Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Tourism Australia Amendment Bill 2007 amends the Tourism Australia Act 2004 by making changes to the governance arrangements for that organisation. The changes are said to be introduced following a review of corporate governance of statutory authorities and office holders conducted by Mr John Uhrig. This review went across a number of government agencies. I am not sure that some of the results of the review have been of particular use to the government, and in some instances I think the actions taken by the government across a range of areas have not been quite appropriate. However, in this instance I agree that the recommendation to remove the government director from the board is a good one.

I have always thought that in these types of organisations there is a real conflict of interest when there is a government-appointed member of the board who is usually a senior public servant who usually would be advising the relevant minister on the particular issue. I always thought that there was a conflict of duties between the duty of the board member to the board and the duty of the board member—in his role as a senior public servant in giving advice to the minister—to the minister. So I think it is appropriate in this instance that the government member be removed from the board and I certainly support that.

I note from the explanatory memorandum that the amendments also give the minister greater power to terminate the appointment of a board member. I think that is probably appropriate where these organisations are substantially operating on Australian government money. Whilst they are independent boards they are fairly heavily funded, if not totally funded—I am not sure, in the instance of Tourism Australia, whether it is total or just substantial—by the Australian government. Certainly where the government funding is substantial or total then the government needs to have the ability to relatively easily remove a member whom the minister is satisfied is not acting in the best interests of Tourism Australia, or where the performance of a member has been unsatisfactory for a significant period. I see that there is also a new provision where the board can, by a two-thirds majority, determine that a board member should be reviewed—and the minister would then act accordingly. I think those areas are appropriate.

The organisation, Tourism Australia, does a fantastic job for tourism in our country, and has done so in various forms—in various other organisational ways—over many years. Australia is a very attractive tourist destination and as the world becomes wealthier—particularly as East Asia becomes wealthier—more and more people are looking to Australia as a destination for their holiday travel. We have a country that has much to offer. As Australians we are always slightly blase about the fabulous geography, scenery and interesting heritage that we have in this country. Australia has some of the best snowfields in the world. I think it does; I am not a snow person myself and I have never been skiing there but from all reports we have fabulous snowfields.

Certainly, the Great Barrier Reef, where I come from in North Queensland, is rightly called one of the seven wonders of the world. There is scuba diving, fishing and fabulous scenery along the barrier reef. The wet tropics rainforests in the north of Queensland are world class. If you go to the centre of Australia and Ayers Rock—Uluru—you will see some scenery that is unique in the world. Many people—including me, as part of a Senate committee—have had hands-on experiences with Indigenous art in Central Australia. That, in itself, is an experience that you cannot get anywhere else in the world.

While I am a northerner and think that all good things in Australia are north of the Tropic of Capricorn, I acknowledge—as I did with the snowfields—that places like Tasmania are sensational tourist destinations. Even Victoria might have some attractive tourist destinations, although I struggle to think exactly what they might be on the spur of the moment—I only joke in saying that; the Seven Sisters springs to mind very easily, as do some of the rainforests of eastern Victoria. South Australia has its own charm, from Kangaroo Island up into the deserts, and Port Lincoln is a lovely area. Western Australia is a huge state with a variety of tourist attractions in the coastal areas, the Margaret River wineries, inland Australia and, up into the north-west, the Kimberley, which is an area that is attracting many foreign tourists—a lot from Europe, a lot from America and, increasingly, people from East Asia. Some of that coastal Kimberley scenery and geography is mind-blowing and unique in this world. We have an enormous capacity within Australia to promote tourism and to get people in.

Covering all of those fabulous destinations is the fact that Australia, as well as being a well-set-up tourist area—there are good hotels and good transport—is a safe destination. Increasingly in the world, safety for tourists—who want to have an adventure but want to have it relatively safely—enhances Australia’s reputation in the tourism area. We are a safe country. We have very good border security. We have good and honest police forces, law enforcement agencies and court systems. Relatively, we are free of crime. You do get a mugging here and an assault there, but, by and large and compared to the rest of the world, Australia is a very safe place. So we have a lot to talk about; a lot to brag about; a lot that makes us a very attractive destination for tourists from overseas.

