Media release – Scott Morrison MP, 11 March 2021
TOURISM AND AVIATION’S FLIGHT PATH TO RECOVERY
Australia’s airlines, hotels and caravan parks, restaurants and bars, travel agents and tourism operators are set for a rush of hundreds of thousands of tourists as part of a new $1.2 billion support package from the Morrison Government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said while Australia’s economy had recovered 85 per cent of its fall from COVID-19, the next step in the Government’s National Economic Recovery Plan would target the businesses, workers and regions still doing it tough.
The Prime Minister said the package’s mix of half-price airline tickets, cheap loans for businesses and direct support to keep planes in the air, and airline workers in their jobs, would be a bridge to a more normal way of life for Australians.
“This is our ticket to recovery – 800,000 half-price airfares to get Australians travelling and supporting tourism operators, businesses, travel agents and airlines who continue to do it tough through COVID-19, while our international borders remain closed,” the Prime Minister said.
“This package will take more tourists to our hotels and cafes, taking tours and exploring our backyard. That means more jobs and investment for the tourism and aviation sectors as Australia heads towards winning our fight against COVID-19 and the restrictions that have hurt so many businesses.”
“Our tourism businesses don’t want to rely on government support forever. They want their tourists back. This package, combined with our vaccine roll-out which is gathering pace, is part of our National Economic Recovery Plan and the bridge that will help get them back to normal trading.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the measures would work hand-in-hand to boost interstate tourism and aviation in key regions significantly impacted by the loss of tourists.
“The new Tourism Aviation Network Support (TANS) Program will give Australians clear incentives to travel to key domestic tourism areas,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Discounts will be offered on tens of thousands of fares per week across an initial 13 key tourism regions.
“We’re working with airlines to increase the number of flights to these tourism areas – giving travellers the flexibility needed when organising dream holidays to destinations such as Tropical North Queensland and Kangaroo Island.
“In a big win for local communities, especially in regional Australia, we will continue to financially support flights which are so key to health services, employment opportunities and social activities.
“We’re also backing the workforces of our international airlines and the teams and infrastructure they need so that when tourism takes off again and our borders reopen, our airlines are ready to go.”
The half-price ticket program will initially operate to 13 key regions including; the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region (Proserpine and Hamilton Island), the Sunshine Coast, Lasseter and Alice Springs, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, Broome, Avalon, Merimbula, and Kangaroo Island. Flights, routes and the total number of tickets will be driven by demand and are subject to final discussions with the airlines.
The discounts will be off the average fare and will be available on airline websites from 1 April.
Other new measures in the support package include:
· New International Aviation Support to help Australia’s international passenger airlines maintain more than 8,000 core international aviation jobs
· Support for regular passenger airports to meet their domestic security screening costs
· A new Aviation Services Assistance Support Program to help ground-handling companies meet the costs of mandatory training, certification and accreditation to ensure they maintain their workforces so they can stand them back up when the market expands again.
· The reinstatement of domestic aviation security screening cost rebates for more than 50 regular passenger airports
The Morrison Government will expand and extend its ‘SME Loan Guarantee Scheme’ as part of its commitment to support up to $40 billion in lending to small and medium enterprises.
Under the existing Scheme, more than 35,000 loans worth more than $3 billion have already been provided, helping thousands of small businesses get to the other side of this pandemic.
As we move into the recovery phase, the Scheme will be targeted and tailored to support those businesses that have been relying on JobKeeper during the March quarter.
The SME Recovery Loan Scheme will benefit from an increased Government guarantee, increasing from the current 50/50 split between the Government and the banks to an 80/20 split. This will encourage more banks to support small businesses and demonstrates the Government’s commitment to back those businesses that are prepared to back themselves.
The expanded Scheme will also increase the size of eligible loans, increasing from $1 million under the current Scheme to $5 million. Businesses with a higher turnover will also benefit under the expanded Scheme, with the maximum eligible turnover increased from $50 million to $250 million.
Maximum loan terms under the expanded Scheme will also be increased from 5 to 10 years – providing businesses and lenders with greater flexibility.
The expanded Scheme will also allow lenders to offer borrowers a repayment holiday of up to 24 months.
