Grievance Debate

Tourism Industry

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:11): I rise today to talk about our tourism industry, and I have to say that the tourism/hospitality industry are doing it extremely tough. This challenge before them came before bushfires and before COVID-19 when already they were at the lowest ebb of business confidence since 2012. With the hit of COVID-19, many of them have had to close. Hospitality venues, tourism operators, hotels—not only have travellers not been coming to see them, but people have not been able to continue with the cash flow that they had previously.

The Labor opposition came out two weeks ago to say that this industry is doing it incredibly hard and that it needs a $200 million package because this is a really significant industry. There are 18,000 employers and 39,000 people who work in the visitor economy. It is an important part of South Australia. I have had many conversations with people in tears on the phone, telling me that their business has evaporated overnight.

In the most positive circumstance, there are those who will go into hibernation. They have had to let most of their staff go, they got the bank to freeze any loans they have and they hope that when this is over they will flourish. But they continue to have concerns about how long the situation will go for and, particularly, concerns about paying their leases and rents.

Last week, the South Australian Tourism Commission came out with a package of support. That support included one-off grant payments to different tourism operators and support for regional and community events, particularly those that have been cancelled or postponed and particularly those that have encountered payments that needed to be made. They have a focus on digital training and funding for regional tourism organisations, and they have a focus on the future because we all believe that there will be an end point and a recovery, and they are distributing fact sheets on the SATC website. What is this package worth? It is $5.7 million. This package is from existing resources: $5.7 million to $200 million. This is not even in the ballpark. It is just at the starting gate.

I am really shocked at the lack of support for this very important industry. Remember, we have already had $23 million worth of cuts: $11 million in the first budget and $12 million in the second budget. How about you just reverse the cuts as a start? What we want to do is support those businesses—the cafes, pubs, restaurants, cellar doors, accommodation providers, tour operators and all of our tourism businesses—that literally keep the food on the table for tens of thousands of South Australians. Labor welcomes this package, but it is not enough. It is simply not enough for this important industry.

Only today, I was contacted by the owner of a local hospitality and tourism publication. She is facing financial ruin due to the COVID-19 restrictions. She is owed more than $40,000 in advertising revenue from clients who are simply unable to pay. They also have no entitlement to any of the grants or assistance announced to date by the federal or state government. These voices seem to be unheard. The $5.7 million, which is just using the marketing budget differently, is just not enough. How do you expect these businesses to go into hibernation and then flourish again overnight when this is all over?

Another issue that has been raised with me is the representation of small business on the Premier's council. I recently had to advocate for a tenant in my electorate. The Small Business Commissioner provided excellent service, but they need more support and more money.