Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Shadow Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the importance of Australia's visitor economy and tourism industry;

(2) notes that during the pandemic, international visitation fell by over 95 per cent;

(3) further acknowledges tourism industry concerns that in the first twelve months in office, the Government has:

(a) cut funding to Tourism Australia by $35 million;

(b) increased the cost of visitor and working holiday maker visas by 20 per cent;

(c) increased the passenger movement charge for international tourists; and

(d) refused Qatar Airways' request to double their flights to Australia;

(4) recognises the international market for the global traveller is fiercely competitive and many destinations have returned to pre-pandemic levels of international visitors;

(5) further notes that:

(a) international visitor numbers to Australia for the year ending May 2023 remain down 40 per cent on the corresponding May 2019 figure; and

(b) of the 5.6 million international visitors in the year ending May 2023, only 32 per cent nominated holidaying as the reason for travel, with the majority of visitors nominating visiting friends and relatives as the reason; and

(6) calls on the Government to back our tourism operators and regions reliant on international visitors by:

(a) reinstating funding cuts to Tourism Australia; and

(b) reversing its 'tourism tax' targeted at international visitors.

What the Labor government has shown over the past 16 or 17 months that it has been in power is that it is no friend of the tourism sector. I want to go through some statistics that show why the decisions the government makes are so damaging to our economy and that demonstrate exactly how important the tourism sector is to our country.

Visitor numbers to Australia for the year ending May 2023 are still down 40 per cent on the corresponding figure in May 2019, which is, of course, the pre-COVID comparison. Prior to COVID, Australia's visitor economy was worth $166 billion. It was growing faster than our national GDP. It supported over one million direct and indirect jobs in 300,000 businesses. Australian tourism and hospitality operators are largely made up of small and medium businesses who were hurt when international and domestic borders were shut during the global pandemic. As members may be aware, the international market for the global traveller is fiercely competitive. Visitor numbers to European and Middle Eastern destinations and to many countries overseas have now returned to their pre-pandemic levels. They're back to where they were pre COVID. A lot of people are coming into Australia for family reunions, so they're people who are coming to see family members. They're not part of the tourism sector that we used to have. Even the numbers we are getting, which are increasing, are made up of a much higher proportion of family members coming to see family and not the international tourism market—they're the people who stay in the hotels and support the tourism sector and the tourism destinations.

Let's go through what the Labor government has done. They've cut funding to Tourism Australia by $35 million, which is the agency that is tasked with getting our international tourism numbers back up. It's a globally competitive market. We're trying to improve a sector that has been damaged by the pandemic, and Labor cut funding to the agency that does that. They have increased the cost of the tourist and working holiday maker visas by 20 per cent. Visas have increased from $510 to $630. This is one of the highest priced working holiday visas among comparable countries such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada. The government has to realise that it's not a privilege to come to Australia any more—well, it's always a privilege; people always love it—it's a competitive market. The fact that they're pricing us out and that other countries are much easier and cheaper to get to is not okay. The government also increased the passenger movement charge for international tourists.

A more recent decision, but, again, crazy decision, was the government's decision to reject Qatar's proposal for extra slots to fly into Australia. It would mean an extra 700,000 additional seats, which would generate tens of millions of dollars of economic stimulus to our tourism industry and the broader economy. What happens if you don't increase competition? What happens because the government rejected Qatar's application? There's less competition, which means prices will not fall as they otherwise would have. If Qatar were able to fly these slots or flights into Australia, it would obviously put pressure on lowering prices, which is damaging to the tourism sector. While we're talking about exports, those planes have big bellies that fly out exports. The fact they're not allowing those flights in is also damaging to our export sector.

We've had an explanation from the Assistant Treasurer. The Assistant Treasurer told us why the government had blocked Qatar Airways flights. He said:

Qantas' record $2.5 billion profit was "a good news story" and the Albanese government blocked extra Qatar Airways flights to keep the national carrier profitable …

So there's some insight into how the government thinks about competition in the tourism sector and keeping air flights low. What has been the response of industry to that decision? Qatar's proposal had the support of the New South Wales and Victorian Labor governments. It had the support of our airports, travel agents and tourism bodies. Former Tourism Australia's managing director, John O'Sullivan, said that the minister's response was incredibly concerning and frustrating for the industry sector— (Time expired)

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second that.