Importantly, the Scheme will also be able to be used by eligible businesses to refinance their existing loans. This will allow SMEs to access the more concessional interest rates available under the program and to better manage their cash-flows through an extended loan term and lower combined repayments.
More than 350,000 current JobKeeper recipients are expected to be eligible under the expanded Scheme. Loans will be available from 1 April 2021 and must be approved prior to 31 December 2021.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said this latest package of measures was all part of the Federal Government’s National Economic Recovery Plan.
“We know there are sectors and regions across the country that are continuing to do it tough, which is why we will continue to support the economy with proportionate, timely, scaleable and targeted assistance,” the Treasurer said.
“Our support for the aviation sector will not just keep planes in the air but will also provide a boost to domestic tourism while our international borders remain closed.
“This SME Recovery Scheme is part of the next step in our plan to help small businesses stand on their own two feet as the economy recovers from COVID-19.
“The expansion and extension of the loans will back businesses that back themselves and will help businesses who continue to do it tough build a bridge to the other side of the crisis and keep their staff employed.”
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said the Government was also extending temporary, targeted measures for parts of the tourism sector impacted most from border closures.
“The thing our tourism operators want more than anything is tourists so we need Australians to do their patriotic duty and book a holiday this year because every dollar spent on an Australian holiday is a dollar that supports a local job and a local business,” Minister Tehan said.
“Our Government’s support package will help get more Australians into those tourist areas most impacted by border lockdowns, and we need states and territories to do their part by agreeing to a nationally consistent approach to using border closures and lockdowns as a last resort on medical advice.”
The Government has also extended the following programs to 30 September 2021:
· the successful Domestic Aviation Network Support (DANS) and Regional Aviation Network Support (RANS) programs
· the 50 per cent waiver of domestic air services charges for Regular Public Transport (RPT) and aeromedical flights
· the International Freight Assistance Mechanism.
The $50 million Business Events Grants Program will also be extended by three months to support Australian businesses to hold multi-day business events, covering up to 50 per cent of costs incurred in participating business events during the 2021 calendar year. This will help restart Australia’s business events sector.
The $94.6 million Zoos and Aquarium program will be extended by six months to support zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks to maintain their animal populations where their tourism revenue has been affected by travel and social distancing restrictions.
The COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program will also be extended for three months beyond 13 March.
For more information on the Government’s COVID-19 support for aviation visit https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/index.aspx#aviation
For further information on the COVID‑19 tourism support plan visit https://www.austrade.gov.au/Australian/Tourism/Tourism-and-business
For further information on the Small and Medium Enterprise Recovery Loan Scheme visit https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/sme-guarantee-scheme
Media release – Australian Tourism Industry Council, 11 March 2021
Tourism package fails to stem major tourism job and business losses.
Peak body ATIC said the Federal Government’s tourism support package will fail to stem major job losses and closures now occurring amongst many small, family run and larger tourism businesses.
ATIC Executive Director Simon Westaway expressed deep disappointment that direct, targeted, and short-term assistance for tourism enterprises had no part in the multi-pronged package.
“We are on the cusp of a national vaccine rollout bringing future confidence to domestic travel. Yet the package doesn’t address at risk tourism jobs in our cities and regions,” Mr Westaway said. “Fundamental to our industry’s sustainability is the state of tourism businesses and reliant jobs in our capital cities, where interstate and international visitors and major events have evaporated.
“This package isn’t going to provide the benefit, nor directly tackle the dire predicament facing tourism enterprises and our visitor economy which is closely aligned to capital city gateways.
“So many tourism businesses have experienced so few visitors this past year. We fear these measures will also not deliver stimulus in time to sustain many enterprises and their workforces. “From small accommodation providers to tour operators, adventure tourism and cruises, businesses hit by border restrictions and low travel confidence get little from this package.
“ATIC supports sustainable Australian aviation. But stimulus cannot be at the expense of small tourism operators, when this air network support is not easily transferable nor truly nationwide. “A Federal Recovery Loan Scheme won’t save many tourism jobs or businesses on the line. But the policy is a sound one to better enable and support future affordable tourism SME refinancing.
