Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Urquhart for that question—and, of course, she is absolutely right. Very few industries have had it as tough as the tourism and travel sector over the last couple of years. From bushfires and floods to the pandemic, the industry has weathered significant challenges which have impacted the businesses' ability to retain and to recruit staff. Those in the sector understand that skill shortages were an issue before the pandemic but were exacerbated by the ongoing uncertainty from and lack of action by the previous government. Hearing the voices of those in the sector and working together on solutions is and will continue to be a priority for the Albanese Labor government.

To this end, last week I was joined by almost 100 tourism and travel stakeholders who detailed their challenges and how the lack of staff is limiting their recovery from the pandemic. Throughout the sessions, we discussed suggestions and opportunities to solve these problems, and those were then fed through to the Jobs and Skills Summit.

Unlike the previous government, who were more focused on their own jobs than the tourism sector—come on, respond! Respond! Say something! Don't just sit there! Don't just sit there—