Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will do my best to try and not upset others in the chamber by speaking the truth. The Tasmanian tourism industry is a gem in our crown. It is a huge economic driver, something I think all sides of politics can be proud of with regard to the state of Tasmania and the growth we are seeing them.

The coalition made a number of commitments during the election campaign, including $5 million to make investment ready the Cradle Mountain masterplan. It is a wonderful part of our state and something that does need work. It will be a very exciting project, when it is up and running and when we see what the final result is, in a region of Tasmania that needs this investment. The Three Capes Track, which I have not walked myself but I look forward to doing in the future, will complete this stunning and world-class walking experience down the Tasman Peninsula. The coalition also backed the 'Geeves Effect', a study into the demand for a wilderness experience in the World Heritage area at Lake Geeves, which I think we could all agree is a spectacular part of the world.

There was also investment into a world-class fermentation centre, Fermentasmania—which is adding to our reputation as a world leader in food and beverage—and the north and north-west winter events program. We talk about the importance of events and recreational activities in regional Tasmania. They are an economic driver, and we will be committing to replicating the success of events like the Devonport Jazz Festival and Dark Mofo. There was the New Norfolk riverfront revitalisation—a $600,000 investment for cycleways, walkways and visitor facilities and for relocating the rowing club. This is a spattering of small projects around small communities across the state of Tasmania, but they are important to each of these communities, and I am proud to have been associated with them during the last election.

Returning to the point I made earlier about the promises that the coalition made at the last election about being fiscally responsible, some criticise the fact that we were not promising to spend taxpayers' money like there was no tomorrow. If you compare the money promised by the coalition in Tasmania to the money promised by the Australian Labor Party in our state, you can see the point that I am making here. The thought that I think runs through people's minds every time they approach the ballot box is: who can be trusted to manage the Australian economy? The coalition promised just under $270 million in Tasmania; Labor promised over $1 billion in election commitments. There is a whopping $750 million difference between the levels of commitment.

As I have come to learn in life, now that I have grown up, had my kids and had to get a job to pay the bills and my mortgage and to start putting money away for my children's future, money does not grow on trees. It is a difficult argument to sustain sometimes—especially in the face of a cash-splash bonanza from your opponents. I think people will reflect, though, as I am sure they did the morning after the 2 July election, on just how close we came to having a repeat of the years 2007-2013 and what that would have meant for our country, its economy and the direction we are heading into the future.

Again I will reflect on the great honour of being able to go out into the electorate, listen to my community and bring back here their concerns or talk about the positive ideas they want to share with me as a community representative. The government has a commitment to rural and regional communities, as I have already said, through its election commitments and through the $200 million Regional Jobs and Investment Package.

Last Friday, I was privileged enough to have met a core group of committed and passionate locals from the beautiful north-west town of Waratah and I was joined by one of the hardworking local members from the Tasmanian state parliament, Joan Rylah. For some time now, I have been keeping an eye on the work of this group of residents from the town of Waratah and the ideas they have for making this town hum like it did 100 years ago.

Waratah, for those present—probably not many—in the chamber at the moment who do not know, is about one hour south of the coastal town of Burnie. It was home to the great Mount Bischoff tin mine. This mine was one of the economic powerhouses for the state of Tasmania in the 19th and into the 20th centuries. This town was the first Australian town to have electric streetlights back in the year 1886. I was also told at this meeting that, taking into account inflation, over the years the mine would have produced the equivalent of $2.8 billion worth of tin in today's terms. But if you drive into Waratah today, while it is still a beautiful town on the edge of some spectacular wilderness and sitting around the top of a valley with a waterfall in the middle, you can see it is not quite the town it used to be. The population has dropped from over 5,000 to just 298, according to the 2011 census. There is only one hotel and most of the buildings have gone or are on the way out, and the town is slowly being reclaimed by the untamed wilderness of western Tasmania.

Like we have seen successfully executed in other states, including Western Australia and Victoria, the group I met with is pushing to preserve and promote some of the amazing mining heritage as a tourism drawcard. The proposal includes great bushwalks, camping sites and unique interactive heritage experiences—all tied into the exquisite Cradle Mountain and Tarkine regions. Anne Dunham, Winston Nickols, Ivan Johnston and the other committed locals are to be commended for their hard work and enthusiasm to do something for their community.