“ATIC understands the Government’s desire to continue to commit to a sustainable tourism sector beyond this latest package and help retain it as a future economic pillar for Australia. “This is also the clear desire of the Australian tourism industry, which has dramatically shrunk by over half its pre-pandemic size, and still lags in recovery due to ongoing border constraints.
“We urge future engagement between industry and government be a more direct exchange around policy prescriptions that keep jobs and tourism enterprises at the forefront of recovery.”
Media release – Qantas, 11 March 2021
QANTAS GROUP WELCOMES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S AVIATION SUPPORT PACKAGE
The Qantas Group has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of fresh support for Australian aviation and tourism.
The $1.2 billion industry-wide package has several elements which, combined, will support the sector that has arguably been worst hit by the COVID crisis and related restrictions. It is the result of detailed discussions with government and business over several months.
Pre-COVID, the Qantas Group helped to generate nearly $13 billion in economic activity – the equivalent of almost 1 per cent of the nation’s GDP[1]. Targeted stimulus will help fast-track the return of that activity as well as support the retention of key skills vital to the future of Australian aviation.
Specifically, the package will enable Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar to:
- Offer up to 32,000 fares per week discounted by 50 per cent of median prices to key regional destinations such as Far North Queensland, Launceston and Alice Springs, stimulating travel demand and driving tourism spending for four months.
- Keep up to 7,500 skilled employees associated with its international operations connected to the business while Australia’s borders remain closed.
- Deliver essential, paid training for pilots, cabin crew and engineers and bring idle aircraft back to service in preparation for international flying to return.
- Maintain key transport links on routes that otherwise would not be commercially viable.
- Continue to deliver repatriation flights on behalf of the Federal Government to help bring Australians home.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “This support is fantastic news for aviation and for the thousands of businesses, big and small, that rely on the tourism industry.
“With the vaccine rollout now giving more certainty that state borders will stay open, this is the perfect time to provide stimulus and get people travelling domestically again, particularly given there won’t be any international tourists for another seven months,” said Mr Joyce.
Qantas and Jetstar are at about 60 per cent of their pre-COVID levels of domestic flying for the third quarter of this financial year and project this will increase to around 80 per cent in the fourth quarter. The stimulus program gives more certainty that increase will occur and, depending on take-up, is expected to accelerate it.
Mr Joyce added: “This stimulus package will bring our domestic crews back to work faster and help them ramp up their hours closer to pre-crisis levels.
“We have around 7,500 people in our international business who have already been out of work for a year and will unfortunately stay grounded until at least the end of October.
“The targeted support from the Federal Government is about helping people stay connected to aviation despite the extended period of time they still face on the ground. It helps preserve the skills and experience we’re going to need when long haul flying restarts. In a country like Australia, that capability has taken years to build and is absolutely crucial for the nation’s future.
“To be clear, this targeted support will go directly to employees to help them meet their cost of living while they wait for international flying to return. It’s not a subsidy for Qantas.
“In total, this package is a lifeline for the broader travel and tourism sector in Australia, just as it’s trying to get back on its feet. Ultimately, it’s an investment in an industry that has always been a huge driver of economic activity and will be again,” added Mr Joyce.
Over the coming weeks, the Qantas Group will work with the Federal Government and broader industry on detail to support the rollout of the stimulus program. Special fares will be available via qantas.com and jetstar.com from 1 April 2021 for travel from 1 May 2021.
The Qantas Group has flagged at least 8,500 jobs will be lost due to COVID – approximately a third of its workforce. Its three year restructuring program continues due to fundamental shifts in the industry and the financial realities associated with $11 billion in lost revenue since the start of the pandemic.
[1] https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/economics/articles/economic-contribution-qantas-group-australia.html
Media release – Peter Gutwein, Premier, 11 March 2021
Further support for tourism industry welcomed
The Tasmanian Government welcomes today’s announcement from the Australian Government of further support for our tourism industry.
The package will include half-price airfares for visitors to Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, bringing visitors to Tasmania and providing a boost for local tourism operators that have done it tough through COVID-19.
It will bring more travellers keen to spend in our hotels and cafes, meaning more jobs and investment for the tourism and aviation sectors, and more money into regional businesses and our economy.
