QUEENSLAND'S peak industry body for tourism, the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC), believes now is the time to seize upon major tourism opportunities to accelerate employment figures and business prosperity.

QTIC Chief Executive Daniel Gschwind said employment and investment in tourism will energise Queensland’s prosperity.

“Tourism contributes $23 billion to the state’s economy and more than 241,000 Queenslanders are directly and indirectly employed within the tourism industry,” Mr Gschwind said.

“One in 10 Queenslanders are already working within the state’s tourism industry and we think more tourism jobs can be created, significantly assisting other state priorities.

“The global market opportunities are there to increase the benefits from tourism, particularly in regions where many people are looking for work and could become employed within the tourism industry.”

Tourism is projected to be among the world’s fastest growing industries with growth forecasts at four per cent per year between 2013 and 2033 – more than doubling in size over the next two decades.

Tourism is the second largest export earner for Queensland and already delivers one in every 12 dollars to the state’s economy through tourism spending.

Mr Gschwind said using the right approach could see Queensland take a bigger market share of this growth.

“QTIC expects the next state government to re-commit to work with tourism businesses to accelerate the momentum gained from the hard work achieved in recent years,” he said.

“We want to see continuity in working towards the 2020 tourism targets and the 20 year plan. We don’t want these changed. We’ve made good progress and we need to stick with this course.

“Tourism operators are looking for an increased, competitive investment from the government for marketing and events with budget certainty for the next four years.

“We expect tourism’s importance to the Queensland economy will be further escalated as the size and contribution of other major industries and sectors changes and reduces in the future.”

QTIC believes it is critical for Queensland to sustain its natural assets and pull out all the stops to protect and preserve the state’s special destinations such as the Great Barrier Reef.

“We want to see the government provide certainty and reassurance to industry and communities that environmental management and protection policies also reflect tourism and residents interests,” Mr Gschwind said.

“We’re also calling for increased infrastructure investment in transport amenities including roads and national park facilities.”

QTIC is the peak industry body for tourism in Queensland, acting as “The Voice of Tourism”. QTIC is a private sector, membership-based organisation representing the interests of the tourism and hospitality industry across Queensland.

Tourism Priorities for Queensland

Accelerate investment in infrastructure for jobs growth and economic stimulus

• Accelerate investment in major infrastructure, including the Bruce Highway, sport and entertainment/convention facilities,national park facilities and multimodal transport systems that support regional communities, deliver benefits for other industries and locals and provide capacity to cater for future demand.

• Boost investment and cooperation in aviation and air route development.

• Stimulate private sector investment in tourism infrastructure through incentive programs and efficient regulatory frameworks.

• Invest in digital infrastructure to enhance accessibility and availability of services for visitors, industry, regional communities and governments to create consumer and business opportunities.

Invest in innovation to drive individual and collective business and product development

Business
• Support the development of an industry-led framework for business standards, as an alternative to regulation, which raises quality business and product development outcomes.

• Invest in industry-led capacity building programs that recognise the entrepreneurship mindset and encourage future innovation, workforce, business and product development.

• Invest in Open Data initiatives that enable business, industry, regional communities and governments to access and share information to remain globally competitive.

Workforce
• Accelerate the establishment of an industry-led partnership with the education and training sector to raise the quality of training and re-position the sector to meet current and future tourism skills, business and workforce demands.

Competitive investment in tourism for marketing, events and industry capacity building

• The current marketing and events investment of $100 million achieves $17 billion in visitor expenditure and supports 241,000 jobs. Other states and overseas destinations have been able to take market share off Queensland with increased investment. To achieve $30 billion by 2020 Queensland’s investment must be set at a more competitive level and be assured over a period of at least 3-4 years to build business partnerships and allow for effective event planning.

Maximise Queensland’s destination advantage

• Commit resources to regional tourism destinations to continue to deliver economic and community benefits.

• Support local governments to deliver positive social and economic tourism returns to regional communities.

• Stimulate public and private sector investment in regional tourism infrastructure through the adoption of the Next Generation Tourism Planning guidelines in local government planning schemes.

Preserve Queensland’s natural assets and cultural heritage

• Provide certainty for industry and communities that environmental management and protection policies will reflect tourism interests, particularly in areas of state and national significance. The capacity of governments and industry to sustainably manage these areas is an integral part of Queensland’s global competitive advantage.

• Allocate funding for industry partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through tourism activities, providing employment and Indigenous business development outcomes.

Advance industry structural reform designed for global competitiveness

• Work with industry to develop an industry structure that is more efficient, effective and coordinated.

• Progress the strong industry-government partnership through recognition of tourism as one of the economic drivers of the state’s economy.

www.qtic.org.au

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VECCI Chief Executive Mark Stone has welcomed the release of the issues papers regarding Australia’s Workplace Relations Framework.

"It is positive that the papers address areas of widespread concern identified by business, including the lack of flexibility in Australian workplace relations laws and the fragmented nature of these laws across jurisdictions, the adversarial nature of the current system, the high cost imposed on business and the absence of productivity improvement as a central feature of enterprise agreements," Mr Stone said.