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Paige for moving this motion and providing us all with the opportunity to talk about the significance of Australia's visitor economy, which is absolutely recognised and supported by the Albanese government because of the vital role it plays in cities, towns and regions across Australia and in my electorate of Fremantle. Freo is a great example of the emergence of the visitor economy, which, Australia-wide, has become one of our key export earning sectors and one of two service export sectors in the top five along with international education.

This month we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Australia II's victory in the America's Cup, which happened way back in 1983. In some ways, that marked the turning point in which Freo went from being a significant port and place of arrival to being a significant national and international destination in its own right. In recent years, Fremantle has made it into Time magazine's top 50 world's greatest places and Lonely Planet's top 10 cities to visit on the basis of the city's distinctive character and heritage, physical beauty, multicultural diversity and thriving cultural and creative sector. I particularly want to acknowledge the work of the hospitality and tourism businesses in Fremantle. The Fremantle Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fremantle are working to make Freo a dynamo of the Australian visitor economy scene. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the visitor economy was Australia's fourth-largest export earner, generating $166 billion annually and supporting the jobs of more than a million Australians. We are well on our way to moving past the damage the pandemic caused to the sector in supporting the industry to surpass visitor numbers and related visitor spend.

If you want to compare May 2019 with May 2023, the Tourism Research Australia International Visitor Survey results show the spend in Australia is now at 101 per cent of pre-COVID levels, and nights spent in Australia are at 91 per cent—well on their way to recovery. Similarly, overnight spend on domestic travel is up 37 per cent from 2019. Those are heartening figures. They demonstrate that the considered, thoughtful work of this government, led ably by Minister Farrell, is being reflected in increasingly positive results for the tourism and travel sector.

The member for Page refers to the decision to increase the passenger movement charge from $60 to $70. This is a figure which hadn't been increased since 2017. It's been raised in line with inflation as part of the fiscal discipline this government has demonstrated since coming to office. It is easy for those opposite to play politics about that measure if they want; their time in government was characterised by the waste of public funds, the delivery of an unending sequence of deficit budgets and the lazy accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt. As the member for Page knows, the funding received from the passenger movement charge supports the biosecurity costs associated with international travellers. For nine years, the former coalition government was unable to deliver a sustainable biosecurity funding model; that's another mess we're prepared to clean up in the national interest. An increase in the charge of $10, or two cups of coffee, won't deter travellers but will assist in ensuring the protection of our biosecurity which benefits all Australians but is essential protection for our vulnerable agricultural industries.

One of the many messes left to us by the previous government was an unbelievable backlog in terms of visa processing. The tourism travel industry has made it clear this was a massive problem. We've responded by investing $75.8 million to improve service delivery and enhance IT systems. The modest increase in costs for visa applications will help fund the costs associated with cleaning up the visa backlog mess I've described and work to improve visa processing for the benefit of both industry and tourists, and others who choose to visit Australia.

As a government, we will continue to invest strongly in tourism, delivering an appropriation of $169 million to Tourism Australia in 2023-24. Of this funding, $125 million is going to support the Come and Say G'day campaign, released in October last year, to help drive the recovery of inbound visitors. That is on top of the $48 million tourism travel support package announced in last year's October budget, made up of targeted programs designed to drive demand and bring back international visitors.

The Albanese government will continue to support the tourism and travel sector as that sector continues to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Page will cease interjecting.

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While the member for Page and I may disagree—and he may disagree loudly—on some of the matters contained in this motion, I have no doubt that he and I will work effectively together on a bipartisan basis to promote and support Australia's high-quality and vital visitor economy in our roles respectively as the chair and deputy chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Tourism.

Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Page for moving this important motion in the House. The motion is a response to the Albanese Labor government's disgraceful decision to make returning to pre-COVID tourism levels even harder. The Albanese Labor government decided it was a great idea to cut funding for tourism by $35 million. They also decided it was a great idea to increase the cost of visitor and working holiday visas by 20 per cent. You know what else they decided was a great idea? To increase the passenger movement charge and to refuse Qatar Airways' request to double flights to Australia.

Just like everything else the Albanese Labor government has decided to do, this is a policy disaster. It goes against the best interests of the people of Dawson, not to mention the entire nation. The electorate of Dawson relies heavily on tourism. Our nation relies heavily on tourism. Jobs filled by direct and indirect tourism businesses in Queensland accounted for a staggering 8.6 per cent. To put that in perspective, tourism employment in Queensland provided more jobs than the combined industry sectors of agriculture, forestry and fishing as well as our mining sector—and these are the lifeblood industries of Australia.