While Hobart remains a major drawcard for travellers, for many years we have been working to encourage more travellers to explore all areas of our State, spreading the economic benefit more widely, so this package will build on this important work.
Today’s announcement will complement what we have done to support the industry, with an estimated $27.5 million in additional spend estimated to have been generated by our Make Yourself At Home travel voucher program.
Pleasingly, the most recent National Visitor Survey data for the month of November shows this is having an impact, with the number of overnight intrastate trips up 95 per cent for the same month the previous year.
The number of nights spent intrastate also increased by a significant 90 per cent, and expenditure by overnight intrastate travellers was $99.9 million – up 58 per cent compared to the previous year.
While there is no doubt the industry continues to be impacted by the uncertainty around COVID-19, today is another positive step that will help the industry continue to recover.
Rebecca White MP, Labor Leader, 11 March 2021
Tasmanian workers and business will feel the pain of Morrison’s JobKeeper cut with Gutwein’s full support
Premier Peter Gutwein has badly failed Tasmanian businesses and workers who remain reliant on JobKeeper by once again falling into line with the Prime Minister who will slash the wage subsidy at the end of this month.
Labor Leader Rebecca White said the Premier should have been pushing his Canberra colleagues to maintain JobKeeper instead of badly letting down the 12,840 workers and 4,414 businesses who were still reliant on the subsidy in January.
“Mr Gutwein has done nothing to support those Tasmanian workers and businesses and in fact has been fully supportive of the Prime Minister’s decision to end JobKeeper at the end of this month,” Ms White said.
“Mr Gutwein has ignored the evidence from the Tourism and Transport Forum which estimates up to 9,000 Tasmanian jobs in tourism and related sectors will be at risk when the wage subsidy ends.
“What the Premier should be doing is releasing detail on how the unspent Make Yourself at Home travel vouchers will be used to support the Tasmanian economy instead of keeping this important information under wraps.
“The Liberal Government has also failed utterly to release details of where and when the $13.5 million in funding earmarked for the tourism and hospitality sector that was announced by the Prime Minister last September will be spent.
“The Premier should have been standing up for Tasmanians instead of just falling into step with his Canberra colleagues and their cuts.
“Mr Morrison’s latest announcement of half-price airfares to some tourism-dependent regions will do very little to help the large majority of businesses and workers still reliant on JobKeeper.
“Only Labor will stand up for workers with our fully-costed Jobs Plan which will deliver jobs for 35,000 Tasmanians.”
Media release – Devonport Airport, 11 March 2021
North-West tourism opportunities in full flight – Devonport Airport flying high after being named as key region for half-price ticket program
Devonport Airport, which is owned and operated by TasPorts, has welcomed the Federal Government’s new Tourism Aviation Network Support Program.
Devonport Airport General Manager Dave Race said Tasmania’s North West had been given an exciting opportunity by being named as one of the destinations included in the half-price ticket program.
“The package is designed to get more people travelling domestically, which is exciting for us because Devonport Airport is a key tourism and business airport gateway to Tasmania’s North West and the Cradle Coast region,” he said.
“We hope these cheaper flights will attract more inbound traffic, which is important for regional dispersal and will be a great asset to local businesses and tourism operators.
“Devonport Airport is supportive of any initiatives that will further support businesses and operators in the North-West region. We want to see people coming to Tasmania, spending their money in our island State and enjoying themselves.”
Mr Race said there had already been an increase in demand since passenger flights returned to the Devonport Airport in November 2020.
“From the end of March, we will go from three flights a day to Melbourne to four flights a day and we are hoping to see a further increase in flights if passenger demand increase,” he said.
“We are looking forward to welcoming new passengers through our recently upgraded facilities.”
Background
The reduction in passenger movements due to COVID-19 restrictions enabled TasPorts to undertake significant upgrades, representing a $650,000 investment, which included a Federal grant of $445,500 to enhance airport security measures.
The works included a new departure lounge with airside views, remodelling of the terminal to include a new security checkpoint for passengers, remarking of the apron to increase capacity for two jets and the creation of a dedicated freight apron.
