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

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the dire financial situation facing travel agents and the tourism industry in general as a result of Australia's current health and economic crisis;

(2) notes that:

(a) travel agents play a significant role in our tourism industry, sustaining businesses and employing thousands of people across Australia;

(b) tourism was one of the first industries to be hit and will likely be one of the last to recover;

(c) for many of our approximately 40,000 travel agents, the cost of staying open in order to reimburse customers who were forced to cancel holidays is contributing to significant losses; and

(d) with international travel restrictions likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future, travel agents need urgent assistance; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) develop a comprehensive industry-specific support package for the tourism industry, which acknowledges the important contribution this sector makes to the economy; and

(b) provide an urgent lifeline for travel agents on the brink of collapse, instead of the inadequate loss carry-back scheme, for which the vast majority of travel agents appear to be ineligible.

This is an important motion that relates to travel agents and the significant role that they play in our tourism industry. They sustain businesses; they employ thousands of people across the country. Many are just mum and dad small businesses in neighbourhoods. We know that tourism was immediately one of the hardest hit industries once the coronavirus hit Australia. We know that for many travel agents, around 40,000 across Australia, the cost of staying open in order to refund and rearrange travel arrangements for people who were forced to cancel holidays is absolutely—you can imagine not earning any money, but still having to keep your doors open to pay back fares and to rearrange the many travel arrangements that had been made. They have been working tirelessly for zero money for the last 12 months.

We know that the majority of the profit made in travel agencies is through international travel, and they have really been suffering. International travel restrictions will likely remain in place for a number of years in the future. Travel agents needs urgent assistance. We need the government to develop a comprehensive industry-specific support package for the tourism industry that actually works for the travel agents and acknowledges the important contribution that they make. An urgent lifeline is needed for travel agents who are on the brink of collapse. The travel agents I talk to in my electorate are all on the brink of collapse. We know a scheme has been purpose-built for travel agents, but we need a scheme that actually works—not the inadequate loss carry-back scheme for which the vast majority of travel agents appear to be ineligible.

I was recently contacted by Tashi Lachman who, together with her husband, owns and runs Thor World Travel, a long-established travel agent in my electorate, in Frome Road in Adelaide. It has been running since 1988. Tashi is absolutely desperate because she's got no idea how to keep her business open through 2021. She relayed to me the announcement of $128 million in grants to the sector was incredibly welcome, but the application process is a shambles. It's too confusing and has resulted in many travel agents missing out on the grants they could have been eligible for. The instruction from the Australian trade and investment group was to apply based on the business's Australian GST revenue. As a result, Tashi was eligible for only $4,000. But this does not reflect the actual losses travel agents have faced.

Tashi has tried to reapply using her adjusted business activity statements, but Services Australia is unable to assist unless the ATO provides a new certificate. She then goes back to the ATO. The ATO say they can't do this unless Services Australia send them a request. The reality is that, because of the confusing instructions, Thor World Travel may miss out on the $20,000 it was likely to be eligible for. What a ridiculous catch 22. It's not as if travel agents didn't have enough to worry about, now they have to worry about the botch up of this particular grant. There are countless travel agents in my electorate and around Australia in the same position. This is typical of the government—big on announcements but very poor when it comes to detail and implementation.

We've been calling for a targeted, sustainable support package for travel agents for a long time, because travel agents like Tashi and her husband are still struggling and are facing 12 months of uncertainty, if not longer. They've managed to keep their doors open and keep their staff, thanks to JobKeeper, but they're now concerned that JobKeeper may end, and that will absolutely ensure they will not be able to operate. Since the announcement that international borders are unlikely to open before 2022, even more of Tashi's clients have decided to ask for refunds for trips booked for the coming year. This hurts the business even more.

Like so many travel agents across the country, Tashi and her husband are facing a very uncertain future, and it's heartbreaking. They started their business in 1988 when they migrated to Australia. They're proud small-business owners and they consider themselves fortunate to have always been able to work and support their family. They've never been a burden on the system. They've trained the hundreds of employees they have employed over the last 30 years. These are good small-business people. She wants her business to survive.

The travel agent industry is a very important industry for Australia. We will need travel agents and the tourism industry to emerge from this economic crisis. Surely we can do better by people like Tashi and other travel agents who have given so much to our nation. (Time expired)

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