We also discussed the ancient Aboriginal pebble path that stretches from the small town of Temma through to Valentines Peak on the north-west, which is also being promoted by another passionate local, Mr Chris Hawkins. With the bushwalking craze as it is in Tasmania and across the world, this is a project that excites me and many in the community as a new offering in Tasmania for the bushwalking fanatic. These people were buoyed by their own ideas and passion for their place. If I could bottle the enthusiasm they have for our state, I know I would not need to work—I would be a very rich man if I could sell that sort of enthusiasm. This is representative of the resilience and the up-and-at-'em attitude that many Tasmanians have, which I talked about in my first speech. This community has been hit by more than its fair share of hard times, but, by banding together to do things their way with a view to making the community strong again, they are on the up.

There are number of issues that continue to crop up in my travels around the state, particularly in rural and regional communities. One of the issues that came up in recent times was the issue of mobile black spot funding and the government's program to address weaknesses in mobile coverage across the country. It was interesting to note that not one cent had been spent by those opposite to fix this problem in the years they were in government—compare this to the commitments and, indeed, to the rollout of the black spot program for base installations or upgrades underway at the moment. In Tasmania alone, 31 locations that are to be rolled out were announced. They include Apslawn, Bicheno, Bothwell, Brandum, Cramps Bay, Eggs and Bacon Bay, Elliott, Gawler, Goshen, Hamilton, Highland Lakes Road, Loyetea, Lulworth, Lyell Highway, Melrose, Miena, Mole Creek, Nunamara, Okehampton Beach, Pyengana, Rossarden, Sisters Beach, South Riana, Swansea, Takone, Targa, Tarraleah, Tasman Highway, Verona Sands and Whitefoord.

Given the importance to the communities I have just mentioned or the people that use the transport routes that will be covered by these upgraded or expanded base stations, I was interested to read an article in the Launceston newspaper, The Examiner, reporting comments by the member for Bass, Mr Ross Hart. In that article Mr Hart made what I feel are outrageous claims with very little basis in fact—claiming, quite separate to the findings of the ANAO report, that base stations were erected on the basis of politics, not community need. I ask the member for Bass whether he understands that many of the areas he is talking about as having been held by Liberal or National MPs are actually rural and regional communities where blackspots most often occur. Does the member for Bass understand that these include places in his neighbouring seats of Braddon and Lyons? Does he understand that some of these sites I have just listed are actually in his own electorate of Bass? And I have to ask Mr Hart, the member for Bass, which ones he would like to see removed from the list. I would be happy to take Mr Hart out to any part of our state which he thinks should not have solid and decent mobile phone coverage and allow him to justify why he thinks people there do not deserve it. Getting out into the community in the limited time we have is incredibly important.

Two of the shining lights in the Tasmanian context, as I have already said, are the tourism and hospitality sectors. Over a long period of time, I have had the honour and privilege to have worked with these industries on their plans for the future. The Tasmanian government, led so ably by Premier Will Hodgman, who happens to also be the Minister for Tourism, Hospitality and Events, has done a great deal in conjunction with tourism and hospitality operators across our state. The strong relationship between that government and those industries came about because that government listened. It decided that the people who knew best about how to tap into the amazing growth and potential, and to capitalise on the increasing visitor numbers and build the momentum we needed, were those in the industry itself—the hoteliers, the cafe owners, the restaurateurs, the vignerons, the tour guides, the over 37,000 people that have employment thanks to those industries in Tasmania.

It is important to point out that 60 per cent of tourism businesses are outside our major population centres, in rural and regional communities. The Tasmanian government has set a goal of attracting 1.5 million visitors per annum by the year 2020 and is well on track to achieving that goal. The Tourism Industry Council Tasmania has said that that goal would bring in an extra 8,000 jobs for Tasmanians. It would also result in growing an industry already worth in excess of $2 billion in terms of visitor expenditure. And this increase is needed, particularly in rural, regional and remote communities. Tourism Research Australia stated that Tasmania's west and east coasts were the fifth and sixth most tourism dependent regional economies in the country. Growing this industry is supporting our rural and regional communities and giving people, including younger people, the chance to live and work in the communities they love.

