Good evening and thank you.
I am delighted to be here with you tonight in what is arguably Western Australia’s most famous building and a World Heritage listed tourist attraction – what an absolutely stunning backdrop for tonight’s celebration.
It’s great to see tourism leaders from all over the country in the room; representation from industry, business and Government.
I’d like to start by acknowledging the Whadjuk people who are the traditional custodians of the Fremantle area and pay respect to the elders, past and present, of all Australia’s Indigenous peoples. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here with us tonight.
And thank you Steven Jacobs for your beautiful welcome.
I’d like to acknowledge my federal parliamentary colleagues here this evening - Assistant Minister and Member for Perth Patrick Gorman and Assistant Minister and Member for Fremantle Josh Wilson - who is the happiest people in the room tonight because we are all sitting right in the heart of his electorate.
I also acknowledge Premier Roger Cook, and Minister Reece Witby - thank you for inviting us all to “walk on a dream” and visit the second-best State in the country.
Your beautiful state is home to five prestigious UNESCO World Heritage sites – Which we know bring in millions to our local economies, attracting tourists from all over the world, providing local communities employment opportunities, and inspiring conversations about our responsibility to protect these precious sites.
I am delighted that WA is home to one of our Government’s most recent additions – the incomparable Murujuga landscape. And I know I speak for everyone here when I say I can’t wait to see travellers get to experience the landscapes outstanding universal value forged over millions of years.
I’d like to thank ATIC for organising the annual Australian Tourism Awards. It’s a fantastic way to celebrate the many success stories in the industry, and it also serves as an opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and leave with a renewed sense of energy.
But tonight is all about celebrating this incredible industry, and the most important people in the room is all of you - every single award nominee. You represent the best of this industry, the best of our country, and I want to wish you all the best of luck this evening.
There is strong representation across all levels of government and the industry tonight because at the end of the day, collaboration is fundamental to the strength and success of the tourism industry.
As the Assistant Minister for Tourism, I value the regular engagement that the Australian Government has with ATIC, and I am grateful for its efforts to advocate for tourism operators.
The Australian Government is working with ATIC to help our tourism industry prosper in the years to come.
Our tourism industry is objectively a big deal.
Not only is it part of our national identity, it’s crucial to the strength of our economy. Boasting 360 thousand businesses and employing 700 thousand people, my job is to keep tourism at the front of the Australian Government’s agenda, and I do love my job.
Another special thing about the tourism industry is the great characters that we are so lucky to have working in it.
Not only does Australia have the most unique experiences and unparalleled landscapes, we also have the best people.
Those who work in the tourism industry, from tour guides to our hospo workers, they bring Australian experiences to life for visitors, welcome people of all sorts, and create lifelong memories of our world-class destinations and experiences.
I live and work and raise a family in a regional city that relies heavily on the tourism industry – on the other side of the country in Cairns. So I completely understand the importance and value of this industry – to our community, to our local economy, to our small businesses, to local families.
These businesses and workers need a government that works hand in hand with them to take the industry forward, and I’m proud to be part of it.
That is why the Albanese Labor Government is also investing in the tourism industry’s future workforce by funding eeger, a new online tool to support businesses to attract, retain and train workers.
Building on our strong record on skills and training, both the Albanese and Cook Labor governments are making record investments in fee-free TAFE which also helping to train and skill up the tourism and hospitality workforce.
And relevant to tonight’s event, we have provided funding to enable ATIC to expand their great work into an eLearning hub which provides relevant, accessible training, particularly for the small and regional operators who don’t necessarily have a lot of spare time.
These measures are all contributing to reaching our target of $230 billion in visitor expenditure in tourism by 2030.
I’m pleased to say that Robert Irwin is doing his fair share on this too. We keep seeing him on our screens and billboards here, and all over the world. This is because of our $130 million investment in the second stage of Tourism Australia's Come and Say G'day international marketing campaign. The campaign is putting Australia on bucket lists around the world.
I’m passionate about how the Australian Government is contributing to the tourism industry’s success, but I never lose sight of the fact that I’m just the support cast.
The real stars of the show – Robert Irwin aside - are our tourism operators, and I’m thrilled to be here tonight to toast the success of the award winners.
With so many incredible and unique operators in the industry, tonight's finalists and winners have achieved something they can be very proud of.
Hearing the individual stories inspires me, and the Australian Government, to continue to listen, collaborate, and build a strong future for tourism in every corner of the nation.
Thank you.