"The key outcomes of the review must be the creation of a simpler, fairer and more efficient Workplace Relations Framework that spurs economic growth, increased productivity and improved business competitiveness and certainty.

"Job creation must be the priority as metropolitan and regional Victorian communities are faced with significant unemployment and industries continue to transition in the face of strong international competition," Mr Stone said.

"The operation of penalty rates needs to be reviewed to enable small business to employ more people and reflect the changing nature of the economy and labour market where the growth of the service sector, part time and casual work, extended trading hours and flexibility are the norm for many.

"We look forward to the review consulting thoroughly with business and encourage Victorian business to take this opportunity to make submissions on specific issues of concern."

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The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) is the most influential body for employers in Victoria, informing and servicing more than 15,000 members, customers and clients around the state.

vecci.org.au

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THE deadline for NAB customers to reclaim potentially millions of dollars in unfairly charged exception fees is fast approaching, with just 24 hours remaining according to Financial Redress, which is managing a series of class actions on behalf of bank customers.

James Middleweek, Managing Director of Financial Redress, said today that any NAB customers who believe they have been hit by excessive exception fees in the past should complete the registration process on www.financialredress.com.au  by 4pm on Tuesday 27 January, so as not to miss out on any compensation.

NAB exception fees were on average around $30 before the bank reduced or eliminated them altogether in 2010.

More than 40,000 NAB customers have so far joined the NAB Class Action, which is part of a wider group of legal actions relating to exception fees launched against eight of the major banks in Australia. The lead case, against ANZ, is awaiting judgment in the Court of Appeal (class action members were successful in the Federal Court on late fees). 

“When we launched the registration process for the Class Actions back in May 2010 the response was overwhelming. I commend NAB for its willingness to seek a settlement leading to compensation for its customers. It’s high time that the other banks followed suit.” Mr Middleweek said.

The deadline for NAB customers to join the proposed settlement comes as new research shows that Australian banks are charging Australians households six times more than the average person believes is fair, and twice as much as they think they are paying.

The research, conducted by Lonergan Research on behalf of Financial Redress and based on a survey of 1,026 people nationwide, found that Australians on average consider a reasonable level for bank fees to be $3 per month. They also estimate that they pay $8.70 per month in bank fees.

However, the latest Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) data shows that Australian households in fact paid $4.14 billion in fees in 2013, which equates to an average monthly fee of $19.05 per person.

Mr Middleweek said that the research showed that the practice of banks charging excessive fees in general remained a massive sore point.

“According to the survey 90% of respondents believe that banks should charge lower fees even if it means they are less profitable,” he said.

“Most consumers understand the fairness of paying a reasonable fee when it reflects the bank’s costs. However, they object to being hit with an excessive fee, especially when it appears unlinked to the amount in question or the time period involved.”

The survey found that dishonour fees (a charge imposed by banks for refusing to honour a transaction) are the biggest point of frustration for Australians, with almost half (46%) of respondents considering these fees to be ‘unacceptable’.

Two in five (41%) respondents indicated they would prefer not to have the ability to overdraw or go over their limit at all. The remainder of respondents declared they would, on average, be willing to pay up to $5.70 when they overdraw, go over limit or pay a credit card late.

“It is hard to believe that banks routinely used to charge customers $30 to $40 in these situations. Some still do charge that much and nearly all charge much more than $5.70,” Mr Middleweek said.

Mr Middleweek also pointed to banks’ pursuit of higher fees aimed at Australian small businesses.

According to the ABA, Australia’s approximately two million small businesses paid $4 billion in bank fees in 2013, compared with $3.2 billion in 2009 - a 25% increase.

“This means the average small business in Australia is paying on average $2,000 per year, or $166 a month, in bank fees,” Mr Middleweek said.

“Collectively, banks are charging Australian households and small businesses $8 billion in fees each year,” he said.

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TEN passionate travellers have been invited to visit Tropical North Queensland in February to capture the destination’s visitor experiences as part of a new global tourism marketing campaign.

The travellers range from a Kiwi drive-holiday enthusiast and Canadian documentary filmmaker, to a former professional Australian snowboarder. 

Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) Group Executive, Marketing, Steve McRoberts said the campaign was the third instalment of the destination’s Paradise-themed marketing initiatives, led by TEQ in partnership with Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Qantas.

“A world-wide search began in November for 10 global travellers to visit the destination and capture the beauty of Tropical North Queensland paradise through their lens,” Mr McRoberts said.

“The campaign attracted almost 100 entries from 15 countries which were of a particularly high standard and were published on ExploreTNQ.com.au.

“Entries closed on 21 December and were reviewed, with nine finalists chosen and a tenth decided based on the high level of engagement they achieved for their entry on social media.

“It has been terrific to see the passion and creativity the entries have demonstrated for Tropical North Queensland’s visitor experiences.”

Mr McRoberts said following the visit, the films would be reviewed by a panel of tourism and marketing experts and the person with the most captivating story would win a prize worth AUD$20,000.

“Vision captured during the trip will focus on the Tropical North’s Indigenous culture, the reef and rainforest, wildlife and outdoor adventure.

