Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member opposite asks if I am talking about the tourism industry. I certainly am. We do not have the skilled workforce to fill positions in those jobs where skills are in short supply because of the neglect of the coalition government over 10 years. The tourism industry also has benefited from the $8.5 billion we have committed for nationally significant transport infrastructure, which feeds into tourism, and the $355 million in funding for rural and remote councils through the Roads to Recovery program, which helps, for example, the 47 million domestic visitors travelling by car and the grey nomads, who spend anywhere between six days and 73 days on the road. By providing this critical infrastructure, which was so neglected by the previous government, we are helping businesses to grow and to recover.

The tourism industry is resilient. Businesses have a profit motive to recover quickly from the likes of floods, cyclones and a whole range of other disasters. So certain business people in the industry are saying that, despite a number of hotels in Brisbane closing following the floods, they expect the market to recover well. The casino in Cairns, restaurants in Townsville and airports and attractions are now open and trading. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 8 February show that 2010 was a good year for Australia’s international tourism. The international tourism industry grew, with arrivals growing by 5.4 per cent on the previous year, to a total of 5.9 million in 2010. This positive full-year result was assisted by strong growth in arrivals in December 2010, up 4.4 per cent on the same period in 2009. In 2010 arrivals from China, South Korea and Japan were particularly strong—up 20 per cent from China, up 18.2 per cent from South Korea and up 12 per cent from Japan. So they are all good figures. Continuing to appeal to our international visitors will be particularly important for Australia’s $34 billion tourism industry in 2011, following the negative perceptions created by the floods and Cyclone Yasi.

It is the support for tourism by this Gillard government which delivered Australia the successful Oprah Winfrey visit. By bringing 302 of her audience members to Australia for a week, Oprah Winfrey lifted the profile of Australia in ways that we have not seen before. Audience members visited every state and territory and more than 700 hours of footage was taken to produce four hours of prime time TV. The Oprah show is viewed by 40 million US viewers a week and is broadcast into 145 countries around the world. Before the show was even aired, it had paid for itself many times over, with international coverage from the time the trip was announced totalling more than 3,000 stories, having an equivalent advertising value of just over $20 million, and domestic coverage in Australia exceeding 70,000 stories, valued at more than $140 million.

The Gillard government has provided strong support towards the growth of the Australian tourism industry. It will continue to provide the support the industry needs to remain globally competitive. My electorate, which has suburbs like Glenelg and the beachside suburbs, will benefit greatly from this government’s support of tourism.

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