As I mentioned in my first speech, Tasmania is the 'it' location. People from all over the globe are hearing about our great state, its fine food and produce, its amazing wines and its spectacular scenery. Indeed, the visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping in late 2014 is still having a positive effect on our state. The number of Chinese visitors to our state has increased at an incredible rate. And the Chinese demand for our first-class food and beverages has also grown exponentially. We have a 37 per cent increase in exports. Cherry exports are up by 46 per cent, with reports that an individual Tasmanian cherry will achieve a sale price of $1.50.

This growth and increased demand are great—great for jobs, great for the economy and great for the community. And it is positive to read the comments of the Tourism Industry Council's Luke Martin in today's Hobart Mercury, which say that if we are to keep growing demand, and to keep up with demand from overseas in particular, there will need to be another five or six hotels built in the next three years in Hobart alone. This is a massive turnaround from the days of decline and nosediving tourist numbers in our state. I look forward to working with the Tasmanian government, particularly Premier Will Hodgman, the minister for tourism, on ensuring that Tasmania remains one of the great destinations on this planet and that the Tasmanian people can continue to invest and work in this boom industry.

I turn to Tasmania's status as the gateway to Antarctica. While Tasmania, in the eyes of some, is disadvantaged by its remote location from the rest of Australia, it is this remoteness that puts my state in the prime position to be the home to all things Antarctic. Coming up to parliament for my attendance at what is known as 'senators school' a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr Jeff Ayton, who is the Chief Medical Officer in the Polar Medicine Unit within the Australian Antarctic Division. Jeff was travelling to attend meetings of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, otherwise known as SCAR, in Kuala Lumpur, at which they were bidding to host the 2020 series of these meetings. I was thrilled to learn a week or so ago that Tasmania will be hosting these meetings in 2020. That is great news. It means that over 700 Antarctic scientists and academics will be coming to Tasmania from over 40 countries around the world. As the Antarctic Division has stated, this will showcase Tasmania as a key Antarctic hub, a gateway insofar as our country is concerned.

Additionally, as a bonus, the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Program—which also has a terrific acronym, COMNAP—will host its annual general meeting in Hobart, which will bring over 100 Antarctic program managers to our state. These are great announcements, and I commend the AAD, in particular Nick Gales and Jeff Ayton, for their efforts in securing these events for Tasmania, and indeed Australia.

With countries like China and the US continuing to increase their focus on the Antarctic, Tasmania is a place that has great potential for servicing their needs and providing a base for them to work from. There is an active community in Hobart promoting Tasmania as a place where international partners can come and base themselves to continue their Antarctic exploration and scientific research. During my time in this place I look forward to supporting that community in putting Tasmania more firmly on the map when it comes being 'the' gateway to Antarctica.

I would also like to commend the Minister for Employment for her work across the country, particularly in my home state. The minister has provided me with a briefing on a specific project funded under the program known as Empowering YOUth Initiatives, and the first round of that program. The project I was briefed on, run by an organisation in the state's north-west known as BIG hART, is called 20 in 2020, which I am told works with young people to increase their employability and enhance their pathways to social and economic participation, while at the same time supporting them to effect positive change in their community. It is targeted at people between the ages of 15 and 19 and identifies people at risk of becoming long-term unemployed if they are early school leavers, from a jobless family, experiencing violence, in out-of-home care, likely to leave school before year 12—and the list goes on. There are a number of categories there. The communities they focused on were Burnie, Wynyard and Smithton, which many have identified as disadvantaged communities with regard to youth.

So this project, known as 20 in 2020, run by Big hART, needs to be commended, as does the Minister for Employment, Senator Cash, for rolling out this program. I look forward to seeing the results of this and future projects rolled out under this particular program. I also look forward to working with Tasmanians to promote the next round of funding for this program when it is open for applications.

I have spoken a number of times of the Tasmanian government, and it is important to point out that there is a strong working relationship between the Tasmanian and Australian governments. They are working cooperatively together. We always come to the table with different points of view but, as two mature governments, I think we are working together very well to get the best outcomes for our state, and I look forward to doing that on into the future.