:

Her highlight is the fact thatlocals have started enjoyingthe space.

“We’ve enjoyed seeing thatgrow this year,” she said.

“A personal goal for me is tocompete in my first cyclingcompetition. And trying tospend more time with friends.”

YMCA chief executive JessKarlsson:

“Aligning a lot of our strate-gies with our vision of provid-ing opportunities for each andevery person to be happy,healthy and connected was ahighlight.

“Personally, placing fourthin the National Australia BodyBuilding Association’s Wom-en’s Figures competition.

“To continue growingYMCA of Central Australia,expanding more into special-ised programs. I’ll continuecompeting as well.

“I don’t believe in NewYear’s resolutions as such. Ithink that goals should bemade continually.’’

Araluen Cultural Precinctdirector Tim Rollason:

His highlight was thechooky dancers, which actu-ally opened the program lastyear.

“Well 2015 we are startingthe new cabaret festival ...which is in August, so that’sgoing to be a highlight for Ara-luen,” Mr Rollason said.

“I don’t make New Year’sresolutions. Life is too fluid forsetting things in stone.”

Reptile Centre’s RexNeindorf:

“I think the highlight as faras tourism went was Tigerairflying to Alice Springs, until itstopped,” Mr Neindorf said.

“We have a lot of goals. Per-sonally, it’s a family goal, nowthat we’ve got two young kids.

“We are looking forward tohaving lots of family time withthe kids.”

“There’s certainly a coupleof work resolutions. We wantto do the building works thatwe’ve got planned, we want togive the place a facelift andwe’d like to see that done in thefirst half of the year.”

The Dirty Word Poetry’sLaurie May:

“Obviously the Red DirtPoetry Festival was a hugehighlight of the year,” Ms Maysaid.

Her goal is to get funding torun more community poetryprojects and workshops foryoung Territorians.

“I’ve never been very goodat resolutions,’’ she said.

Disability advocate Mi-chele Castagna:

There have been a couple ofhighlights for Ms Castagna.She was nominated for a cou-ple of awards and although she

did not reach the finals, thefact people appreciated herwork was humbling,

“Well, I’ve finally made agoal. My biggest goal and chal-lenge to stick to is that I intendto retire from work officially atthe end of May,” she said.

Being more creative is defi-

nitely on her list of resolutions– including developing as a wa-tercolour artist.

Musician Jacinta Price: “The highlights for 2014 in-

clude touring from Darwin toBroome for my album DryRiver and showcasing in Tam-worth, Adelaide, Brisbane,Darwin and Melbourne,” shesaid.

“Keep my fitness up for thewomen’s footy season, createnew recordings, continuing tobring good health to kids allover Australia with Yamba theHoneyant are my goals.”

Her resolution is to cutdown on Colin’s trifle.

Mayor Damien Ryan: “The big highlight I saw was

the Asbuild Colour Smashevent, I thought it was a terrificevent,” Mr Rayna said.

“ I enjoyed the reaction ofpeople from the ChristmasCarnival too.

“My resolution is to bebetter with my timemanagement.”

NT Parks and WildlifeMinister Bess Price

A highlight was workingwith the Australian Ambassa-dor for Women and Children,and chair of the Foundation toPrevent Violence againstWomen and their Children,Natasha Stott-Despoja,” MsPrice said.

“For 2015 I am really look-ing forward to continuing thatwork, as well as engaging withour communities and themen’s advisory group.”

Town Council chief execu-

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Centralian Advocate, Alice Springs NT02 Jan 2015

General News, page 5 - 515.00 cm²Regional - circulation 5,257 (-T--F--)

ID 357314671 PAGE 1 of 2

tive Rex MooneyThe community spirit being

alive and well in 2014 was ahighlight for Mr Mooney.

His goal is to see continuedeconomic growth in AliceSprings, and for the town toreach its full potential.

David Batic

Dale McIver

Jess Karlsson

Tim Rollason

Rex Neindorf

Laurie May

Michele Castagna

Jacinta Price

Damien Ryan

Bess Price

Rex Mooney

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ID 357314671 PAGE 2 of 2

Additional flights helpedto boost airport’s profileTHE Alice Springs Airport was flyinghigh in November.

It was a good end to the year after Tig-erair ceased flights to Alice Springs earli-er in the year.

Virgin Australia announced flightswould begin between Alice Springs andAdelaide three times a week, beginningin March 2015.

The route was unveiled a month afterthe company said it would operate flightsto Darwin from Central Australia.

“The Adelaide to Alice Springs routehas effectively been a monopoly for near-ly a decade and Virgin Australia isdelighted to bring choice and competit-ion to these cities,” Virgin Australia chief

commercial officer Judith Cromptonsaid. “The new flights will support localbusinesses and tourism operators as theycontinue to promote all that Adelaideand Alice Springs have to offer.”

On the back of the Virgin announce-ment, the airport was named the MajorAirport of the Year at the NationalAirport Industry Awards.

It was awarded the title for its $2 mil-lion investment in solar panels to offsetoperational costs.

“These awards demonstrate the valueof investing in forward-thinking projectsthat have benefits for our airports andour community,” airport manager DavidBatic said.

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ID 357314404 PAGE 1 of 1

SKYTRANSNOSE DIVEAirline grounded with 66 staff made redundant

LOCAL aviation icon Skytranshas officially been grounded.

The airline’s final flight ar-rived back into Cairns fromKowanyama at 1.15pm yester-day, its doors closing immedi-ately just one day aftercelebrating its 25th anniversa-

ry. Sixty-six staff were maderedundant.

Skytrans managing directorSimon Wild said it was a diffi-cult decision but he wanted todo the right thing by staff.

“The big decider has beenexchange rate with the Aussie

dollar predicted to fall as low as75 cents – anything below 88 isnot good for us,” Mr Wild said.

“There is no option to moveforward with this business withthe US dollar the way it is.”

CONTINUED PAGE 4

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Weekend Post, Cairns03 Jan 2015

General News, page 1 - 632.00 cm²Regional - circulation 33,034 (-----S-)

ID 357502022 PAGE 1 of 2

SKYTRANS GROUNDEDCompany makes decision while there’s still money to pay staff

FROM FRONT PAGE“We didn’t want to burn up

our cash, we wanted to make adecision now and look afterour staff and make sure wecould pay them.

“It’s a sad day, but peopleunderstood it was a challeng-ing period for us. We are asmall company and we’ve allworked well together.”

Mr Wild said he had ad-vised regulatory bodies, politi-cians and business peoplebefore posting a public state-ment on the company's web-site. Skytrans management’sdecision to close its doorsmeans the company is still sol-vent and has not been forcedinto voluntary administration.

Information for affectedpassengers is available on theSkytrans website.

The company’s trading dif-ficulties were compounded

when the State Governmentaxed its three Gulf of Carpen-taria and western Queenslandcontracts with Skytrans andawarded them to Sydney-based company Rex Aviation.

In October 2014 Skytransemployed 187 people but by theend of November that numberhad been reduced to just 66.

Cairns Chamber of Com-merce chief executive DebHancock blamed the StateGovernment.

“Their buy local policy isjust words, it’s a slap in the faceto locals and we’ve now seen187 staff pay that price,” shesaid. “There’s millions of dol-lars in wages that will nolonger be paid to employeesacross the Far North.

“That money will no longerbe spent in our region andthere will be many businesses

that can no longer rely on the

servicing contracts they hadwith Skytrans.

“There are issues aroundthe State Government’s pro-curement processes. Skytranshad delivered on the StateGovernment’s contract for atleast five years with full com-pliance and satisfaction.”

Leichhardt MP WarrenEntsch agreed on both counts.

“I disagreed with the State

Government’s decision at thetime and I still question thesensibility of it, I would havepreferred it to go to Skytrans,”he said.

“However, in talking to thefamily it seems the fallingvalue of the Australian dollarwas most to blame.

“Right up until the end theyhave put their customers andtheir staff ahead of everythingelse. As corporate citizens Idon’t think there’d be anyonein this city that’s been as gener-ous as Skytrans – they stood upbehind the Taipans and gotthem back on their feet. It’s atragedy to lose them.”

Chamber of Commerce andIndustry Queensland FarNorth policy chairman BrettMoller blamed tough econ-omic times and called on thegovernment to do more toboost local business confi-

dence. “I wouldn’t like to pre-empt that (losing contracts)was the sole reason, the airlineindustry is very competitiveand Skytrans has been punch-ing above its weight for a longtime,” he said.

“I guess the message is thatwhile trends have been posi-tive it shows now and again

many businesses are strugglingand that’s why we’ve got to im-prove consumer confidence.”

Advance Cairns chiefexecutive Mark Matthewscalled on local businesses torally around redundant Sky-trans employees to help getthem into work.

“Broadly speaking the re-gion has been saying that thehigh cost of the Australian dol-lar had been damaging localbusiness, but that obviouslydoesn’t ring true for all busi-nesses,” he said. “I applaud

Simon Wild in the way he’smanaged to make responsibledecisions to pay creditors andstaff ... we hope businesses willlook at how they can supportthe people affected by these re-dundancies.”

Transport Workers UnionQueensland Branch secretaryPeter Biagini said it was disap-pointing but unsurprising.

“When the governmentgave the contract to a southerncompany, we said then therewould be job losses because thecompany was based in NewSouth Wales and (the govern-ment) said there wouldn’t,’’ hesaid. “Well, at the end of theday, if you haven’t got enoughwork – that Queensland workwas probably enough to keepthem going – then jobs aregoing to be lost.”

Cairns MP Gavin King wasuncontactable yesterday.

OVER: Skytrans has folded.

