Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was there only last week to see this great structure of a ghost gum, with all its gnarled sides, standing there now dead. It is tragic, and those who would perpetrate such an act must be brought to justice, if only we could get some leads on those who poisoned that iconic tree. It is iconic as the birthplace of the Labor Party because it was from that meeting, where the fuhrers first met in Barcaldine to discuss political representation in the parliament, that the workers, as they united, identified someone whom they wanted to get into the state parliament of Queensland—and they did just that. I am sure our Whip, the member for Hinkler, would agree with me.

You might be wondering what all this has to do with the bill, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is all about tourism and the iconic places that tourists can visit. Born out of that same conflict were the meetings of the pastoralists and graziers, who then also sought political representation in the parliaments of Australia, and thus the Country Party. So in many ways two great political parties were born out of hardship and struggle in western Queensland. That story can be told and seen in Barcaldine—another great tourist destination not only for people of Australia but for people from overseas who are seeking to retrace the history of the early development of Australia—at the Australian Workers Heritage Centre.

One thing that is important if we are to see the growth of international tourism into central western Queensland is the Longreach airport. The Longreach airport, as it stands now, is run by the local council, the Longreach Shire Council, which does a magnificent job. That whole region of central western Queensland, the area that I have partly described in relation to the tourist attractions out there, is under what we call the Sustainable Regions Program. The Longreach Shire Council is working through the processes, with the support of the other local councils in that region, to get a commercial operator interested in taking over the management of that airport. It is seeking sustainable regional money from the government to assist with the upgrade of that airport to enable jet aircraft, rather than turboprops, to fly into that airport, which will bring tourism growth and tourists from many parts of Australia and overseas to that region.

That airport is integral to the growth of international tourism in that part of Queensland. It would bring many benefits if we were able to get final approval through the due diligence which it is going through at the moment agreed and get that money into that airport. It would become a hub for the region for those fly-in fly-out tourists, whether they are from Australia or overseas. We have only got to look at places like the Gold Coast, Cairns or Hobart in Tasmania to see that you need to rely on good airport infrastructure if you are to maximise the opportunities that are out there for attracting tourists to your region. People seeking a tourist destination today do not have a great deal of time for their holidays and they want to see as much as they can in the shortest possible time. I believe that that is why air travel is, in many areas of Australia, replacing the drive-in market. It maximises the time that they can spend in their tourist destination.

Other parts of my electorate that have great tourism destinations which are promoted, I know, by Tourism Australia are Roma and Charleville. Charleville, of course, is the home of the bilby. It will be Easter very shortly. I encourage all Australians to buy an Easter bilby rather than an Easter egg, because the money that is raised through that process will go to preserving the bilbies in Australia. The bilby is an endangered species, quite a wonderful little mammal that is found in very few parts of Australia and that has almost been decimated by the wild cat population and other pests, including foxes. It is important that we are able to make sure that our bilby will survive, and we should all be encouraged to buy those Easter bilbies this Easter. Charleville is the home where that is being preserved.

Another tourism destination for people seeking an ecotourism destination is the Darling Downs, in the granite belt of my area, where there are great tourism opportunities. Historic Jimbour House, outside Dalby, is becoming a very important tourism destination for special events. Very near there you can see the great Dingo Barrier Fence, parts of which are being preserved. As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker, from your early days in western Queensland, involved in the wool industry, that was the great barrier that—nearly always—separated dingoes from the cattle country and from the sheep country so that the sheep industry could thrive and prosper and create the jobs that were important to so many regional towns and rural communities.

I did perhaps stray a little from the original intention of the bill, but I thought it was important to cover some of the important tourism destinations which are in my electorate and highlight their importance to the jobs and the wealth of those communities. Tourism Australia do a magnificent job in promoting Australia as a tourism destination internationally and also domestically. I want to make sure that they continue that work and that they continue promoting not only our coastal and major capital cities but also our regional cities and the outback of Australia, which has so much to offer.

I support the bill and look forward to its passage, because it will mean that the governance arrangements will be improved. That is important, given that Tourism Australia is a statutory authority that requires federal taxpayers’ money for its operations. I commend the bill to the House.

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