In my electorate of Dawson, we ranked 11th out of 151 federal electorates for the total number of employees working in the tourism industry. I want to paint a picture for everyone in this room. The Whitsundays is ranked number 2 in the world as an international tourism destination. The Whitsundays, where I live, is home to 74 beautiful islands, and we are the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. According to Tourism Research Australia data, the number of tourism businesses in Queensland before COVID was approximately 64,000 and more than half of those businesses were operating in rural and regional areas. Does it shock anyone that the Labor government is again ignoring the people in rural and regional Australia? It shouldn't, because there is definitely a pattern there.

I'd also like to bring to the attention of the House the THRIVE 2030 report that was revised and endorsed by the Labor government in March this year with no less than 24 Labor representatives committing their support. Two key action items in this report are: develop and implement a coordinated approach for direct and affordable long-haul flights to Australia, and to ensure Australia has a safe, affordable and competitive visitor visa system to maintain and grow market share, which is the exact opposite of what the Labor government is doing. Qatar, anyone? Anyone?

I pose this not only to you, Deputy Speaker, but to the House as well: I can't make sense of why the Prime Minister and every single one of the Labor representatives are determined to create senseless barriers to entry for everyone in the world who wants to come and spend time in our spectacular nation. How can the Albanese Labor government keep undermining the businesses and families in rural and regional areas relying on our tourism industry to live? How can the Albanese Labor government keep making these senseless and aggressive decisions without having any consultation with the tourism industry and then say to us that it's in the best interests of all Australians? How can the Albanese Labor government support and endorse an 88-page report on the importance of needing to return to pre-COVID levels only to backflip months later and do the exact opposite of what they said they would? I am bitterly disappointed in the decisions made by the Albanese Labor government, and all Australians should be too.

I urge the Labor government to back our tourism operators and back our regions that rely so heavily on this industry. We need to reinstate the funding for Tourism Australia, and we need to reverse the tourism tax targeting international visitors.

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tourism is a massive part of our economy in Australia—

Honourable Member:

An honourable member interjecting—

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will be heard in silence.

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and I'm proud to be a member of a party that not only understands this but a government that backs our tourism sector fully. Those opposite cry about our handling of the tourism industry, but they ignore the cold hard facts. They ripped support away from hundreds of thousands of mostly small businesses that made up Australia's visitor economy nearly a year before Australia's borders reopened. All those businesses that relied on international visitors had to cling on from 28 March 2021, when the previous government stopped JobKeeper, until 21 February 2022, when Australia's international borders reopened, and international travel from China, which before the pandemic was our largest source market of international visitors, only resumed a few months ago. And let's not forget that regional communities like mine had already suffered a severe slowdown in visitor numbers before the pandemic hit because of the impact of the Black Summer bushfires.

And what was the former Prime Minister, the member for Cook, doing as these devastating fires raged? Was he overseeing a national disaster response or holding a hose? No. Was he letting our key tourist markets know that much of Australia was unaffected and open for business and ready to welcome visitors? No. He was on the beach in Hawaii, perhaps learning to play 'April Sun in Cuba' for his pre-election interview.

A lot of Australians are doing it tough, but these issues we face here are also being faced by people in other countries all around the world. International travel is a luxury, and when times are tough it makes sense that fewer people are able to make the trip to Australia, regardless of how much they want to. When it comes to Australia, there is no shortage of great places for international tourists to visit. Sure, there are the capital cities and sights like the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, but in my humble opinion nothing quite beats the beautiful Hunter. Whether you want a coastal holiday or a regional escape, whether you like wine and good food or fishing and swimming, the Hunter electorate has it all. In the Hunter Valley we have vineyards that stretch as far as the eye can see. People from all over the world come to see our wine region and to experience the amazing wine-tasting and cellar door tours that come as part of the package when visiting the Hunter Valley. This is not to mention the fact that the Hunter is filled with amazing food. All over my electorate you will find world-class award-winning restaurants. Award-winning food washed down with award-winning wine—it sounds like a perfect combination to me.