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Weekend Post, Cairns03 Jan 2015


ID 357502022 PAGE 2 of 2

Regionalcarrier in crash landing

Last flight for SkytransANTHONY MARX

EMBATTLED regionalQueensland airline Skytranshas succumbed to tough econ-omic conditions and ceasedtrading after carrying its lastpassengers yesterday.

In a blow to the aviationsector, the demise of the fam-ily-owned Cairns business isexpected to catch customersunaware and make travellingto Cape York much more diffi-cult.

The airline, which celebra-ted its 25th anniversary onNew Year’s Day, laid off 121staff in November after losinga key government contract toservice two routes.

The exchange rate of theAustralian dollar also playedhavoc with its business modelsince the majority of its costsare in US dollars.

Managing director SimonWild (pictured) said late yes-

terday he would seek legal andfinancial advice over the nextfew days but a resumption offlights in the short to mediumterm was unlikely.

Talks with potential inves-tors proved fruitless and theState Government has been in-formed, he said.

“This is not only a sad dayfor the business, but more im-portantly, for our staff and in-deed the passengers andcommunities of north Queens-land,’’ Mr Wild said.

The remaining 67 staff have

been made redundant and allstaff entitlements, valued atmore than $4 million, havebeen paid.

Mr Wild declined to sayhow much cash on hand theairline had or how much wasowed to unsecured creditorsbut he vowed that all debtswould be paid.

“We have a healthy bank

balance and can meet all ourlawful current obligations,’’ hesaid.

“Skytrans is fortunate to bein a position such that it canconduct an orderly wind-downof the business.’’

The airline owned or leasedeight Bombardier Dash 8 air-craft, a twin-engine plane thatcarries 36 passengers.

Mr Wild said other airlinesentering the market, risingcosts, cutbacks in governmentspending and the state of thebroader economy had alsoplayed a part in his decision tostop trading.

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Courier Mail, Brisbane03 Jan 2015, by Anthony Marx


ID 357475766 PAGE 1 of 1

Optimism for business yearRegion’s economic outlook positive

NICK DALTON

THE business community hasbegun the year on a positivenote, expecting 2015 to providecommerce and industry withcontinued improvement.

Herron Todd White re-search director Rick Carr saidthat the pace of growth lastyear had slackened as the yearprogressed.

But, he said, the city hadalso ended 2014 in a strongereconomic position than at theend of 2013.

Mr Carr said the pace ofeconomic recovery slowed dueto slower growth in tourismand continuing weakness inthe labour market.

“Nevertheless the mood re-mains positive,” he said.

His December Cairns-Watch report said on the jobsfront it was difficult to assessbecause of volatile AustralianBureau of Statistics data.

“However, it is now appar-ent that the Cairns regionalemployment trend has been

turning down in recentmonths,” Mr Carr said.

“Our tenuous assessment isthat the Cairns region’s unem-ployment rate is back on therise, with the November rateincreasing to 8.4 per cent whenanalysed in trend terms.”

Mr Carr said Cairns Airportdomestic terminal passenger

remained only on a slightly ris-ing trend, but continued tostand at near record levels.

“However, internationalterminal passenger volumeshave slowed, with a 9.1 per centtrend decrease fromNovember 2013 to November2014,” he said.

Mr Carr said property pri-ces and volumes had continu-ing to creep up in the last twoto three years, with a medianprice of $393,300, up 6.5 percent over the last 12 months,while September quarter salevolumes were 46 per centhigher than a three years ago.

Building approvals had in-creased by 23 per cent since thestart of 2014.

Chamber of Commerce andIndustry Queensland presi-dent Brett Moller said thelatest CairnsWatch indicated aconsolidation phase.

“Job vacancies appear staticand airport tourism numbersare down slightly but hotel oc-cupancy rates and returns,property prices and buildingapprovals are all strengthen-ing, which is pleasing,” he said.

“There is momentum build-ing and with the Aussie dollarfalling and interest rates lowand possibly reducing further,these fundamentals are con-ducive to improvements in the

tourism, agricultural andmanufacturing industries andwe should be looking to 2015with confidence.”

Advance Cairns chiefexecutive Mark Matthews saidcontinued signs of recoveryand growth heralded “an opti-mistic and opportune 2015”.

“Despite the challenging la-bour market, the Cairns regionhas performed better than thenational average,” he said.

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Weekend Post, Cairns03 Jan 2015, by Nick Dalton


ID 357503475 PAGE 1 of 1

Luxury homes lead revivalConfidence returns to top end of the market

CONNOR O’BRIEN

CONNOR.O’[email protected]

HAVING experienced an en-couraging upswing in 2014, op-timism is growing for furthergains in the Gold Coast’s lux-ury property market this year.

Based on CoreLogic RPData figures, the top 10 biggestsales for 2014 accumulated toan impressive combined totalof more than $63 million, withseven dream homes sellingabove the $5 million mark.

In a sign of widespread im-provement, the top-10 listcomprised nine different sub-urbs stretching from Hope Is-land to Tallebudgera.

Surfers Paradise took outthe top spot through the sale ofthe spectacular $8.7 millionmansion at 60 AdmiraltyDrive, sold by Lucy Cole Pres-tige Properties.

Managing director LucyCole said the results reflected alift in confidence in the GoldCoast market.

“We have the 2018 Com-monwealth Games coming up,the tourism market has im-proved substantially, interestrates are low and there hasbeen a rash of major projectscompleted or started on theGold Coast,’’ she said.

“As a result of the risingconfidence in the region, thedemand for upper-end proper-ties has jumped during the past

12 months.”Ms Cole expects the top-

end market to flourish oncemore in 2015 and nominated ahandful of central areas asthose to keep an eye on.

“I believe the hottest areaswill be Paradise Waters, theTSS precinct in Southport,Sorrento and the Isle of Capri,”she said.

Ray White Surfers ParadiseCEO Andrew Bell agreed theluxury market was in the boxseat for a strong 2015 as it final-ly recovered from the depths ofthe post-GFC era.

“Demand for prestigebeachfront apartments dra-matically intensified in the sec-ond half of 2014,” he said.

“A lot of the people pur-chasing these types of proper-ties are lifestyle investors – ie,people who use the homes as

lock-and-leave holiday homes.They were in no hurry to buywhen conditions were on adownward trajectory but nowtheir motivation is improving.”

Mr Bell said the region hadprojects such as the Common-wealth Games and the lightrail system to thank for the im-proving conditions.

“All this improves our cityas a lifestyle destination, par-ticularly for interstate andoverseas investors,” he said.

The prestige market looksset to start the year in style,with a number of propertieslisted at $5 million or above.

Among the highest pricedare two $9 million options: theMermaid Beach mansion at 1-5Surf St and a deluxe MainBeach apartment at 32/26Breaker St.

Several more top-end prop-erties will go under the ham-mer during Ray White’s megaauction day on January 25 atthe Gold Coast Turf Club.

Among those lined up forauction are two extravagantSoul apartments, large water-front homes in Runaway Bayand Southport, and a Circle onCavill unit.

TOP 10 GOLD COAST SALES FOR 20141. 60 Admiralty Drive, Surfers Paradise —$8.7 million2. 72-74 The Sovereign Mile, Paradise Point — $7.25 million3. 26 Marseille Court, Bundall — $7.22 million4. 49 Tallebudgera Connection Rd, Tallebudgera —$7.2 million5. 277-279 Monaco St, Broadbeach Waters — $6.1 million 6. 63/7309 Bayside Close, Hope Island — $6.1 million7. 4/3511 Main Beach Pde, Main Beach — $5.75 million8. 4901/1 Oracle Blvd, Broadbeach — $4.99 million9. 61 Balyando Drive, Nerang — $4.88 million10. 11 Westminster Court, Paradise Point — $4.8 million

Source: CoreLogic RP Data

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Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin, Gold Coast03 Jan 2015, by Connor O'Brien


ID 357515065 PAGE 1 of 2

60 Admiralty Drive, Paradise Waters, sold for $8.7 million through Lucy Cole Prestige Properties.

72 The Sovereign Mile sold for $7.25m.

The $7.22m Bartinon at 26 Marseille Court.

The $7.2m 49 Tallebudgera Connection Rd.

277 Monaco St, Broadbeach Waters sold for $6.1 million.

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Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin, Gold Coast03 Jan 2015, by Connor O'Brien


ID 357515065 PAGE 2 of 2

Flight finalefor SkytransEMBATTLED Queenslandairline Skytrans has suc-cumbed to tough economicconditions and ceased tradingafter carrying its last passen-gers yesterday.

In a blow to the aviationsector, the demise of the re-gional, family-owned Cairnsbusiness is expected to catchcustomers unaware and maketravel to Cape York difficult.

The airline, which celebra-ted its 25th anniversary onNew Year’s Day, laid off 121staff in November after losinga key Government contract toservice two routes.

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Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin, Gold Coast03 Jan 2015


ID 357512500 PAGE 1 of 1

Skytranscollapsecuts offtheCape

» CAMERON ATFIELD

ContinuedPage4

RemoteCapeYork communities faceweeks of isolation due to the collapseof Cairns-based airline Skytrans andthe start of thewet season.

Skytransmanaging directorSimonWild onFriday cited the lossof amajor government contract torun regulated routes and the fallingAustralian dollar as the catalysts ofthe collapse, which occurred twodays after the airline flew the last ofthose subsidised routes.

The routeswere awarded toNSWairlineRegional Express, commonlyknownasRex, inOctober.

Skytrans operations generalman-agerTonyMorrison said sixQueens-land communities –Bamaga,LockhartRiver, Aurukun, Coen,Pormpuraaw (EdwardRiver) andKowanyama – had been leftwithoutair services as a result of theairline’s demise.

