It won’t be long before residents can against fly direct to seven locations, including all five major cities on the eastern seaboard. It was only a few short weeks ago people were talking doom and gloom for Dubbo’s air travel after JetGo went into voluntary administration.

However, I understand the importance of having good air links and I worked hard alongside council staff to find a new service.  Indeed, the residents of the Dubbo Region and the whole of Western NSW made it very clear that they wished to have reliable access to Melbourne and Brisbane.

From August 7, Fly Corporate will offer two return flights a day direct to Brisbane on Sunday to Friday, while from September 28, it will provide a twice weekly return service to Melbourne’s Essendon Airport.

Fly Corporate is owned by Corporate Air, a company that has been in business for more than 46 years and has a proven record for safe, reliable and sustainable services.

I am delighted they have agreed to service Dubbo and expect it will be a mutually beneficial partnership for years to come. In dealing with Fly Corporate and their CEO Andrew Major during negotiations, I was so impressed with their professionalism, their commitment to passengers and their work to avoid flight cancellations.

I have no doubt the region’s residents will enjoy using Fly Corporate’s services and it is absolutely crucial that it is utilised. We have done the work to attract the service, now people have to use this service to ensure it remains viable.

It is very much a use it or lose it service. If people don’t get behind Fly Corporate, we will lose it and no one wants to be without these valuable air links. Dubbo’s air travel has expanded dramatically in the past 14 years, doubling from 100,000 passengers a year to more than 200,000 in 2017.

It capped a big 24 hours for the city’s airport, after I had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from Qantas as they began their visits to shortlist locations for a Pilot Training Academy.

I’ve said it before but I really believe Dubbo is the best possible location for Qantas. As well as a fantastic airport that is already in the process of being upgraded, the city has favourable weather and fantastic lifestyle opportunities for staff.

We look forward to hearing a decision from Qantas in the coming weeks. On another matter, I would like to thank Troy Grant for his contribution as Member for Dubbo over the past seven years.

We may have had our differences politically but nobody could question Troy’s passion and commitment to the job, and he has a number of achievements that he should be very proud of.

Dubbo has certainly progressed during his time as the region’s MP and with the state government in such a healthy financial position, there has been a lot of money that has been spent in the region on projects like the Dubbo Hospital and the XPT rail maintenance facility. I hope that come March next year, Troy will be able to enjoy his time away from politics and wish him the best in his future endeavours.

Council are inviting community organisations, who are seeking an annual donation to help deliver services to the community, to apply now for a share in the $155,000 Community Services Fund for 2018/2019.

Community groups that were previously funded by the former Dubbo City and Wellington Council’s are required to apply again through a public process available to the wider community.

To apply, download and fill out the application form below and email it to council@dubbo.nsw.gov.au, post to Dubbo Regional Council PO Box 81 Dubbo NSW 2830.