Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Fadden for his question. He, like I, together with the member for McPherson, have a deep passion about Australia's tourism industry. We are very much looking forward to the Commonwealth Games and what we will be able to showcase of the Gold Coast to the world.

I also know that, as part of his interest in tourism, the 2016 Tourism Investment Monitor, which was released by Tourism Research Australia, shows that the total value of Australia's tourism investment pipeline is some $60 billion, or thereabouts. They also estimate that hotel transactions were about 4.2 billion last year, with more than half of those transactions on the Gold Coast. In 2018, as I mentioned, the Gold Coast will host the Commonwealth Games. The Games will put our great city on the world stage. It is going to boost tourism in a city that has about 30,000 people reliant on it. That is why the coalition government was pleased to put $156 million into the Commonwealth Games four years early, representing our commitment.

But I note that the member for Fadden asks about the rule of law. Members in the chamber may have seen some footage that was recently released in relation to CFMEU officials. They were hurling abuse and intimidating safety officers on the Commonwealth Games site. So what was it that the CFMEU was saying? I have to say, Mr Speaker, I am mindful that often there are children in the gallery and children watching on TV. So I will be considerate of that in terms of reading it out to the House. The CFMEU said: Beep—'you'—beep. 'I'll'—beep—'drive you, eh? Drive you'—beep. 'You know what? You know what? I know your phone number. I know where you live'— beep. 'I'm telling you now. I'm'—beep—'telling you'—beep. That was what the CFMEU said.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

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