Thatwould become an increas-ingly urgent situation as northernroadswere cut during thewet sea-son, he said.

‘‘With thewet season coming,wecarried a lot of essential services –freight, Australia Postmail andthings like that – to these people,’’MrMorrison said.

‘‘Also, in the comingweeks, you’llhave a lot of police, teachers, nursesand doctors, etc, trying to get backto these placements following theirChristmas breaks.’’

Federalmember for LeichhardtWarrenEntsch,whose electoratetakes inCapeYork,was critical of hisstate LiberalNational Party

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Sun Herald, Sydney04 Jan 2015, by Cameron Atfield

Regional Changes Qld, page 1 - 348.00 cm²Capital City Daily - circulation 257,630 (------S)

ID 357750138 PAGE 1 of 2

Skytrans collapse cuts off link to remoteCapeYork communitiesFromPage 1colleagues’ decision to stripSkytrans of the regulated routes.

‘‘There are lessons there for thestateminister, that you don’t justlook at these things blindly, as theydidwithRex aviation,’’ he said.

‘‘It just shows that if youmake adecision, the consequences are quitesignificant, particularly in placeslikeCoen,where there is no otheralternative than air transport.

‘‘The other ones at least can get abarge service in thewet season, butCoen can’t.

2HERBA1 0004

‘‘Those sorts of things need to befactored inwhen they’re looking atthe next lot of contracts.’’

MrEntsch said services to theremoteCapeYork communitiesshould be subsidised just like theseven ‘‘milk run’’ routes now run byQantasLink andRex,which servicemuch of the state.

‘‘The needs of the citizens ofAur-

ukun orCoen are no less than theneeds of the citizens ofWinton orCharleville,’’ he said.

A spokeswoman forQueenslandTransportMinister Scott Emersonsaid additional regulated routes onCapeYorkwere not on thegovernment’s agenda.

‘‘We are now in discussionswithother private operators about theCapeYork air routes and are encour-aged by the strong level of interest,’’she said.

‘‘Given the level of interest, thereare no plans to subsidise or regulateotherQueensland air routes.’’

One of those interested partieswasRex, the airline thatwon thetender process for the regulatedroutes over Skytrans.

Rex chief operating officerNevilleHowell said itwas ‘‘incumbent’’ onthe airline to dowhat it could to helpthe affected communities, ‘‘as amark of appreciation of the tre-mendous trust’’ theQueensland gov-

ernment had placed in it. ‘‘Rex isfully aware of the critical import-ance of air services to some of thevery isolated communities in theCape, especially during thewet sea-son,’’ he said.

‘‘ . . .Rexwill seek permission from[theCivil AviationSafetyAuthority]andSkytrans to performemergencycharter substitution services so thatthe communitieswill not be com-pletely cut off forweeks.’’

FairfaxMedia understandsCASArequired at least fourweeks’ noticeof Rex’s intention to expand its net-work and the airline had been unableto negotiatewith the regulator overtheweekend.

Unless that processwas exped-ited, the six airportswould be leftwithout services until at least theend of January.

FairfaxMedia also understandsthe suitability of Rex’s fleet of SAAB340s for use on the remote airstrips

had not yet been assessed. The col-lapse of Skytrans led to 188 joblosses, with the state Labor opposi-tion putting the blame squarely atthe LNPgovernment’s feet.

‘‘[Premier] Campbell Newmanpromised to grow regional econom-ies yet the collapse of Skytrans andthe reported loss of close to 200 jobsis a direct result of actions by himand theLNP,’’ LaborMPBill Byrnesaid. ‘‘It was the LNPwho gave aNSWairline the contracts previ-ously held bySkytrans for regionalQueensland air routes.’’

CookShiremayorPeterScott saidthe anger in thenorth over the treat-ment of Skytrans,whichhedescribedas great corporate citizens,waspalp-able. ‘‘When thedecisionwasmadeabout the regulated routes, to give itto aNSW-based operation versus aQueenslandCairns-based operation,all of us on theCape reckoned thatstunk,’’ he said.

Out of business: Skytrans’ demise has led to 188 job losses.

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Sun Herald, Sydney04 Jan 2015, by Cameron Atfield


ID 357750138 PAGE 2 of 2

BrisbaneWestWellcamp airport plans to go international this year» CAMERON ATFIELD

Toowoomba will be home to Queens-land’s fifth international airport in2015, its new airport’s general man-ager said, with Brisbane West Well-camp moving ahead on overseasambitions.

Brisbane West Wellcamp Airportgeneral manager Phil Gregory toldFairfax Media negotiations hadbegun with an international carrier.

‘‘We’re working on something at

the moment that I can’t really talkabout at this stage, but watch thisspace,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve got some bigplans internationally in the short- tomedium-term.’’

The biggest challenge to interna-tional flights to and from the DarlingDowns was the federal governmentbureaucracy. ‘‘There are 11 differentgovernment departments you haveto deal with to get international

flights out of an airport.’’ he said.In September last year, Mr

Gregory hinted at the prospect ofseasonal flights to destinations suchasNewZealand and elsewhere in theAsia-Pacific region.

Only minor alterations would berequired to the terminal, which beganoperations inNovember.Thosealtera-tionswould quarantine one of the pas-senger gates from the rest of the

terminal, in a manner similar toAdelaide’s interchangeable domestic/international departure lounge.

If successful, Brisbane West Well-camp would become Queensland’sfifth operational international air-port, joining Brisbane, Cairns, theGold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

Townsville Airport, which hasbeen designated as a ‘‘restricteduse’’ international airport that

2HERBA1 0005

allowed for international flights withprior approval from border agen-cies, has no regular services to des-tinations overseas.

An Immigration and Border Pro-tection spokeswoman said there wasstill hope Townsville could be aninternational gateway but only if thegovernment could recover the asso-ciated customs, quarantine and bor-der security costs.

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Sun Herald, Sydney04 Jan 2015


ID 357750137 PAGE 1 of 1

Badgerysairport planthreatensmountainsheritage» EXCLUSIVE KIRSTY NEEDHAM

TheUnitedNations’worldheritagebodywillissuea ‘‘please explain’’to theAbbott govern-mentdemandingadetailed report on thethreatposedby theBadgerysCreekairportto thenatural integrityof theBlueMountains.

UNESCOrepeatedly rejectedAustralia’s nominationof theBlueMountains forWorldHeritage status between 1999 and2000 citingHoward governmentplans forBadgerysCreek. Any risktoWorldHeritage status is likely tohit the tourism industry.

Theworld scrutiny comesas theAbbott governmenthasbeenaccusedof a ‘‘sneaky’’ attempt toavoidWorldHeritage impactsbeingconsideredaspart of the environmental approval forthe24-hourairport.

But theEnvironmentDepartmentruled onDecember 23 thatWorldHeritage impactsmust be examined,

after protest submis-sions by environmentgroups and the formerHoward governmentminister JackieKelly.

TheBlueMountainswas finally accepted ontheWorldHeritage listinDecember 2000,when theHoward gov-ernment shelved plansfor the airport.

AUNESCOspokes-woman inParis toldThe Sun-HeraldtheWorldHeritageCommitteehadn’t been informed theAbbottgovernment had revived the airportproject, which is eight kilometresfrom theWorldHeritage area.‘‘UNESCOwill surely followupwiththeAustralian authorities,’’ she said.

Aspokesman for InfrastructureMinisterWarrenTruss said‘‘improvements inaircraft technologyandregulatory standards’’meant thenoise andairpollution riskwas lowerthanpreviously assessed in 1999.� Full report — News, Page5

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Sun Herald, Sydney04 Jan 2015, by Kirsty Needham

General News, page 1 - 1,634.00 cm²Capital City Daily - circulation 257,630 (------S)

ID 357730469 PAGE 1 of 4

Second airport risksBlue Mountains’

World Heritage status

» KIRSTY NEEDHAM STATE POLITICAL EDITOR

Photo: Wolter Peeters

T he United Nations’ worldheritage body will issue a‘‘please explain’’ to theAbbott government

demanding a detailed report on thethreat posed by the Badgerys Creekairport to the natural integrity of theBlue Mountains.

UNESCO repeatedly rejected Aus-tralia’s nomination of the Blue Moun-tains for World Heritage statusbetween 1999 and 2000citing plans forBadgerys Creek that were being con-sidered by the Howard government.Any risk to World Heritage status islikely to hit the tourism industry, par-ticularly nature-based tourism.

The world scrutiny comes as theAbbott government has been accusedof a ‘‘sneaky’’ attempt to avoid WorldHeritage impacts being considered aspart of the environmental approval forthe 24-hour airport.

The Department of Infrastruc-ture lodged a scoping documentwithfederal environment bureaucrats inDecember that claimed a significantimpact on theWorld Heritage valuesof the Blue Mountains was ‘‘not con-sidered likely’’sidered likely .

yBut the Environment Department

ruled on December 23 that WorldHeritage impacts must be examined,after protest submissions by environ-ment groups and the former Howardgovernment minister Jackie Kelly.

The Blue Mountains was finallyaccepted on the World Heritage listin December 2000, within a fort-night of the Howard governmentpublicly announcing that plans forBadgerys Creek had been shelved.

Correspondence between UNESCO

and the Australian government earli-er in 2000 had shown the governmentbacking away from a second airport.UNESCO advisers had earlier citedthe risk of airborne fuel emissions,visual intrusion, and predicted air-craft noise of 70 to 80 decibels as‘‘adversely affecting thenatural quiet’’of the Blue Mountains area.

