The year 2015
has marked the end of the Parliamentary careers of some prominent Australians
and their contributions to public life as elected members are worth reflecting
on before the year officially comes to a close.
There was the
shock of the sudden passing of the House of Representatives Member for the
Western Australian seat of Canning, Don Randall. For those who knew him, Don
was a very effective local member whose style of not being frightened to call a
spade a spade won him respect from across the political spectrum when he
represented his constituents in Canberra.
The year 2015
also saw Joe Hockey retire from Parliament, bringing to an end more than 19
years of service as the member for North Sydney. Ultimately, Mr Hockey, who has
since been appointed as Australia’s next ambassador to the US, was collateral damage
in the demise of Tony Abbott as Prime Minister in September. With incoming
Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull promising a new economic direction, there was
no chance that Mr Hockey would stay on as Treasurer after the leadership change.
Mr Hockey
enjoyed many successes during his time in Parliament. So much so that in his
valedictory speech, which was delivered on 21 October, he tabled a document
titled “Community Service Report Card to the People of North Sydney”. The
16-page document lists Mr Hockey’s achievements as a Minister in the Howard
Government, as a Shadow Minister after Kevin Rudd led Labor back into power in
2007, as Treasurer in the Abbott Government and as the member for North Sydney.
The fourth
page of the report card looks at Mr Hockey’s time as Minister for Small
Business and Tourism from 2001-2004. The tourism industry, in particular, is
greatly indebted to him for what he achieved when he was in charge of this
portfolio.
In September
2001, leading domestic carrier Ansett Airlines collapsed. It immediately ceased
flying and never operated again. This came just days after the September 11
terrorist attacks on the US which caused many people around the world to
re-think their travel plans. In short, Australia’s tourism industry was teetering
on the brink.
As the
Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Mr Hockey developed a blueprint for
the future of the industry which was arguably the most significant tourism
public policy document that Australia has ever produced – “Tourism White Paper
– A medium-to-long-term strategy for tourism”. In the introduction to the white
paper, which was released in 2003, then Prime Minister John Howard wrote: “The
Government looks forward to working closely with the industry on the
implementation of this plan. Working together to achieve future growth in the
delivery of quality tourism services will provide very significant economic
benefits for the nation.” Then Minister Hockey wrote: “The Tourism White Paper
represents input from our best tourism minds and outlines a series of key
strategies to underpin the industry’s drive to achieving its full potential.”
Among other
things, the release of the Tourism White Paper saw the establishment of Tourism
Australia, the Government’s tourism marketing authority, and a pledge from the
Government to invest an additional $235 million over five years to support the
implementation of key measures in the policy blueprint.
That was in
November 2003 when it was fair to say that tourism advocacy to government was
incredibly strong. In the 12 years since, the tourism industry’s ability to
successfully advocate to government has appeared to slowly diminish. This
hasn’t been through lack of effort – there are many passionate public advocates
for tourism – rather, this has more to do with the fact that other industries
have committed more resources and in a more coordinated way. In Canberra,
tourism is seen as fragmented because it has representation from too many
industry bodies and therefore, other industries have surpassed tourism in the
eyes of many decision-makers in Canberra, notably within the bureaucracy.
With tourism
now at the point where there are strong growth predictions for the next decade,
it could be time for the tourism industry to reflect on whether it needs to
band together to lobby for a new Tourism White Paper. With the mining and
manufacturing industries suffering downturns in the past three years, tourism
looms one of the most viable alternative economic drivers, particularly in regional
parts of Australia. However, there is a risk that without a stronger focus from
government and industry combined, this growth potential will not be realised.
As Australia
heads into an election year next year, it could be just the right time for the
tourism industry to hold fresh discussions with all major parties to determine
if there is an appetite for doing more to address the perception that some
within government have that tourism is no longer all that important to the
economy. A new Tourism White Paper could go a long way towards doing this.
- By Hamish Arthur
