Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Tourism. I refer to the minister's comments of 31 August 2016 when he told the House that the increases in the passenger movement charge were

… choking the golden goose that is Australia's tourism industry.

Given that just 28 days later the government increased the charge by $5, does the minister stand by his comments? And if he does, doesn't that make him look like a golden goose?

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

I actually thank the member for his question, because there has actually been some debate in the House around the passenger movement charge. So let me just re-enlighten those members opposite about some of the debates we have had about the passenger movement charge.

I quote a member who said:

This is a government that is serious about the future of tourism. This is a government that is serious about a fiscally responsible budget that looks at changes to charges like the PMC in line with indexation to only partly recover the additional costs that have been placed on the government …

That would sort of seem like a fiscally prudent approach—an approach that reflects the need for governments to be responsible. You would almost expect it to be a comment on our side of the chamber, right? But, in fact, it is a comment by the minister opposite—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Sorry: the shadow minister opposite, shadow minister Butler. It was shadow minister Butler who made that comment. The one person on their side who was actually able to put forward a point of view that was consistent with the need to be fiscally responsible. So the member for Port Adelaide is the sole member on that side—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler on a point of order?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, Mr Speaker, it goes to relevance. This is about what the minister said last time he was at the dispatch box during question time—the very last time. Since then, the tax has gone up—does he stand by his comments?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler can resume his seat. I am going to rule on the point of order before I call the minister. As the member for Grayndler well knows, there was a lot of commentary and preamble in the question as well as the specific question.

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

I absolutely stand by my comment that the Australian Labor Party was strangling Australia's tourism industry with a 45 per cent increase in the passenger movement charge. A 45 per cent increase in the passenger movement charge! You need to talk to the member for Port Adelaide, who actually put forward the rationale about why it should go up. So the simple fact is that once again we see the Australian Labor Party approach to policy making that says, 'Don't listen to what we say, look at what we do,' because that is what Labor did—a 45 per cent increase in the passenger movement charge.

Now, we know that inflation was out of the bottle. We heard that from the Australian Labor Party. But 45 per cent? Really? The member for Lilley—45 per cent when Labor was in power. So we know that the Australian Labor Party delivered record taxes on Australia's tourism industry, but they did not reinvest the money. A 45 per cent increase in the passenger movement charge but they actually reduced funding for tourism in Australia, unlike the coalition, which has put in place a modest increase—substantially less than 45 per cent.

It is the coalition which is putting in record funding to Australia's tourism industry: $639 million by this government, driving record numbers of tourists, driving record spend by tourists and driving the length of stay to new record levels. That is the record of this government, and I am very proud to stand by this government's track record.