The World Heritage listing states‘‘proposals for a second Sydney air-port at Badgerys Creek . . . have beenabandoned’’.

A UNESCO spokeswoman in Par-is told The Sun-Herald the World

Heritage Committee hadn’t beeninformed the Abbott governmenthad revived the airport project,which is eight kilometres from theWorld Heritage area.

This is despite the conventionrequiring governments to notify anyintention of new construction –before basic documents are draftedor decisions made. ‘‘UNESCO willsurely follow up with the Australianauthorities,’’ she said.

The International Union for theConservation of Nature, the commit-tee’s advisory body, would require‘‘detailed information for review’’.

A spokesman for InfrastructureMinister Warren Truss said‘‘improvements in aircraft technologyand regulatory standards’’ meant thenoise and air pollution risk was lowerthan previously assessed in 1999.

But Mrs Kelly, a former RAAFofficer, rejected this claim, arguing thethreat to the Blue Mountains oftakeoffs and landings is significant.

Colong Foundation For Wilder-ness director Keith Muir accused

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ID 357730469 PAGE 2 of 4

the department of being ‘‘sneaky’’.‘‘They were trying to dodge a bullet,and have an environmental assess-ment that would not have to look atWorld Heritage,’’ he said.

Mrs Kelly, who is an independentcandidate for the seat of Penrith atthe NSW election, said there was ‘‘nodoubt’’ flights will be routed over theBlue Mountains because of the polit-ical need to minimise noise in mar-ginal Liberal western suburbs seats .

‘‘At Mascot, 55 per cent of flightsare over the ocean. Fifty five per centof flights will be over the BlueMoun-tains. All of that aviation gas pollu-

tion and noise pollution over WorldHeritage areas,’’ she said.

Mrs Kelly said she was campaign-ing against the airport in the Liberal-held seat of Penrith because she didn’tsee why the promised infrastructurefunding package for Western Sydneyhad to be tied to an airport. ‘‘I think atthe moment if you say ‘jobs’, peoplewill put up with anything. But whenpeople realise how many jobs, whatkind of jobs, and the trade-off in enjoy-ment, property values and traffic con-gestion, it will be one big sticky do.’’

Mr Muir said the InfrastructureDepartment had claimed in the docu-

ment that noise wouldn’t be a signific-ant impact for the Blue Mountainsbecause there were already aircraftflying over at higher altitudes.

‘‘That’s like saying if there is onefreeway in metropolitan Sydney, asecond freewaywould haveno impact.That is factually incorrect.’’

Mr Truss’ spokesman said the air-port proposal would see air trafficapproach and depart over the BlueMountains, which ‘‘may generatesome indirect noise and pollutionimpacts on some areas of the GreaterBlue Mountains’’.

‘‘Aircraft at a Western Sydney air-port are not expected to represent anew source of impact on the aestheticand wilderness values of the GreaterBlueMountains,’’ the spokesman said.A spokesman for Environment Minis-ter Greg Hunt said rather than pre-empt the findings, the governmentwill await the completion of the envir-onment assessment that is beingundertaken. He said the approval pro-cess will take into account scientificevidence and public comments.

Mr Hunt’s spokesman said the pro-posed airport is outside the Blue

posed airport is outside the BlueMountains World Heritage Area, butas a ‘‘matter of good faith’’ UNESCOwould be advised in the regularquarterly update. He said there hadbeen no suggestion of losing WorldHeritage status in discussions withUNESCO over contentious plans toexpand a port in anotherWorldHerit-age property, the Great Barrier Reef.

However theWorld Heritage Com-mitteewill consider placing theGreatBarrier Reef on the ‘‘in danger’’ listnext year, a step towards delisting.

PARRAMATTA

LIVERPOOLG

BLACKTOWN

PENRITH

CAMDEN 10KM

Badgerys CreekAirport

Landings from the south-west

RITHRITHHT

GG

CAMCAMCAMMCCC MMAMAMAM

P

AAA

PENRIPENRENNRNRPE

Takeoffs to the south-west

Landings from the north-east

Takeoffs to the north-east

M4

Burragong State Conservation Area

KEY :

Flight paths

SOURCE: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EIS DRAFT REPORT 1999

BlueMountains National Park

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ID 357730469 PAGE 3 of 4

SYDNEY’S SECOND AIRPORT THE STORYSO FAR...

1965 Federal government identifies need to select second Sydney airport site

1971 Committee shortlists Richmond, Somersby, Duff y’s Forest and Wattamolla. Government prefers Richmond or Somersby

1971 Duff y’s Forest ruled out because of impact on Kuringgai Chase National Park

1973 Galston announced as second airport site, but declared not feasible a year later

1979 Third runway at Kingsford

Smith Airport recommended by Commonwealth-state inquiry. Badgery’s Creek identified for second airport

1985 Hawke government shortlists Wilton and Badgery’s Creek (pictured below)

1986 Land acquisition starts at Badgery’s Creek

1996 Howard government commits to a second airport, starts environmental assessment of Badgery’s Creek and Holsworthy

1998 Australia nominates Blue Mountains (pictured right) for World Heritage status

June 1999 Environmental impact study for Badgerys Creek identifies noise and pollution impact for Blue Mountains

July 1999 UNESCO rejects Blue Mountains nomination, in part saying airport “might compromise integrity of the area”

SCO ntains

art ight

December 2, 2000 Blue Mountains listed as World Heritage

December 13, 2000 Howard government publicly announces Badgery’s Creek

airport plans shelved

April 2014 Abbott government commits to

airport at Badgerys Creek

announces Badgery’s Cairport plans shelved

April 2014 Abbogovernment comm

airport at Badgery

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ID 357730469 PAGE 4 of 4

EDITORIAL

Guests onthe Coastdeserve alot betterTHE Gold Coast is built on tourism – anindustry whose players live and die by theirreputation.

Mouldy bathrooms, broken cupboards,filthy walls and itchy carpets do more thanruin one family’s holiday – it affects us all.

When Perth couple Brad and RosaFerguson brought their three kids to theSavannah Hotel in Broadbeach, theyrightly expected to receive the four-starholiday they paid for.

Instead, they got a dirty, ill-equippedroom, their toddler got flea bites and theygot what amounts to an indifferent shrugfrom hotel staff before they checked out insearch of somewhere livable.

Staggeringly, the hotel’s manager gave asimilarly unconcerned response when con-tacted by the Bulletin yesterday, sayingthey knew they had a mould problem but itwas “only a small percentage”.

This from a hotel that takes people’smoney with the barefaced promise of afour-star experience. To quote Aussie filmclassic The Castle – tell ’em they’redreaming.

The rating system is as outdated as someof the hotels it covers and there is obviouslylittle or no regulation of whether or not ahotel deserves the stars they display intheir advertising.

It’s misleading and our guests demandand deserve better.

Pick any travel review websites and it isclear that this is not case of a single bad egg.Customers book these rooms on good faithand trust; trust that is sadly misplaced with

an unscrupulous minority of operators.Holidays are what the Gold Coast does,

and we do them well. The city boasts someof the best resorts and hotels in the world,offering something for every visitor onevery budget – the vast majority treatingtheir guests with the professionalism andcare they deserve.

These beautiful hotels are comple-mented by the world’s best climate, cleanbeaches, remarkable hinterland, endlessshopping and growing theme parks.

Most visitors will leave the Gold Coastat the end of this break with nothing butpraise for the city and the ability of ourpeople to make them feel comfortable andwelcome.

But it only takes a handful of lazy,miserly or inept establishments to ruin itfor everyone. At no point in history hasword of mouth mattered so much or spreadso fast and widely as it does in 2015.

With the still-high Aussie dollar and re-cord-low airfares, domestic destinationsmust remain highly competitive if theywant to remain relevant.

Local operators should never take ourvisitors for granted and those who do mustbe held to account.

There is a market for cheap and cheerfulfamily holidays – but no-one signs up forexpensive and miserable.

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Gold Coast Bulletin, Gold Coast QLD05 Jan 2015

General News, page 32 - 190.00 cm²Regional - circulation 31,017 (MTWTF--)

ID 357920679 PAGE 1 of 1

Badgerys Creek BlueMountains heritage status at risk

Airport plan requiresmore land, says expertTom Allard

Any threat to the world heritage

listing of the Blue Mountains from

a new airport at Badgerys Creek

can be easily allayed if the federal

government buys more land at the

site, a former chief of the Federal

Airports Corporation says.

Barry Murphy, a leading advoc-

ate for a second Sydney airport,

made the remarks after Fairfax

Media revealed that the United Na-

tions would ask the government for

a detailed report on the airport’s

impact on the spectacular range of

sandstone escarpments, gorges and

eucalypt forests west of Sydney.

The UN granted world heritage

status in 2000 to an area of 1 million

hectares stretching from theHunter

Valley down to the Southern High-

lands, announcing the decision just

weeks after theHowardgovernment

abandoned plans to build an airport

at Badgerys Creek. Before the an-

nouncement, UNESCO had raised

concerns about the risk of fuel emis-

sions, visual intrusion and aircraft

noise of 70 to 80 decibels adversely

affecting the ‘‘natural quiet’’ of the

Blue Mountains.

TheAbbott government last year

announced it would proceed with

an airport atBadgerysCreek, pend-

ing an environmental impact study.

The Department of the Environ-

ment announced on December 23

that the studywould includeWorld

Heritage impacts. Federal legisla-

tion requires the environmentmin-

ister to only approve projects if

they are consistent with Austra-

lia’s World Heritage obligations.

MrMurphy, who was head of the

FAO from 1995 to 1998, watched

public and political support for

Badgerys Creek evaporate during

the late 1990s.

