Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Tourism, upon notice, on 28 November 2012:

(1) Given that, in 2009, the Minister for Tourism, Mr Martin Ferguson, encouraged tourism operators via the climate change guide Mitigation and Adaptation Measures for Australian Tourism Operators to ''Firstly, think about the major costs and environmental impacts of your business. This may involve looking through your electricity, gas and water bills, looking at your accounts to see how much fuel you have used, working out how much time and money you spend on sourcing materials and services, costing your maintenance activities, or seeing what your staff ongoings are'', has the department sought to engage with individual tourism operators since the introduction of the Carbon Tax to ascertain what extra ''carbon charges'' they now face, and what this means to their viability.

(2) What modelling has the department undertaken since the introduction of the Carbon Tax to determine the impact on tourism operators of the additional pressures from 2014, when the private vehicle fuel exemption will no longer apply to heavy vehicles.

(3) Why has the department refused at successive estimates hearings to undertake Carbon Tax impact analysis on behalf of the 350 000 tourism connected businesses in the Australian market?

(4) Is the Minister aware that Mr Kevin Rudd stated via Twitter on 4 October 2012, that ''The front desks of all our major hotels must have Chinese language skills for the future. So too with guided tours''.

(5) What proportion of Australia's 350 000 tourism connected businesses employ staff with a Chinese language ability.

(6) Is this considered a central part of being ''China-ready''?

(7) What consideration is being given to linking tourism businesses with staff that have a Chinese language ability.

(8) With reference to the Strategic Tourism Investment Grant awarded to ensure Australian Tourism is ''China-ready'': (a) how much was awarded under this grant and to whom; (b) what has been achieved under this project; and (c) what does the department aim to achieve before its completion.

(9) With reference to the policy to drive China-readiness, are there plans to better utilise the Chinese language skills of Australians who speak fluent Chinese, or international students who are permitted to undertake limited work while studying in Australia.

(10) Given that the Government has invested $1 million via the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) to translate websites of Australian tourism connected businesses into Chinese and other world languages: (a) is the Minister aware of concerns that automated language translation leads to confusing broken Chinese messages; (b) has the department sought or received advice that automated translation services create perceptions that the businesses they represent are similarly lacking in quality; and (c) what is being done to resolve both these issues.

(11) Given that, since Mr Rudd was Prime Minister, Australian receipts from international education have declined by $3.6 billion, and that the international education sector is an important part of the tourism market, how is the department working to ensure that this trend is reversed.

(12) With reference to the early 2012 pre-Budget submission of the Tourism and Transport Forum indicating that, under a Coalition Government, Australia earned a net profit of $3.6 billion from tourism, while in 2012, Australia is forecast to lose $8.7 billion in the tourism sector, what is being done to stem the overall net decline of Australia's tourism performance.

(13) Can the department confirm that: (a) the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) lists Australians in the top ten international spenders; and (b) the Australian Bureau of Statistics has highlighted that Australians took 8 million overseas trips in 2011, and spent 139 million nights abroad.

(14) How much did Australians spend on overseas trips in 2011, and how does this compare to: (a) spending by international visitors to Australia; and (b) the long term average.

(15) With reference to the World Economic Forum system of ranking nations in international tourism competitiveness, what is the estimated impact the additional taxes and charges announced in the 2012 13 Budget will have on Australia.

(16) What impact has the 100 departmental staff cuts, announced at the end of 2011, had on the department's ability to manage ongoing projects.

(17) Given that the 2012 13 Budget provided no funding for the continuation of the T-QUAL program, the only program solely devoted to assisting improvements in tourism products in Australia, can an outline be provided of what dedicated tourism programs will be available to assist struggling tourism businesses to rejuvenate tourism products.

(18) What proportion of the T QUAL program budget has been allocated to the quality accreditation process in relation to the small grants component.

(19) In terms of the quality assurance and standards accreditation system, has consideration been given to how effective the program is in replacing the previous 1 to 5 star ratings system, in particular: (a) has the department reviewed market testing of the efficacy of T QUAL accreditation (brand awareness); (b) what does T QUAL mean to the average Australian traveller; (c) is it a recognised and understood brand for inbound tourists; (d) how does it differ from the world's major accreditation schemes, and why are they more or less well understood; (e) does the UNWTO suggestion for mystery shoppers have merit; (f) do assessors have a clear checklist to remove subjectivity, ensure consistency across venues and drive continual improvement; (g) is there merit in the Australian Accommodation Association (AAA) suggestion that T QUAL participation requires participation in an occupancy reporting regime (ABS/​STA Global); (h) should every hotel front desk carry a pamphlet explaining T QUAL and inviting feedback; (i) are there other metrics that should be reflected in the brand such as disability access; and (j) have any venues lost their T QUAL status.

(20) What are the criteria for T QUAL accreditation.