Why wouldn't you want to come to the Hunter? Just quietly, I've heard of one of the newest tourist markets in the Hunter. It is called burgers of the Hunter. It shot to fame after a 2023 burger calendar. People from everywhere are rushing to the burger capital of Australia and the world. But if wine, food and scenic country views aren't your thing, we also have in the Hunter electorate the largest saltwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere, Lake Macquarie. There is nowhere better to be in touch with the best that nature has to offer. Or, if you prefer to experience Lake Macquarie from the land, there are amazing walking and cycling tracks offering some of the best views you will find. But it's not only people from other countries who want to see our vineyards and our amazing lake; the Hunter is a hotspot for domestic tourism. It's played a massive role in keeping our region going and our state afloat after the tough times of border restrictions during COVID.

People from Sydney frequently visit the Hunter, and it's easy to see why. When you're stuck in a fast-paced concrete jungle like Sydney that is filled with road rage, who can blame you for wanting to visit heaven, which you can find just a couple of hours up the road in the Hunter. No matter what your taste is, whether you're a domestic tourist or an international tourist, the Hunter electorate is what you're looking for, regardless of what you're looking for on holiday. Here in the Hunter we rely on tourists, and I'm part of a government that strongly supports the tourism industry and gives strong support to regions like the one that I represent. Anyone who suggests otherwise is absolutely dreaming.

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The tourism industry is critical not only to the Australian economy but also to the economy of my electorate of Flynn. I often say that the Flynn electorate is the economic engine room of the Australian economy, and the tourism industry is a major contributor to that. The picturesque seaside communities of Agnes Water and the town of Seventeen Seventy offer a diverse range of activities and experiences, including iconic Queensland beaches and national parks, and access to the heart of the southern Great Barrier Reef. The townships of Rubyvale, Sapphire, Anakie and Willows—the sapphire gem fields—are only a 45-minute drive west of Emerald and cover almost 900 square kilometres. People from all over the world descend on the sapphire gem fields each year to experience fossicking firsthand, trying their luck to uncover the ultimate gem. Hidden in the rugged ranges of the Queensland central highlands is the Carnarvon Gorge. This features towering sandstone cliffs, vibrantly coloured side gorges, diverse flora and fauna, and Aboriginal rock art. Mount Morgan is a picturesque, historic town nestled in the Dee River ranges, situated approximately 38 kilometres south-west of Rockhampton. With its range of impressive attractions on show, the town offers ideal opportunities to delve into the area's early success as a goldmining community and relive its fascinating past.

These are just a few of the amazing tourist destinations in my electorate of Flynn that are filled with both domestic and international visitors throughout the year. International visitor numbers to Australia for the year ending May 2023 remain down 40 per cent on the corresponding May 2019 figure. Of the 5.6 million international visitors in the year ending May 2023, only 32 per cent nominated holidaying as their reason for travel, with the majority, or 43 per cent, of visitors nominating visiting friends and relatives as the reason for their travel. In 2019, 47 per cent of international visitors nominated holiday as their reason for travel. Prior to COVID, Australia's visitor economy was worth $166 billion, and it was growing faster than the national GDP. It supported over one million direct and indirect jobs in 300,000 businesses across Australia.

Australian tourism and hospitality operators are largely made up of small- and medium-sized businesses who were smashed when international and domestic borders were shut during the COVID pandemic. But what have we seen in this Labor government's first 14 months? You've guessed it, Madam Speaker Payne: in true Labor fashion, we've seen funding cuts, tax increase   s and poor decisions being made. This includes a cut in funding to Tourism Australia by $35 million, the agency tasked with rebuilding our international tourism market. The international market for global travel is fiercely competitive, and many destinations have returned to pre-COVID pandemic levels of international visitors, so we need to be investing in our agencies, such as Tourism Australia, not cutting their funding.

An increase to the cost for tourists for the working holiday-maker visa by 20 per cent means the cost of a working holiday-maker visa has increased from $510 to $630 and is one of the highest priced working holiday visas among comparable countries such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada. The government has increased the passenger movement charge for international terrorism. This tourist tax is part of Labor's taxing agenda. We've seen them introduce the carbon tax 2.0, the truckie tax and the fresh food tax. They really should change their name from the Australian Labor Party to the Australian tax party.