While approval for the airport

and its economic benefits was far

greater nowand there is bipartisan

political support, he said ‘‘there’s

still a lot of suspicion out there’’.

‘‘The Commonwealth should ac-

quire some more land so the air-

port and the runways can be con-

figured in the most appropriate

fashion,’’ he said. The federal gov-

ernment has purchased some 1700

hectares of land around Badgerys

Creek but an ideal size for a metro-

politan airport was at least 2500

hectares, he added.

He noted that an earlier environ-

mental impact study by the

Howard government had advoc-

ated the purchase of another 1200

hectares of land.

As well as giving maximum flex-

ibility to configure runways, the ad-

ditional space would also allow a

major business and infrastructure

hub to be built around an airport,

and enable it to operated around

the clock.

An expanded airport site would

be far more lucrative to private in-

vestors, and provide the Common-

wealth with a bigger returnwhen it

leases the site to a private operator.

The mayor of Blue Mountains

City Council, Mark Greenhill, op-

poses the airport, at least until a

detailed environmental and plan-

ning assessment has been under-

taken.

‘‘Council is concerned to pre-

serve World Heritage listing,’’ Cr

Greenhill said. ‘‘We are also con-

cerned to preserve the values that

see over three million people visit

our city each each year.’’

Asked if having planes flying

overhead represented a major

threat to the beauty of the Blue

Mountains, Cr Greenhill insisted

the impact would be significant.

‘‘Imagine standing on a scenic

escarpment and there’s plane after

plane roaring overhead. It would

certainly affect the ambience,’’ he

said. ‘‘It’s important to remember

that world heritage listing is not

only about environmental protec-

tion; it’s about ensuring that people

can enjoy an area in its original,

pristine state.’’

� Editorial — Page 12

‘Imagine standing on ascenic escarpment andthere’s plane after planeroaring overhead.’Mark Greenhill,Blue Mountains mayor

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Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney05 Jan 2015, by Tom Allard


ID 357910619 PAGE 1 of 1

Concernover costof flyingto coastSIMON Tayler might beLabor’s candidate for theMount Isa seat, but he is alsoa father of two children whoknows how expensive familyvisits to the coast can be.

And he was concernedflights would be more expens-ive for locals with the collapseof Skytrans.

Mr Tayler blamed theQueensland government forthe collapse because it choseto financially back a NewSouth Wales-based airline in-stead.

“What the LNP have doneto Skytrans and ultimately tothe people in our communit-ies is unacceptable,” Mr Tay-ler said.

“Skytrans is a Queensland-owned business, was a mem-ber of Commerce North Westand often sponsored localevents in our region and forthe LNP government to awardtheir business to a NSW basedairline is an insult.”

Mr Tayler made an electionpromise to not sit by and letdecisions impacting regionalQueensland such as this bemade by South EastQueensland-based politi-cians.

He would consider all op-tions to improve the liveabil-ity of the North West Region.

Shadow minister for statedevelopment Bill Byrne bla-med the Newman govern-ment for the 200 job cuts to

Cairns and the Far North.The government’s decision

to cut funding to Skytrans andappoint a New South Walesprovider showed a basic lackof understanding to regionalQueensland, he said.

Despite a crisis in the jobsmarket, the Newman govern-ment was still spending$2.6 billion in taxpayer fundson an executive building inthe Brisbane Central BusinessDistrict for the Premier andhis ministers.

“Imagine how regions likeFar North Queensland andothers would benefit if theLNP spent taxpayers’ fundson real job-creating projectsinstead of wasting on itself,”Mr Byrne said.

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North West Star, Mount Isa QLD05 Jan 2015


ID 357933133 PAGE 1 of 1

Regional Express grabs Skytrans routes Jamie Freed

Regional Express is poised for another major expansion in Queensland after rival regional airline Skytrans ceased all of its operations on Friday as a result of financial difficulties.

Rex said it intended to fly all of the Cape York routes that were abandoned by Skytrans. Rex said it expected to begin limited operations within six weeks, pending clearances from the Civil Aviation Safety Authprity (CASA). Rex also plans to mobilise additional aircraft and crew to undertake a full service within three to four months, after conducting a feasibility analysis.

"Rex is fully aware of the critical importance of air services to some of the very isolated communities in the Cape, especially during the wet season," Rex chief operating officer Neville Howell said. "In the meantime Rex will request permission from CASA and Skytrans to perform emergency charter substitution services so that the com-munities will not be completely cut off for weeks."

Six remote towns, including Aurukun and Coen, have been left with-

out air services from Skytrans's closure. Cairns-based Skytrans, which had

operated for 25 years, was until recentiy the dominant independent regional air-line in Queensland. But in October, the state government awarded Sydney-based Rex three regulated routes that had previously been operated by Sky-trans. Rex took over those routes on Thursday, the day before Skytrans decided to shut down.

Skytrans had also abandoned the Sydney-Toowoomba route after larger rival QantasLink launched flights from Sydney to the new Brisbane West Well-camp Airport near Toowoomba.

Skytrans had planned to continue operating three planes on routes to and from Cape York, but managing director Simon Wild said the fall in the Austral-ian dollar combined with likely compe-tition on the unregulated routes had contributed to his decision to shut down the airline.

The carrier had done so now, Mr Wild said, because it had retained the

ability to pay out $4 million of employee entitiements and $2 million in refunds to customers who had paid for future

tickets with credit cards. Skytrans is the third regional airline

in Australia to close in the last 13 months, with Brindabella Airlines and Vincent Aviation having collapsed into receivership during that period.

Rex has forecast its earnings vdll rise this financial year as a result of stabilis-ing passenger demand and lower fuel prices. But charter operator Alliance Aviation Services last month issued a profit warning amid volatility in the resources sector.

Rex is aware of the importance of air services to isolated communities. Neville Howell, Regional Express

Rex is headed forCape York within six weeks, PHOTO: ANDREWTAYLOR FBA016

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Australian Financial Review, Australia05 Jan 2015, by Jamie Freed

Companies and Markets, page 16 - 232.00 cm²National - circulation 62,455 (MTWTFS)

ID 357926128 PAGE 1 of 1

In training for Chinese New YearMORE than 70 tour guides areexpected to take part in a spe-cial tourism training sessionbefore the Chinese New Yearcelebrations in Cairns nextmonth.

Tourism Tropical NorthQueensland is organising atwo-module training sessionon January 28 and 30 and Feb-ruary 4 and 5.

A spokesman said it was thethird annual Chinese tourguide training exercise.

“All TTNQ members whoare interested in training thetour guides on product specifi-cations and Chinese New Yearspecial arrangements are wel-come to participate,” he said.

“We are expecting a total of70 tour guides to participate.”

Registrations close on Janu-ary 14.

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Cairns Post, Cairns QLD05 Jan 2015


ID 357908800 PAGE 1 of 1

Cairns businesses fear cost of Skytrans collapseGLEN NORRIS AND SARAH VOGLERTHE Cairns business com-munity fears the city will sufferfrom the closure of regionalairline Skytrans and its re-placement by an out-of-towncarrier.

Skytrans ceased flying lastFriday, blaming its predica-ment on the sliding Australiandollar and the loss of a stategovernment contract to ser-vice regional areas, to NSW-based Rex Airlines.

Peak business body Ad-vance Cairns CEO Mark Matt-hews said there were concernsthat a NSW-based carriercould not invest as heavily asSkytrans had in the city.

During the past 10 years,Skytrans has pumped more$127 million into the north

Queensland economy inwages.

The airline, which had anengineering and administrat-ive base in Cairns, laid off 121staff members in November.The remaining 67 staff weremade redundant last week.

“With the loss of Skytrans,there is really only one otherregional carrier, HinterlandAir, in Cairns,” Mr Matthewssaid. “With other carriers com-ing into the region there is con-cern there will not be the samesort of investment.”

Mr Matthews said the city’schamber of commerce hadbeen working with local busi-nesses to find new jobs for Sky-trans workers and ensure the city’s skills base was maintained.

He said a price war betweenmajor carriers had also hurtsmaller carriers such as Sky-

trans but generally the city’saviation industry was on asolid footing.

Transport Minister ScottEmerson said it was unfortu-nate that Skytrans didn’t win

the contract but there hadbeen an independent tenderprocess.

“It was the same processthat saw Skytrans win the con-tract five years ago,” Mr Emer-son said “As Skytransindicated in its comments, anumber of factors have influ-enced its decision, includingthe falling Australian dollar.”

Mr Emerson said the im-portant thing was that therewould be no impact on govern-ment services in the north.

“In terms of remote and re-gional communities, we aretalking to other operatorsabout stepping into the void

left by Skytrans,” he said. How-ever, Labor public worksspokesman Bill Byrne said thedecision to appoint a NSWcarrier demonstrated a lack ofunderstanding of the econ-omic needs of regionalQueensland.

“The collapse of Skytrans isfurther harsh evidence of theincompetence of the Govern-ment when it comes to keepingits promises on regionalgrowth and creating jobs,” MrByrne said.

Advance Cairns’ Mr Matt-hews conceded far northQueensland was a challengefor airlines because of its vastdistances.

“The challenge is that thereis an area the size of Victoria tocover but flights have to be car-ried out economically,” he said.“But the demand is there.”

SAD DECISION: Skytrans managing director Simon Wild last week announced the Cairns-based airline couldn’t continue.

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Courier Mail, Brisbane05 Jan 2015, by Glen Norris And Sarah Vogler

Business News, page 41 - 275.00 cm²Capital City Daily - circulation 167,172 (MTWTFS-)

ID 357906558 PAGE 1 of 1

Skytranscollapseblamedon LNPSCOTT FORBES

QUEENSLAND’S Oppositionhas accused the LNP of caus-ing Skytrans’ demise, saying itcould cripple the Far Northerneconomy.