(21) Has the department engaged in discussions across government departments and agencies with regard to the impact that the proposed mandatory pre commitment for poker machines will have on clubs in Australia; if so, what impact will the legislation have on clubs; if not, why not.

(22) With reference to the use of Garden Island in Sydney as an overflow facility for cruise ships: (a) can details of the plan be provided, including the long term projected growth of cruising, given that new ships coming on line will be increasingly unable to pass under the Sydney Harbour Bridge; (b) when and for how long will the agreement come into effect; (c) how many ships per year will be allowed to use the facility and during which months; (d) will the cruise industry be charged for use of Garden Island; if so, how much; and (e) what is the economic benefit to Australia, including how many trips per year will this secure by giving the sector certainty, and what is the total in country spend, both in Sydney and other ports visited, as part of itineraries of these cruise liners.

(23) Has any research been undertaken into the impact of the Passenger Movement Charge increase from $47 to $55 per passenger, particularly with respect to Australia's favourability as a tourist destination.

(24) With reference to the Jackson Report recommendations, and the corresponding T2020 objectives, and given that industry indicates it is currently unclear who is driving the National Online Strategy for Tourism, can the Minister clarify this and indicate what the forward objectives are.

(25) What action is being taken to promote the Going Global Action Plan and to incentivise the take up of the tourism e-kit.

(26) What Federal funding has been allocated to ATDW compared to funding received from the states since its inception.

(27) Are the digital ready programs run by state tourism organisations being monitored in order to better tailor programs provided by the Federal Government.

(28) Has the department expressed concern that disaster affected businesses have waited extended periods to have cyclone affected infrastructure repaired, and is the department aware that businesses at Mission Beach in Queensland continue to suffer due to the delay in funds to repair the Clump Point Marina and the yet to be announced repairs to the jetty on Dunk Island.

(29) With reference to the speech by Mr Alan Joyce to the National Press Club on 9 October 2012, indicating that 22 per cent of flights in Western Australia were mining related, undermining the Government's claim of healthy aviation activity, can the Minister advise whether Tourism Research Australia (TRA) will amend its national visitor survey to better represent the health of non-mining related tourism.

(30) With reference to the increased Passenger Movement Charge from $47 to $55, has any modelling been undertaken by TRA in relation to the effects of this rise (separate from the University of New South Wales modelling into a 20 per cent increase).

(31) Has any modelling been undertaken on the impacts of passing on the $118.1 million in costs relating to Australian Federal Police security to airports.

(32) Has TRA undertaken, or will TRA undertake, any modelling on the impacts of staff reductions from the Australian Border and Protection Service based at airports, or 750 staff cuts in total.

(33) Given that TRA is tasked with undertaking research on policy affecting tourism, what research is being undertaken by TRA since being absorbed into the department, and therefore no longer operating as an independent body.

(34) Are Tourism Australia or the department working to mitigate negative perceptions about ''Brand Australia'' in social media.

(35) How many hours or full time equivalent positions are devoted in the department, its agencies and other portfolios to monitoring online commentary and to engaging in and correcting dialogue relating to ''Brand Australia'.

(36) With reference to the increased passenger movement charge, the Asia Marketing Fund, and the Regional Tourism Infrastructure Fund (RTIF): (a) how is the Government spending the $48.5m million RTIF and over how many years; (b) how is Tourism Australia involved in using the fund to drive visitation to rural and regional Australia; (c) is there a commitment to focusing this funding towards ''demand driver'' infrastructure to ensure tourists are motivated to visit regional Australia given that groups such as Tourism Accommodation Australia and Inland Tourism New South Wales consider ''support infrastructure'' funding is wasteful.

(37) What does Tourism Australia estimate the impact of the decision to reduce its budget by 6.2 per cent ($8 million) will be.

(38) How much does Tourism Australia spend on cooperative airline attraction with Australia's leading airports, and what is the measured benefit.

(39) Which airlines does Tourism Australia or the department currently provide funding to, and can an outline of the purpose of this funding be provided, including the measured benefit and how is it measured.

(40) How many projects outlined in the Government's prospectus of 80 ''shovel ready hotel construction projects'' have attracted capital investors since it was launched, and have key performance indicator targets been set for departmental officers.

(41) Given that residual funds from the closure of the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre were to develop a key performance indicator framework, did TRA develop its own set; if so, why and in what way were they different.

(42) Can an update be provided on the ''best practice guide for destination management planning'' funds to ARTN, including when it will be released for the use of regional tourism organisations.

(43) Given that the Jackson Review recommended in 2009 a ''visitation priorities list'' what progress has been made against this objective.

(44) Can a report be provided on the take up of recommendations of the L.E.K. report, published on the department's website, and given that many actions require state and local government involvement, how is the Council of Australian Governments process being used to drive outcomes in this space.

(45) To date, what successes have been achieved by the Investment Facilitation Branch now operating under Tourism Australia.