Jim Turnour (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, and I appreciate that support. Another angle that Tourism Tropical North Queensland is pursuing as a result of the EMDG Scheme enhancement announcement concerns climate change. It is seeking to bring together climate-change-sensitive operators to work to show the world that holidays in Australia not only can be carbon neutral but also can reduce carbon footprints. In an era when ‘going green’ is fast becoming an important priority, tourism operators in the region are looking to operate in a more environmentally friendly way and to become not players but leaders in this field. The tropical north contains many coastal communities which are more susceptible to climate change risks. We are lucky enough to have World Heritage listed rainforests and the iconic Great Barrier Reef. Tourism in the region is built upon our amazing natural assets, so it is in our best interests to do everything we can to ensure they are preserved so that future generations are able to witness and experience what we are lucky enough to have surrounding us every day.

The world is taking action on climate change, and Australians are passionate about moving with this tide. Unlike the previous government, federal Labor has shown a clear commitment to tackling the threats that climate change poses. The Rudd government’s first budget clearly demonstrated this, as $2.3 billion, over the next four years, will be invested in measures that will help us all combat and adapt to this very real issue and risk. Whether it be at a local level in our households through installing solar panels, at a national level with the emissions trading scheme or in the global arena with the Kyoto protocol, the Rudd government is committed to tackling climate change. Out of this funding comes—and this is very pertinent to my electorate, as well as to my neighbours to the south—the $200 million reef rescue package. The Great Barrier Reef Rescue Plan will help to protect and preserve the reef for future generations, largely through improvements to water quality.

Tourism operators in the region have the ability to use this green concept to their competitive advantage. People across the world are becoming very conscious of their environmental impacts, their energy use at home, the cars they drive, the groceries they buy and—I am sure we are moving towards this, and we may already be there—the holidays they take. By grouping these like-minded operators together, which I understand they are already doing through the efforts of TTNQ, and collaborating on a green marketing program internationally, there is real potential to capitalise on this trend—a trend that is here to stay. There are many people throughout the world who would be attracted to a low-carbon impact holiday, offered by clean, green operators in one of the most environmentally precious regions on earth. Once again, the EMDG changes have offered a platform for Tourism Tropical North Queensland and some of our greener local tourism operators to explore this further.

Another important point that is pertinent to this EMDG bill concerns our long-term future. In delivering the EMDG amendments, the government has recognised that it needs to secure our future. There is no mistaking the resources boom that has occurred over the last decade or so in Australia. There is no denying that the tropical north has benefited significantly from this activity in recent years. However, there are clear signs that some sections of the economy are slowing, and certainly the tourism industry in the tropical north is experiencing this. Inflation is at a 16-year high. Official interest rates have increased eight times since 2004. Petrol and grocery prices are becoming more expensive. At least one in five households in my electorate is in mortgage stress or paying more than 30 per cent of its income in mortgage repayments. Over a quarter of renting households are in the same predicament. These factors are putting family budgets under pressure in tropical North Queensland.

It is for reasons such as these that we must support and remain focused on other core industries. In the tropical north we want to ensure that our region is sustainable past any boom. We must not squander the proceeds the mining boom has provided but look to the future and work towards ensuring we are able to recover from the period of economic slowing that we are entering. We want to ensure that tourism is one industry that comes out the other end of such a period in a strong and positive position.

I am pleased the Rudd government has acknowledged this need and has committed to ensuring our trading sector continues to be a positive contributor to economic growth. Tourism development needs continual attention in our country. The Export Market Development Grants Scheme is now a program with renewed focus and funding, and I am confident it will improve the export productivity and competitiveness long past the economic boom we have experienced and through the economic slowing we are now experiencing in tourism, particularly in the tropical north.

Federal Labor have demonstrated their commitment to improving the country’s trade performance. The EMDG amendment bill is a key element to this effort and the tourism industry is a significant benefactor of the work that is being done by the government in this field. The tropical north tourism industry has been receptive to and welcoming of the government’s actions to revitalise the Export Market Development Grants Scheme. TTNQ has been a leader locally in pulling together local businesses to take advantage of this. They are definitely going to benefit from this legislation and these amendments. I strongly support this bill in its progress through the House.

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