The government rejected Qatar's proposal, effectively saying no to 700,000 additional fees from Europe and the Middle East each year which would have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in economic stimulus for our tourism industry and broader economy. This decision reduces competition, keeps airline tickets at record high prices and stops international travellers choosing Australia as their holiday destination. You would think that this Labor government would want more people to come to this country and spend their money at Australian businesses.

I'm proud to support the member for Page's motion today, which calls upon the government to back Australian tourism operators and the regions reliant on international visitors by reinstating funding cuts to Tourism Australia and reversing its tourism tax targeted on international visitors. I would like to conclude by thanking all of our tourist operators and businesses in the electorate of Flynn.

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to join my colleagues the member for Fremantle and the member for Hunter in speaking against the motion moved by the member for Page, who I might add is also the shadow minister for trade and tourism. It is unfortunate that we are to do so on a subject such as tourism. As many have done during the course of this debate, we can each paint a very picturesque image of our part of this great nation and describe why our state and, indeed, our electorate is worthy of a visit both by domestic tourists and by international tourists. That is the debate I'd much rather be having, because—I'm sorry to disappoint the members present—I contend that South Australia would clearly win the argument hands down. Instead, we have the member for Page moving a motion to criticise the government, a motion that speaks of doom and gloom in the tourism sector, a motion noting that the line is drawn not from the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic but from the likely first instance where the member for Cook did not effortlessly fail upwards in life and got turfed out of government by the Australian people.

I quite like my idea better. What better opportunity is there to showcase some of the many successes that South Australia has had in the tourism sector now that the worst of COVID is, hopefully, behind us and that there are now Labor governments both in Canberra and on North Terrace? Frankly, it is a debate that is entirely germane to the member for Page's motion. There is something for everyone, whether you visit Adelaide or one of our many regional centres; whether you are from South Australia or are just passing through; whether you're here to attend one of our many events—sporting, cultural, food or wine; or whether you're visiting from somewhere interstate or from overseas. The plain headline figures alone paint a very different picture from the one the member for Page is pushing, about tourism after the COVID lockdowns ended and our borders reopened. The latest available figures that I have at my fingertips show that, in the 12 months leading up to March 2023, tourism for South Australia hit $9.4 billion, which has grown from $6.1 billion in the previous 12 months. Of that, regional tourism has $4.47 billion, which is a staggering 23 per cent increase on prepandemic levels. Interstate tourism spend has hit record highs—$3 billion—which is up 18 per cent on prepandemic 2019 figures.

I must admit, during the pandemic, the regions were seen as the only available option for a getaway. Once people explored some unfamiliar scenery within our own backyards in SA, the staycations were here to stay, having events like the Adelaide 500, the Fringe Festival, the Santos Tour Down Under, Tasting Australia, the AFL Gather Round and a state of origin game—which I naturally had to miss due to it being held in a sitting week. South Australia's 'Festival State' licence plates may have ceased to be issued after 2008, but, since the election of the Malinauskas Labor government, we are living examples of our old slogan instead. The extra revenue flowing through to hotels, to hospitality and to so many other industries beyond our tourism sector gives us the breathing space to steadily grow our international numbers after their heavy and abrupt crash and gives breathing space to the sectors that heavily relied upon them for income. The successful regrowth and revitalisation of the South Australian tourism industry is largely thanks to the Malinauskas Labor government—ministers such as my predecessor, Nick Champion, who is now the South Australian trade and investment minister with responsibility for Brand SA, and Zoe Bettison, SA's tourism minister.

We should be thankful to know that we also have a South Australian at the helm in our government. I know that Senator Farrell, the Minister for Trade and Tourism, works tirelessly in that role to bring Australia back to the forefront of the minds of tourists across the globe. What we have from the opposition are criticisms that things aren't improving quickly enough. They've criticised the government for imposing an extra $10 on the passenger movement charge. I never thought I'd see the day when we'd have the Nationals lamenting measures that would ensure that a fully funded biosecurity regime was in place, but we saw nine years of Nationals in government and they didn't come close to doing that either. A robust and fully funded biosecurity system helps to protect and safeguard not just our ecotourism industry but also our agricultural and horticultural industries. The member for Page is either oblivious to, or ambivalent about, this fact. That said, in their time, we did have the member for New England threatening Johnny Depp's dogs, so that counts for something, I guess.

The Albanese Labor government is taking the importance of our tourism and visitor economy seriously and will continue to do so during this parliament and into the future.

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 13:33 to 16:00