However the Governmenthit back, saying the airline lostits Cape York contract in a fairtender process.

The State Opposition’s pub-lic works spokesman Bill Byrnesaid Skytrans’ collapse contra-dicted the LNP’s promise togrow regional economies, with200 jobs now lost from the FarNorth.

“The cold hard proof of theNewman Government’s deceitis shown by the collapse ofSkytrans and the loss of jobs ata time when our statewide job-less rate is back up to GFC lev-els thanks to the incompetenceof the LNP,’’ he said.

Cook MP David Kemptonsaid Labor was ignoring thefacts.

“Our Government did nottake the western routes fromSkytrans, they lost the contractin a fair and competitive ten-der,” he said.

Transport Minister ScottEmerson defended the pro-curement process.

“Contract decisions werebased on the same indepen-dent competitive tenderingprocess that occurred in thepast, ensuring the most effec-tive and efficient use of taxpay-ers’ money,” he said.

“This is the same processLabor had in place when theywere in government.”

Labor hopeful for Cairns

Rob Pyne attacked Cairns MPGavin King, saying it was a“huge blow” for the city.

“King and his cronies saidthis would have no impact onthe airline and his Govern-ment was going to find otherways to support the company,”he said.

Mr King refused to com-ment on the tender process butlamented the loss of Skytransas “a great local company”.

“My thoughts are with theWild family, staff and suppli-ers,” he said.

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Cairns Post, Cairns QLD05 Jan 2015, by Scott Forbes


ID 357909945 PAGE 1 of 1

Airline restores vital link with Cairns after Skytrans collapse

FLYING INTOTHE GAP

SHANNON POWERAN interim airline hasflown to the rescue ofCape York residents, re-storing the vital linkthrown into chaos by theshutdown of Skytrans.

West Wing Aviationwill fly on a week-by-weekbasis, until permanent car-rier Regional Express re-ceives official approval to

take up services to Coen,Lockhart River, Aurukun,Kowanyama, Pormpuraawand Bamaga. All 85 passen-gers booked to fly withSkytrans today will still beable to fly as planned.

FULL STORY PAGE 7

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Cairns Post, Cairns QLD05 Jan 2015, by Shannon Power


ID 357909928 PAGE 1 of 3

West Wing steps into remote services void

SHANNON POWER

THE vital link between CapeYork and Cairns has been keptin the air after West Wing Avi-ation flew into the gap createdby the collapse of Skytrans.

Skytrans ceased operationslate Friday afternoon, just oneday after celebrating its 25thanniversary. Sixty-six staffhave been made redundant.

The decision has beenblamed on the loss of aQueensland Governmentcontract to service Cape York,which was awarded by theGovernment to NSW-basedRex.

Rex is still waiting for clear-ance from the Civil AviationSafety Authority (CASA) toofficially begin its new service,which it expects to receivelater this month.

Cook MP David Kemptonsaid the Government would behaving ongoing discussionswith all parties, including themayors of affected communi-ties, to ensure long-term servi-

ces were viable. He said about150 former staff of Skytranshad also been taken up by Rex.

Meanwhile, it was a franticweekend for the Torres andCape Hospital and HealthService (TCHHS) which need-ed to reorganise medicalappointments for people flyingto Cairns and southernQueensland.

TCHHS chief executive DrJill Newland said news of Sky-trans’ shutdown came as a

complete surprise. “We’re shocked; we were

able to book our patients lastweek and we expected book-ings to be honoured,” she said.

She said it was tough to notonly reorganise flights on aweekend but also help manynew staff coming back fromholidays.

“It’s very hard; it’s the week-end, it’s hard to get infor-mation,” she said.

Aurukun Mayor Dereck

Walpo said a reliable airlinecarrier was vital to Coen, Bam-aga, Aurukun, Lockhart River,Kowanyama and Pormupur-aaw during the wet season todeliver mail, fresh food andmedical supplies.

He said his community wasworried, especially with theschool year about to begin,when local children were dueto fly to other towns to attendschool and teachers flew in.

“This is a really bad way tostart 2015; if something is sort-ed out in the short term thecommunity will appreciate it,”he said.

The Exchange Hotel inCoen houses many fly in/flyout workers and faced losing anumber of bookings.

Hotel owner Ann-LouiseMulley said the communitywas shell-shocked by Skytrans’departure from the region.

“They didn’t even tell thepeople on the plane on Fridaygoing out that there would beno flight back and now they’restranded,” Ms Mulley said.

She said there were severalpregnant women in thecommunity who were due togive birth shortly that neededto attend hospitals outside ofthe town.

Rex has started puttingtogether an emergency plan toprovide air services to Capecommunities most affected bySkytrans’ collapse.

The company’s CEONeville Howell said the com-pany was fully aware of theneed for air services for theCape, especially during the wetseason.

“Rex will immediatelynotify CASA of our intentionto fly into all the routes aban-doned by Skytrans,’’ he said.

“We expect to get clearan-ces within six weeks, afterwhich we could commencelimited operations to some ofthe cities affected.

“We will also mobiliseadditional aircraft and crew tocarry out a fuller service withinthree to four months after afeasibility analysis.”

RESCUE: West Wing Aviation will keep flying the routes.

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ID 357909928 PAGE 2 of 3

COLLAPSE: Cairns-based aviation business Skytrans ceased operating on Friday afternoon, a day after celebrating its 25th anniversary. Picture: BRENDAN RADKE

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ID 357909928 PAGE 3 of 3

Airline blow to miningBy CHRIS BURNS........................................................................

THE collapse of Cairns-basedSkytrans could have an impacton Mount Isa’s resource sector,Deputy Mayor Brett Petersonbelieves.

The airline’s closure could af-fect transportation to local fly in,fly out mining camps.

Mount Isa’s Deputy Mayor isowner of Mount Isa MiningSupplies, and the company’sstaff travel to mine sites byairline.

The company will now con-sider flying staff indirectlythrough Townsville.

Skytrans was the latest ofseveral companies in the past 12months to stop supplying themining industry, Cr Petersonnoted.

He said the New South Wales-based Regional Express Airlinesbeing chosen for state govern-ment funding over Skytranshelped lead to the closure.

“I’m devastated 180 jobs havebeen lost,” he said.

He could not explain why theQueensland government chose aNew South Wales-based airlineover a Queensland one.

But Rex Airlines was lockedinto a contract which meant thecommunity needed to move for-

ward with that decision.Cr Peterson hoped Mount Isa

flights did not skyrocket withreduction of competition.

Member for Mount Isa RobKatter agreed Skytrans’ closurewill “slightly diminish” the ap-peal of FIFO workers commutingto Mount Isa.

“My understanding is that the

direct flights will now stop fromMount Isa to Cairns and that thesame flight will now includestops,’’ he said.

“This will inconvenience somecommuters slightly but I don’tthink to any significant extent.”

Mr Katter trusted Mount IsaMines would do “their part forthe community” by ensuring allnew positions were reserved forpermanent based workforce.

Skytrans managing director Si-mon Wild announced on Fridaythat the airline ceased tradingimmediately after a meetingheld that day.

The airline had a healthy bankbalance and was able to payentitlements to the remaining 67staff who survived redundanciesmade in the past two months.

“As the managing director Iwill seek legal and financialadvice over the next few days

regarding options for the busi-ness moving forward, but to beclear, it does not include therecommencement of flights inthe short to medium term,” MrWild said.

A fall in the Australian dollarwould mean a revised Skytransmodel would not be viable.

“In addition to the currencychallenge, it now appears likelythat we will have competition onour Cape routes with an inevit-able price war – a war where theonly winner would be the airlinewith the deepest pockets,” MrWild said.

“It would be a war I would notbe prepared to enter, as it wouldhave jeopardised staff entitle-ments.”

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North West Star, Mount Isa QLD05 Jan 2015, by Chris Burns


ID 357933142 PAGE 1 of 2

MOVING FORWARD: Deputy Mayor Brett Peterson believes theSkytrans closure could affect transportation to local fly in-fly outmining camps.

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ID 357933142 PAGE 2 of 2

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The school teacher, who iscurrently on holiday at theSunshine Coast, is con-cerned about the future ofher students if she and herpartner cannot return.

STORY: PAGE 4

THE closure of Queenslandairline Skytrans has leftformer Dicky Beach residentAlex Dunn (pictured right)without a way to get backhome to the remote indige-nous town she works in.

NO WAY HOMEAirline carrier closureleaves teacher stranded

MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015 Price $1.30

WHAT ADAY MOOLOOLABA’S Ali

Day clinches historicironman series win.

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Monday, January 5, 2015 DailyDaily

PAGE 4 www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au

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A TEACHER employed in aremote indigenous town hasno way of getting back to herstudents following the clo-sure of Queensland airlineSkytrans.Former Dicky Beach resi-dent Alex Dunn is worriedher studentswill return to anunstaffed school unlessanother airline comes totheir rescue.Ms Dunn, who is on theSunshine Coast visitingfriends and family for theschool holidays, said the ma-jority of staff at PormpuraawState School, west of theCape York Peninsula, reliedon the family-owned airlineto fly them in from Cairns.“It was a bit of a shock tofind out through friends that(Skytrans) had finished uptheir last flight on Friday,”Ms Dunn said.“My partner and I havepaid for flights to returnhome in two weeks and wehavehadnonotification fromthem or anything.“We have heard throughword of mouth that Rex (Re-gional Express) Airlinesmight be taking over theflights, but nothing has beenconfirmed. We have no ideahow we are getting home.”Skytrans managing direc-tor Simon Wild said in astatement the government’sdecision to give a large con-tract to New South Wales-based Regional Express,along with the “nose dive” ofthe Australian dollar, meantthe airline could not conti-nue after 25 years.

