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

I thank Senator Sheldon both for the great work he does in New South Wales, as a New South Wales Senator, and for the particular interest that he takes in the tourism industry. I can answer this question. Under Labor's tax cuts, every Australian taxpayer gets a cut. That's 13.6 million Australians from 1 July with more money in their pockets. In fact, in Senator Sheldon's home state of New South Wales, 83 per cent of taxpayers will receive an even bigger tax cut.

Many of those getting bigger tax cuts will be the hundreds of thousands of Australians who work in the tourism industry. The tourism sector supports Australian jobs in a range of industries, from accommodation and food services to the arts, recreation, aviation and events. That includes the cleaners in hotels in Sydney, waiters at restaurants in Melbourne, tour guides in national parks like Kakadu, boat crews on our Great Barrier Reef, and cellar door staff at fantastic wineries in South Australia. Many young Australians work in the tourism industry, and Labor's tax cuts are good news for them, with 1.5 million Australians aged 18 to 24 benefiting from an average tax cut of $1,007. More than half, 55 per cent, of workers in tourism jobs are women, who, under the Labor tax cuts, are going to be an average of $1,649 a year better off.

The Australian tourism industry and its workers have done it tough in recent years. (Time expired)