Dear Ed,

The real reason why REX withdrew its services from Grafton was not because of comments by a Cllr, but simply because the route was not profitable.

We have to face the facts the population of Grafton and environs has not matched that of Coffs or Ballina.

We are one of the poorest regions in NSW with a weekly household income of $910 compared to the NSW median of $1486 (ABS 2016).

We are paying of a massive debt of $20m with millions of dollars in infrastructure backlog.

Yet our Council has been calling upon us paupers to subsidise this multi-million-dollar private enterprise that receives millions of dollars in grants from government entities.

For years, the Lower Clarence has used a shuttle bus service to the Ballina airport which offers cheaper and far more diverse services and there is no reason Grafton could do likewise to Coffs.

Why does Grafton need two airstrips? One apparently pays for itself, the other doesn’t. Is this a display of pretentious wealth or is it beyond the capacity of our Council, both Cllrs and bureaucrats, to address this inequity and make it profitable?

Ray Hunt, Yamba