The company flew Coastresidents three to four timesa week to mining sites.In 2012, the Daily reportedSkytrans had signed a long-term contract with mininggiant Rio Tinto Coal for fourflights a week from the Sun-shine Coast Airport to Cler-mont, Central Queensland.The agreement markedthe Coast’s first fly-in, fly-outcharter operation.Dion Corbett flew withSkytrans fromCairns toNor-manton every 10 days forwork and is now facing thepossibility of a 10-hour driveto return when his next ros-ter begins.“Skytrans closing will af-fect a lot of workers I knowof, but especially myself astheywere the onlyway to getto work,” Mr Corbett said.Some workers will not beimpacted, with other airlinesalready servicing routesfrequented by Skytrans.MrWild has apologised forany inconvenience.“We do believe other air-linesmay be interested in ex-panding their operationsthroughout the Cape and wewould hope that they wouldbe able to bring forward theirplans tomeet this immediateneed,” he said.“We have spoken withboth the State Governmentand other airlines to discussthe potential for them to pro-vide aircraft for strandedpassengers. We will notifyany positive outcome via theSkytrans website.”Passengers affected canvisit www.skytrans.com.aufor a Passenger Informationpackage.

SkytranscollapsestrandsteacherBy ROXANNEMCCARTY-O’KANE

A GROUP of Sunshine Coastwomen is proving motor-bikes are not just toys forboys.Judy Noakes, 55, is one of

60 motorbike loving womenwho make up Girl Torque, asocial group with a need forspeed.TheCoolumriderhasbeen

hitting the road on her Suzu-ki sports bike for more thannine years. She gained a de-sire for a bike of her own af-ter doubling on the back ofher husband’s for manyyears.“I had been on the back

with my husband for about20 years but I got tired oflooking overhis shoulder, it’sso empowering to be incharge,” she said.“It’s about not having to

worry about anyone oranything else, you’re in con-trol of the bike and whatyou’re doing.”Mrs Noakes said riding for

her was about escaping eve-ry day life and stresses.“You don’t have to worry

about the shopping, cooking

orwork, it’s just freedomandescaping responsibility.”She said Girl Torque was

formed as a way to connectwomen with a love of bikesand riding.“It’s even more fun when

you’re with a group of otherlike-minded women,” shesaid.“The girls prefer to ride

with other people as it’s notas competitive as when weride with our fellas.”While she preferred thrill-

ing rides with many bendsand turns, Mrs Noakes waswell aware of the dangers in-volved.“I feel safe on my bike but

you can never relax, youshould always be fine tuningyour skills,” she said.On Sunday, January 18, at

the Waterfront HotelMaroochydore, Girl Torque

will host a sign-on to encour-age more women to jump ontheir bikes.The group meets twice

monthly for a coffee ride andthe occasional overnighttrip.For more information visit

the sign-on, email [email protected] or call0407 760 729.

Girlshaveticketto rideBy NATASHA CHRISTIAN

READY TO RIDE: Girl Torque riders ready for their sign-on day.PHOTO: GREG MILLER

FAST FACTSTop five places to rideon the Sunshine Coast■ Blackall Range■ D’Aguilar Range■ Peachester Range■ Glasshouse■ Kin Kin

❝It’s about nothaving to worryabout anyone oranything else. sunshinecoastdaily.com.au

SNAKES Downunder Rep-tile Park and Zoo co-ownerIan Jenkins has been at-tacked by a crocodile duringa live feeding show, losinghisleft thumb in the process.An RACQ CareFlight spo-

kesman said the 58-year-oldcrocodile handler was at-tempting to gain the atten-tion of a croc with his hat inhis left hand and a chicken inhis right hand during theperformance yesterday,when the saltwater crocodileleapt out of the water and bithis left hand, pullinghim intothe water and amputatinghis left thumb and part of hishand down to his wrist.

Mr Jenkins also receivedhead injuries from falling in-to the water. Mr Jenkins’wife Barbara told the News-Mail her husband was fortu-nate he had another quali-fied croc person in the

enclosure with him. “Ian hasmade a very bad error of jud-gement and he will be kick-ing himself,” she said.“Ian is the only person thathas been hurt.“Unfortunately, it was dur-

ing a crocodile show so therewerepeoplewatchingbutno-body else was in danger.”The CareFlight paramedicarrived on-scene about 1pmand administered pain relieffor the serioushand injuryaswell as the head injury.Mr Jenkinswas airlifted toBundaberg Hospital in a sta-ble condition where he un-derwent surgery to his hand.Mr Jenkins is no strangerto dangerous reptiles.He has handled deadlysnakes for about 40years andconducts the park’s croco-dile demonstrations.

– BUNDABERGNEWSMAIL

Croc handler hurt in attack

ERROR OF JUDGEMENT: A Snakes Downunder Reptile Park andZoo crocodile. PHOTO: MAX FLEET BUN300514CRC2



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ERROR OF JUDGEMENT: A Snakes Downunder Reptile Park andZoo crocodile. PHOTO: MAX FLEET BUN300514CRC2Monday, January 5, 2015 DailyDaily


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Sunshine Coast Daily, Maroochydore QLD05 Jan 2015, by Roxanne McCarty-O'Kane

General News, page 1 - 435.00 cm²Regional - circulation 13,707 (MTWTFS-)

ID 357915268 PAGE 1 of 2



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Sunshine Coast Daily, Maroochydore QLD05 Jan 2015, by Roxanne McCarty-O'Kane


ID 357915268 PAGE 2 of 2

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND AT TOWNSVILLE BULLETIN SQUAREBULLY SOAPBOX

KARLEY SHARMANSOUTH TOWNSVILLEWe should promote Townsville more as a tourism destination.Cairns seems to do a lot more advertising than us and I think that’s a big part of the reason they get so many tourists.I think we need more free activities for tourists. I run a backpackers and

they love free stuff like The Strandand even just simple things like

the markets.

REIN SOLICNORTH WARDWe need more for people to do in the city. I think there should be a major shopping centre like Stockland in the city. We need something to liven up the city and I think a big shopping

centre would really attract peopleand get more people in the CBD,and inner-city suburbs like NorthWard.

JOHN KARSNERANGThis town is really dying and there is a strange smell coming from all the old buildings. It makes it worse because they close up all the old buildings and just have airconditioning on. But we

went for a ride on the bus yesterdayand the beach area was one of themost beautiful things I’ve seen. Iwould like to live there and I thought it was odd there was somany places for sale. Why is everyone leaving? I think it’s the

smell, and I don’t know if it’scoming the port but it smellslike freshly poured concrete.

HAVE YOUR SAY AT TOWNSVILLE BULLETIN SQUARE in the CBD (corner Stokes and Flinders streets) every Sunday from 11am-noon.

JENNIFER ORBESOCRANBROOKWe need more employment opportunities in Townsville. I work in health care and lots of our new recruits’ husbands and partners don’t have jobs, which is reversing the usual household roles and making the female the main breadwinner. I think if we made use of the empty

establishments in the city and putbusinesses and shops in, it

would create a lot of jobs.

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Townsville Bulletin, Townsville QLD05 Jan 2015


ID 357940260 PAGE 1 of 1

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Wing and a prayer

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Skytrans joins thegraveyard of failedregional airlines

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By RRoss Tyson

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Ross Tyson

A CARRIER that had set its sights on flyingbetween Tamworth and Brisbane hasfolded, further highlighting the perilousstate of Australia’s regional aviationindustry.

Cairns-based airline Skytrans emergedearly last year as the favourite to take onthe route that has been vacant since ■

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Ross Tyson Brindabella Airlines’ sudden collapse inDecember 2013.

The airline’s attempts to re-establishthe link between Tamworth and Queens-land’s capital were stymied when it couldnot secure suitable landing slots intoBrisbane Airport.

While never officially ruling itself out ofthe running, Skytrans appeared to aban-don the idea and Jetgo is now set to ■

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Ross Tyson resume flights to the country’s thirdlargest city on February 2.

But last week Skytrans managingdirector Simon Wild announced thatdespite surviving “longer than mostother regional airlines”, the carrier wouldcease trading after 25 years.

Narrabri is still without flights to Syd-ney following the failures of Brindabella

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Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth NSW05 Jan 2015, by Ross Tyson


ID 357933537 PAGE 1 of 2

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Skytrans joins list offailed regional airlines

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■ from page 1Airlines and its replacement Vincent

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Aviation within a matter of months.A recent NSW parliamentary

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inquiry found that in just 10 years thenumber of airlines servicing region-

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al NSW had declined by 54 per cent.Guyra-based Liberal MLC Scot

MacDonald sat on the panel thatmade 21 recommendations to theNSW government for strengtheningthe regional aviation industry.

He said it had become apparent tothe panel during the inquiry thatsmaller airlines servicing the state’ssmaller markets would struggle tosurvive.

“The major factor is that the only(economically viable) airlines havelarger fleets and therefore they arenot going to fly into areas under the35,000 to 40,000 (passengers a year)mark,” he said.

Mr MacDonald said it was highlyunlikely the government – if it winsthe election – would include a sub-sidy scheme to prop-up airlineswhen it responds to the panel’s rec-ommendations in April.

“I think our role will be to get thecosts down wherever we can andwork with the federal government to

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■ get those costs down, and more flex-ibility around charters being able totake fee-paying passengers,” he said.