“The films will feature on ExploreTNQ.com.au, social media, and television commercials in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, which will also promote Qantas travel deals.

“The footage will also appear abroad in four of Queensland’s key international markets, including New Zealand, the US, Europe and the UK.”

Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Alex de Waal said having visitors to Tropical North Queensland become advocates for the region was a powerful form of marketing.

"Paradise Through Your Lens encourages travel enthusiasts to share their perspective of our paradise and is a primary component of TTNQ's advocacy strategy," he said.

Ten finalists (in no particular order):

1. Ben Williams, USA 

2. Brodie Rocca, Australia 

3. David Copithorne, Canada

4. Edward Saltau, Australia 

5. Jarrad Seng, Australia

6. Nicholas Covelli, Australia

7. Romain Leclerc, France 

8. Ross Mackay, New Zealand 

9. Shawn Lowe, USA 

10. Jemma Craig, Australia 

For more information about the finalists or Paradise Through Your Lens, visit ExploreTNQ.com.au

To book a holiday in Tropical North Queensland paradise visit Queensland.com

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THE Australian Government is taking another important step to improve water quality in the Great Barrier Reef with applications for the $5 million Reef Trust Tender—Wet Tropics programme now open.

“Over two hundred farmers registered an expression of interest last year and can now apply for funds to improve their farm’s nitrogen use efficiency,” said Mr Entsch.

“Farmers are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to submit a tender application to trial improvements in their fertiliser management practices.”

This is one of a number of programmes by the Australian Government, in partnership with other agencies, industry and communities, to achieve a common goal – protecting and managing the reef for current and future generations.

“This is an innovative approach to help farmers trial improved fertiliser management, leading to  cost-effective and long-term reduction in nitrogen fertiliser runoff entering the waters of the Great Barrier Reef,” said Minister Hunt.

“Nitrogen runoff from farms is a major factor affecting the health of the Great Barrier Reef and is linked to outbreaks of the damaging crown-of-thorns starfish.”

The programme is unique in its flexibility, allowing farmers to put forward a proposal and asking price to the Australian Government that meets their individual business needs and circumstances.

Terrain NRM, the programme’s delivery partner, is available to provide registered farmers with information and on ground support where needed.

Cane farmers who registered an expression of interest are invited to submit a tender application by 19 February 2015.

Tenders will be evaluated based on value for money and site visits may be conducted as part of the assessment process. Successful farmers will receive payments to implement their new fertiliser management practices from April this year.

The online tender application form, the programme’s guidelines and further information is available at:www.environment.gov.au/reef-trust-tender or www.terrain.org.au/Projects/Agriculture-and-Innovation/Reef-Trust.

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THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) today welcomed the release of five issues papers for the Productivity Commission review into the Fair Work Act.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said wage inflexibility is killing Australian retailers’ ability to compete in the new global market.

“This review will finally address major flaws in the Fair Work Act that are driving up unemployment and undermining growth in the retail sector.

“In order to create more employment opportunities for Australians, retail wages need to be flexible.

“It is also imperative that excessive penalty rates are addressed, as unrealistic penalty rates have made many businesses unviable over the last year.

"Australia’s unemployment rate continues to increase and the ARA hopes this review will allow for greater flexibility when it comes to working conditions, allowing more Australians to remain employed.

“There’s no denying the fact that retailers would employ more staff if they did not have to pay penalty rates.

"However, seeking to be the voice of reason, the ARA is not calling for penalty rates to be abolished altogether but there is a strong need to get the balance right. Only then can retailers operate competitively on weekends and offer increased employment opportunities,” Mr Zimmerman said.

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Since 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body representing Australia’s $265 billion retail sector, which employs over 1.2 million people. The ARA ensures retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

Visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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AS RECOMMENDED by an independent peer review, a Technical Advisory Forum comprised of leading scientists and statisticians will review and provide advice on Australia’s official temperature data set. The Technical Advisory Forum is scheduled to meet in March.

The Bureau of Meteorology is responsible for the climate record, and as a trusted and respected organisation, welcomes robust assessment of its work in order to maintain the highest levels of public confidence.

The establishment of this Forum will provide an independent framework for quality assurance tests and analysis of the Bureau’s data sets for greater transparency.

The Bureau’s climate information services were subject to a rigorous independent peer-review in 2011. The Review was conducted by a panel of international experts and found the Bureau's data and analysis methods met world’s best practice.

The Bureau’s methods and processes are published on its website, in addition to the findings of the 2011 Review.

An important recommendation of this review was that a Technical Advisory Group should be established "in order to review progress on the development and operation of the ACORN-SAT data-set."

The establishment of this forum is in line with this recommendation in the Report of the Independent Peer Review of ACORN-SAT data-sets.

The Australian Climate Observations Reference Network - Surface Air Temperature (ACORN-SAT) dataset is an important part of Australia’s official climate record. It has been developed for monitoring climate variability and change in Australia and is held by the Bureau of Meteorology.

The members of the Technical Advisory Forum are:

www.bom.gov.au

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