Tourism Industry

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:46): Today, as we come to possibly the last week of parliament for this term, I want to dedicate my comments to the tourism industry. Prior to the pandemic, the tourism industry employed more than 40,000 South Australians, many of whom live and work in our region. It was the fifth most important part of our economy in Australia. Internationally recognised as a growth industry, it is a highly competitive sector, as we compete not only within Australia but also overseas.

I have been very clear in my advocacy for the industry. Primarily, my focus has been that tourism equals jobs. It came to the fore when we saw cuts from this government straight up in their first budget and followed with ongoing cuts as well. What has probably shocked me more than ever is the SATC annual report. Before the pandemic—40,000 jobs. It was estimated that the decline in direct employment could be as low as 26,700 people by June 2021. That was a prediction. As I believe it, it probably has not gone quite that low.

But let's think about this industry, a huge employer, an important employer. Do you know what? They have felt forgotten by this government. While many industries have actually done quite well, we know that tourism, hospitality and the arts continue to be punished time and time again. At its worst, we saw a top of $8.1 billion in December 2019 to a low of $4.4 billion in March 2021. That is a huge drop in the value of our visitor economy.

What else has happened? We know that 11 of the 12 South Australian regions had decreases in spend of up to 45 per cent between 2019 and 2020 and a 61 per cent decrease in interstate overnight trips in 2019-20. We are expecting this decrease will be seen again, given the border closures we saw with New South Wales and Victoria, which provide about 60 per cent of our tourists. The borders were closed in July, August, September and October.

We know that South Australians have been holidaying at home, and that has provided some relief, but it has been patchy. Tourism Research Australia data shows that some regions have fared better than others. Clare Valley remained relatively stable, with less than 1 per cent decrease; however, Adelaide had an impact of 54 per cent; Eyre Peninsula had an impact of 48 per cent; and the Murray River, Lakes and Coorong, 51 per cent. They have all seen significant impacts. Of course, the Flinders Ranges and outback region, which Port Augusta falls within, have seen a drop of 32 per cent in visitor expenditure from 2019 to 2020.

Knowing this, what have we done as an opposition? We have gone out and very early called for a hospitality policy, an immediate $200 million support fund for businesses suffering revenue losses caused by ongoing restrictions. We proposed an extension of the JobSaver wage subsidy program to South Australians losing hours as a result of restrictions. We advocated for the tourism voucher. We advocated on behalf of tourism operators who were fighting for their survival. We called for a dedicated tourism minister.

What has this government done? It continues the cuts to this very, very important industry. We have $24 million worth of cuts in the forward estimates. This government does not believe in tourism. It does not support tourism. People have had the hardest time, the most difficult time, and yet it has been the opposition's advocacy that has made the difference to call it out. It is a shame on this government and you should not be getting the Premier to continue in this portfolio.