Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Resources and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I say for the information of the shadow minister that that idea actually came from consultation in Cairns during the course of last year—because we actually get around Australia and talk to tourism operators to work out how we can assist them with fundamental changes to policies to enable them to compete in a tough global market. I simply say in conclusion that we as a government will not only confront the international challenges but also put in place, for the first time in a long time, a new consultative process aimed at facing up to some of the supply-side issues which were neglected by the previous government and held the tourism industry back in recent times—fundamental issues such as infrastructure and the shortage of skilled labour in Australia, which are very much covered by recent budget announcements of the Australian government.

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