We have to continue to promote, because there is a lot of competition around for the tourist dollar, and that is where Tourism Australia does such a mighty job. I guess it is always easy to be critical from the outside looking in, but the ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ campaign, which was Tourism Australia’s last effort, had a mixed reception. The Liberal Senate team went to the Gold Coast a few months ago, which was a very worthwhile experience. I and my Liberal Senate colleagues went and spoke to the industry and got a feel of what the industry was about on the Gold Coast, which is one of the world class tourist attractions that Australia is privileged to have. Some of the Gold Coast tourism people said—and everyone has a different opinion, but I related to their opinion—that ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ was attractive to Australians, but it is not Australians who we are trying to attract to Australia; we are really trying to attract Asians, who scratched their heads and wondered what that was all about.

I know that different people have different views, but I was persuaded to the view that that was not a terribly good marketing ploy. Some people have told me that inbound tourism has not been as good in recent years as perhaps it was in the past. As I say, with the many tourism operators that you have, you will have different views and opinions on what the right tourist approach is, but I was a bit concerned about that.

One of the things that concerns me about some of those campaigns—and indeed about the Tourism Australia board—is that I wonder how many people directing the operations are in fact involved in the tourist industry at the grassroots level. It has been suggested to me by some tourism operators that most of those on the Tourism Australia board—and I confess to not having had the opportunity to check this; if I am wrong I apologise in advance—are wholesalers, or middle men, in the tourism industry. If that is correct, that is unfortunate. What we need to do is have people on this board who understand tourism at the coalface, who are involved in the tourist industry and who know what Japanese, Chinese, American, German or Swiss visitors want when they get off the plane. They should have some idea of what sort of accommodation they want, what sorts of transport arrangements they want and what sorts of things would attract them in a marketing campaign in their home country overseas.

I urge the minister to look at the composition of the Tourism Australia board. That is no reflection on those who are currently on it. I must confess that I have not done the research to even see who is on it—I am quite confident that they are very good people. But if the suggestion that many of them are not directly involved at the coalface in the tourism industry is correct then that concerns me.

I do not want it to be seen that I am simply being a parochial Queenslander, but it has been suggested to me that none of the members of the board of Tourism Australia come from my state of Queensland. Non-Queenslanders may rubbish Queensland and people may say that I am being a little parochial, but without contradiction I can say that Queensland is a significant part of the Australian tourism industry. The barrier reef and the wet tropics rainforests are areas that have a worldwide reputation. The Gold Coast beaches and the Sunshine Coast beaches are as good as you would get anywhere in the world. Queensland is a tourist state. The fact that there is no-one associated with Queensland directly—as I understand it at the present time—on the board is a concern to me.

Certainly, these boards should be skills based board positions. I am not saying that every state must have representation, because it is not a representative board; it is a board based on skills. But I can assure the minister that in Queensland there are any number of very capable and able tourism operators and people involved in the tourism industry who well deserve appointment to this major board of Australia. I know a lot of people involved at the coalface of the tourism industry in Queensland who would be the sorts of people who could be appointed to that board. So, while I know our minister has done a sensational job in her role as tourism minister since she has held that portfolio and she greatly advertises and adds value to the attraction of Australia to international tourists—the minister does a sensational job, a very positive and worthwhile job—I would urge her, in making appointments to the board, to take into account some of the matters I have mentioned in the last 10 minutes or so. With that, I support the bill and commend it to the Senate.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

First of all, I thank Senator Macdonald for his eloquent rhapsodising about Australia’s tourism potential—and particularly, Senator Macdonald, in relation to Queensland. Thank you for that. The Tourism Australia Amendment Bill 2007 makes minor amendments to the Tourism Australia Act 2004. The amendments form part of the government’s response to the Uhrig review and subsequent assessment of the governance arrangements of Tourism Australia. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.