Portfolio Media

Hypocrisy thy name is Martin

03 November 2009

Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson has indulged in a typical piece of Labor hypocrisy, as a tax on British tourists to Australia came into force this week, says Shadow Tourism Minister Steven Ciobo.

Minister Ferguson’s condemnation of a new British tax (which will slug visitors with an extra $170 on an economy ticket and $350 on a business-class fare) is an empty gesture from a Minister who has been happy to load the industry with new taxes and imposts, Mr Ciobo said.

“How rich of Minister Ferguson to bag a new British tax on tourism when he himself slugged the industry with $1 billion in extra taxes at the worst possible time for tourism,” Mr Ciobo said.

“At a time when the tourism industry was feeling the pinch from high fuel prices and a slump in tourist numbers, the Rudd Labor Government hiked the Passenger Movement Charge (PMC) by 24 per cent from $38 to $47, which the industry said at the time would hit it hard.”

“Back in Opposition, Minister Ferguson told Parliament an increase in the Passenger Movement Charge would be like ‘ripping off the travelling public’. Within six months of being elected, he did just that but then has the gall to bag the British Labour Government for doing the same.”

Mr Ciobo roundly condemned the new British tax, saying it represented a significant barrier to encouraging Brits Down Under and was contrary to the spirit of free trade which had been talked up as part of the solution to the global financial crisis.

“This is our second-largest source market with 618,000 visitors (in the year to June) and it’s the biggest in terms of economic value ($3.4 billion annually),” Mr Ciobo said.

“But it’s showing signs of stress with a 3.7 per cent fall in visitors from June 2008 to June 2009 and a $72 million fall in expenditure.

“Given the amount of taxes Minister Ferguson is gouging out of the tourism sector, it’s about time he gave it more attention than he has been.”