Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Resources and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question on the tourism industry. I say that because the tourism industry is exceptionally important to the Australian community, especially in the context of jobs in regional and rural Australia. One of the issues the tourism industry is raising is their serious concern about the impact of inflation on their local businesses and the need for the Australian government to get the economic fundamentals right. In that context they are vitally concerned and they seriously welcomed the reduction in interest rates this week, which has made it a little bit easier for them to conduct their businesses in a very tough global environment.

I say that because the tourism industry in Australia is finding it a little bit tough at the moment because of the serious economic concerns throughout the global economic community. On top of those serious economic concerns, they have also had to handle the impact of a very strong dollar, which has undermined our historical inflow of tourists from such significant markets as Japan. This industry has also had to handle the impact of a serious oil crisis, which has made it more difficult for tourists to come to Australia and to travel in Australia. So I simply say that the Australian government—

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