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

I think it is about 700 days since I last got a question from the member for Moncrieff on a tourism related matter. Firstly, on the $9 million, the industry asked that the government bring forward the $9 million to suit a short-term requirement to assist the industry to get through a very tough period. The government responded in a positive way to the request by industry. It was never suggested by industry that having brought it forward we then supplement it. The request has only come after the government agreed to bring forward the $9 million. I made it clear in bringing forward the $9 million that we would continue to seek to assist the industry through the global financial crisis. That $9 million in partnerships with industry and state tourism organisations was turned into $20 million, because in bringing forward the $9 million I was determined to get a multiplier effect by working with industry and state tourism organisations on the basis of at least dollar for dollar so that you got a bigger impact from the investment by government.

Through the January, February, March period—especially the Chinese New Year period—that was of substantial importance to the tourism industry, especially in areas such as tropical North Queensland, where they have been doing it very tough for a long, long time, including under the previous government, because of the collapse in the Japanese market. It is interesting to note that for the March quarter of this year, for the first time since 2005, tourism numbers out of Japan were up by three per cent. I can only hope that, as the Japanese economy strengthens, we return to some growth, but I will never suggest we are ever going to have the figures we previously had out of Japan into areas such as tropical North Queensland. The nature of the market has changed. So in terms that $9 million, the answer is no. The industry knows it because I told them at the time. More importantly, I turned $9 million into $20 million by working closely with industry.

By the way, in terms of government expenditure, I simply remind the member for Moncrieff that he had better be very, very careful travelling around the country creating a view in the minds of people in the tourism industry that the coalition in the lead-up to the next election is going to meet all these half-promises that local groups are asking him for in meetings. Next week, we have the annual meeting of the national Tourism and Transport Forum to be held in Canberra. I remind the member for Moncrieff that he has an outstanding funding commitment to the transport and tourism community. During the course of the forum last year, he talked up—in a very strong way—abolishing the passenger movement charge relating to the movement of people between Australia and New Zealand. I do not know if he has done his sums on the cost, but I have booked it. It is quite a substantial amount of money that the coalition is going to have to come forward with to meet the promise he made to the transport and tourism foundation at its meeting here in Canberra, at Parliament House, last year. I would also say he has been going around the community making a number of other half-promises about restoring TQUAL—about another $30 million over four years. Are you going to meet that commitment, or are you going continue to mislead people about what you may or may not do in government?

My relationship with the tourism industry is upfront. I tell them what I can do and I tell them what I cannot do. I am not particularly worried about that, because I have a view that that is what being a minister is about—not creating misleading expectations that you can do things when you cannot do them. I would also remind the member for Moncrieff that he has been out there making speeches about the need to return the budget to surplus. Our budget parameters return the budget to surplus in three years, half the time expected. You cannot have it both ways, going out there saying we should cut the cloth to suit the current circumstances and then going out there saying we should spend money. People soon see that you are an absolute hypocrite because they see through such half-baked speeches and promises. The member for Moncrieff can come in here and ask all the questions in the world, but it has got to a point where people understand that he is not serious about tourism because he is not prepared to call it as it is. He continues to go round telling them, ‘We’ll do this and do that,’ knowing full well that he has no capacity to do it.

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