Jetgo managing director PaulBredereck, who formerly ran Tamairfor many years, said Australia was“littered with the bones of failed airlines”.

However, he said “the reality is notas bad as it seems” and he was confi-dent Jetgo could successfully makethe transition from a charter outfit tocommercial operator.

“It’s no different to any otherindustry,” he said.

“The only difference is it requiresan awful lot of capital and there is anawful lot of government interven-tion at multiple levels.”

Mr Bredereck said one of thebiggest barriers to regional commu-nities securing air services was thefederal government’s “ridiculous”insistence that all passengers onplanes weighing more than 20tonnes undergo security screening.

“There is no justifiable securityrisk or threat that warrants havingpassenger security screening andthe millions of dollars it costs region-al air travellers to have that,” he said.

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Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth NSW05 Jan 2015, by Ross Tyson


ID 357933537 PAGE 2 of 2

Skytranspull-outto hit hardI T IS a surprise for so many that Cairns-

based airline Skytrans decided to closedown so quickly.

The loss of a state government contract andthe falling Australian dollar are the reasonsgiven by the company’s managing directorSimon Wild and also by Federal Member forLeichhardt Warren Entsch.

Bigger concerns by some are for the remotecommunities in the Far North who will nothave flight services in the coming weeks. Butthere’s some concerns for the isolation it couldbring our gulf communities as well fromMember for Mount Isa Rob Katter.

But there are flights now offered by RexAirlines to Doomadgee, Burketown andMornington Island. Having Skytrans and RexAirlines covering the same areas could havegenerated healthy competition – perhapsenough to encourage a price drop in flightsfrom Mount Isa.

Unfortunately it does not seem that’s goingto happen.

It could also be possible that Skytrans’closure affects our mining industry. Ourcontractors and companies having to fly staffto projects in Cairns could be inconvenienced.But maybe any FIFO workers travelling fromCairns to the North West Minerals Provincemight be inconvenienced enough frequentlytravelling an indirect route. Maybe it’s a minorincentive needed for them to consider movingpermanently to the region.

But this, I think, could be wishful thinkingand maybe even positive spin to anunfortunate situation. It’s never a good thingwhen a family-operated Queensland businesscloses.

– CHRIS BURNS

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ID 357934212 PAGE 1 of 1

Moves to cover loss of Cape York air servicesTHE Queensland govern-ment is negotiating withprivate airline operatorsto cover Cape York fol-lowing the sudden clos-ure of Skytrans.

A spokesman forTransport Minister ScottEmerson said the CapeYork air routes were be-ing discussed and therewas a “strong level ofinterest” .

The spokesman saidthe Cape York routeswere never part of agovernment contractthat was recently given toRex Airlines instead.

The routes wereformed by Skytrans as

part of its own commer-cial interest.

It was “obviously quitesad” the Cairns-basedairline closed.

The state governmentwas criticised by several

politicians for choosingto award a contract to aNew South Wales-basedairline over Skytrans.

But the contract deci-

sions were based on anindependent competit-ive tendering processthat ensured an effectiveuse of taxpayers’ money.

“This is the same pro-cess Labor had in placewhen they were in gov-ernment,” the spokes-man observed.

The spokesman said apanel of experts assessedthe tenders and madethe decision to award thecontract to Rex becauseof three criteria, which

were broken down intopercentages.

Reasoning was 40 percent quality, 40 per centprice, and 20 per centfinancial viability.

“This evaluation splitensured offers were as-sessed on value formoney and quality.

“Specific tender detailsincluding the number oftenders, operator identit-ies and payments arecommercial in confid-ence.”

Member for Mount IsaRob Katter believed there

ld b d l

would be a decline inservices on some of theGulf routes with the clos-ure of Skytrans.

The impacts will besomething Mr Katterwould closely watch.

He said Skytrans was achampion when it cameto community contribu-tions in the Mount Isaregion.

“They have left a largehole in that space and itwill take a very largecommitment from RexAirlines to compete withthem,” Mr Katter said.

“We will be watchingthe community contri-butions of Rex Airlinesvery closely over the next12 months to ensure thatthe effort by Skytrans isat least matched.”

DISCUSSION: TransportMinister Scott Emerson.

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North West Star, Mount Isa QLD05 Jan 2015


ID 357933162 PAGE 1 of 1

West Wing starts temporary air routes in northAN INTERIM airline hasflown to the rescue of CapeYork residents whose lives havebeen thrown into chaos by thesudden closure of Skytrans.

West Wing Aviation willservice the region on a week-by-week basis until permanentcarrier Regional Express (Rex)receives official approval totake up services to Coen, Lock-hart River, Aurukun, Kowan-yama, Pormpuraaw andBamaga.

Cook MP David Kemptonyesterday confirmed all 85 pas-sengers who were booked tofly with Skytrans today wouldstill be able to fly as planned,now with West Wing.

Skytrans ceased operationslate on Friday afternoon – aday after celebrating its 25thanniversary.

The closure has beenblamed on the loss of a StateGovernment contract to ser-vice Cape York, which was

awarded by the Governmentto NSW-based Rex.

Rex is still waiting for clear-ance from the Civil AviationSafety Authority (CASA) to of-ficially begin its new service,which it expects to receivelater this month.

Mr Kempton said the Gov-ernment would continue dis-cussions with all parties,including the mayors of affec-ted communities, to ensurelong-term services were viable.

It was a frantic weekend forthe Torres and Cape Hospitaland Health Service, whichneeded to reorganise the medi-cal appointments for peopleflying to Cairns and southernQueensland.

TCHHS chief executive DrJill Newland said news of theshutdown came as a surprise.

“We’re shocked, we wereable to book our patients lastweek, and we expected book-ings to be honoured,” she said.

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Courier Mail, Brisbane05 Jan 2015

Edition Changes, page 9 - 115.00 cm²Capital City Daily - circulation 167,172 (MTWTFS-)

ID 357936420 PAGE 1 of 1

Collapsed Skytrans hit trouble in 2011ANTHONY KLANAVIATION

REGIONAL airline Skytrans,which collapsed on Friday after25 years in operation, began to hitfinancial turbulence as early as2011 and again 18 months agowhen its auditors warned that itfaced possible failure.

Accounts for the Cairns-basedairline for the year to June 2013showed its auditors warned therewas uncertainty over its ability tocontinue as a going concern, not-ing its current liabilities were$23.5 million over its assets.

The Skytrans accounts alsoshowed the airline breached loancovenants on loans worth $18.7min the year to June 2013.

The year before, in the 12months to June 2012, Skytranswas hit by tanking coal prices —with fewer fly-in, fly-out minerpassengers — and a reduction inQueensland government-subsid-ed routes operated by the carrier.However it still managed to de-liver a $2.07m profit.

The following year Skytransdelivered a $1.3m pre-tax loss andlast Friday, the day after a long-standing lucrative Queenslandgovernment contract expired,owner and managing directorSimon Wild pulled up stumps.

“Along with losing the con-

tract, we’ve had a contraction inthe mining services sector andafter the big airlines, Qantas andVirgin, announced they are get-ting into the charter marketthere’s an oversupply of planes,”Mr Wild told The Australian yes-

terday. “With the falling … dollarit’s been the perfect storm.”

Auditors BDO said the highlevel of current liabilities at June2013 meant there was a “signifi-cant uncertainty” over the abilityof Skytrans to continue as a goingconcern over the excess of cur-rent liabilities.

The previous year Skytranssaid the excess in current loanswas a result of loans being classi-

fied as current, rather than non-current, because they were sub-ject to annual review by lenders.

Regarding the breach of loancovenants in the 2013 financialyear, in its accounts Skytrans saidthe lenders were permitted to de-mand “accelerated payments”but did not do so.

Mr Wild and his wife boughtSkytrans in 2008, having built upPNG carrier Airlines PNG, whichwas later floated.

Skytrans was founded in 1990by David and Sue Bernard.

It lost its key Queensland gov-ernment contacts to NSW-basedRegional Express in October butunder the terms of the contract

continued operating the servicesuntil January 1. Skytrans had op-erated government-subsidisedservices through westernQueensland to Mount Isa andnorth Queensland to Doomad-gee, near the Northern Territory.

In October, it announced itwould not audit its books, claim-ing doing so would be of “limitedbenefit”. Mr Wild said the grouphad decided it would not have itsaccounts audited, which is per-mitted by law, in an effort to save

costs as the airline’s operationsshrank.

The company has not lodgedits accounts for the year to June2014.

Mr Wild said Skytrans hadpaid all staff entitlements and anumber of staff were expected tobegin working for Rex.

He said it was not possible for asmall operator such as Skytransto compete with Qantas andVirgin, which were moving in on anumber of routes.

“It appears likely that we willhave competition on our Caperoutes with an inevitable pricewar — a war where the only win-ner would be the airline with thedeepest pockets,” Mr Wild toldemployees and customers.

“It would be a war I would notbe prepared to enter as it wouldhave jeopardised staff entitle-ments.”

V1 - AUSE01Z01MA

After the big airlines, Qantas and Virgin, announced they are getting into the charter market there’s an oversupply of planes. With the falling Australian dollar it’s been the perfect storm.SIMON WILD, SKYTRANS

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The Australian, Australia05 Jan 2015, by Anthony Klan

Business News, page 17 - 288.00 cm²National - circulation 116,854 (MTWTF)

ID 357896076 PAGE 1 of 2

A Skytrans plane parked at Cairns Airport

BRENDAN RADKE

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The Australian, Australia05 Jan 2015, by Anthony Klan

Business News, page 17 - 288.00 cm²National - circulation 116,854 (MTWTF)

ID 357896076 PAGE 2 of 2

05january2015

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