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

I can assure the House that we will continue to work closely with the tourism industry. We will also continue to work to overcome the neglect that this industry has had to put up with—the failure of the previous government—on such fundamental issues as a shortage of labour and a failure to train Australians to perform very valuable work in the tourism industry, which is so important to Australia’s economic performance. I might also say that they have raised with me their serious concerns about the failures of the previous government with respect to key infrastructure issues, such as improvements in railways and the performance of airports—in association with the requirements of the Australian community—to actually save to invest in improving those key economic activities for the future in terms of investing in skills and infrastructure development.

I am pleased to say that I have a good working relationship with the tourism industry. They continue to bring their concerns to me, because they are also about making sure that, unlike the previous government’s international tourism advertising campaign called ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’—

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