President's Report
COMMONWEALTH BUDGET BRIEFING
THE BUDGET LAST WEEK TREASURER JOSH FRYDENBERG MP HANDED DOWN THE 2019-20 COMMONWEALTH BUDGET. THE TREASURER SAID IN HIS SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT THAT THIS YEAR’S BUDGET RESTORES AUSTRALIA’S FINANCES, STRENGTHENS AUSTRALIA’S ECONOMY AND GUARANTEES ESSENTIAL SERVICES. THERE ARE A LOT OF POSITIVE ANNOUNCEMENTS IN RELATION TO TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY IN TASMANIA THAT HAVE
BEEN INCLUDED. 1.3 Excise Growth There are no policy changes to any form of alcohol excise or to the wine equalisation tax (WET). BUDGET PAPER 2: BUDGET MEASURES (Alphabetically by Portfolio) Communications 1. Support for Tasmanian Tourism
The government will provide $1.5 million in 2019-20 to support the installation of a major light show in Tasmania as part of the Museum of Old and New Art’s winter Dark Mofo festival. The light show will encourage tourism in Tasmania during the closure of the Tahune Airwalk as a result of recent bushfires. 2. Support for the Australian Music Industry The government will provide $30.9 million over five years from 2019-20 (including $5.1 million in 2023-24), to support the Australian live music industry. The funding includes $22.5 million to support live music venues through a new grants program. Education and Training 1.Skills Package – Delivering Skills for Today and Tomorrow The government will provide $525.3 million over five years from 2018-19 to further improve the quality of the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system, and to respond to the Expert Review of Australia’s Vocational Education and Training System led by the Hon Steven Joyce. The government will also commence long-term tertiary reform to enhance the VET brand, keeping it at the centre of modern skills development into the future, and ensuring that the VET sector is student focused and responsive to change. This package includes: • Creating 80,000 additional apprentices over five years in priority skills shortage areas through a new apprenticeship incentive worth $200.2 million over four years. The incentive will double existing payments to employers to $8,000 per apprentice placement, and these new apprentices will also receive a new $2,000 incentive payment. Pastry-cooks are the only relevant occupation for our sector currently on this list, but the list is dynamic; • Developing a National Skills Commission to drive long-term reforms in the VET sector, including a nation-wide approach to identifying areas of skills shortage and enhancing the role of industry in designing training courses; • Trial 10 national training hubs supporting school-based vocational education in regions with high youth unemployment, with an aim of creating better linkages between schools and local industry, and other skills development measures. Foreign Affairs and Trade 1. Enhancing National Tourism Icons The government will provide $50 million over three years from 2019-20 to support the development and enhancement of nationally and regionally iconic tourism infrastructure, with co-contributions from state and territory governments and industry. These projects will generate tourism demand in regional areas and support regional economies. 2. Tourism Australia The total net resourcing for Tourism Australia (including both annual appropriations and amounts received from the DFAT portfolio for the Asia Marketing Fund, Working Holiday Makers campaign and Implementing Sport 2030 campaign) will increase from $170.3 million in
2018-19 to $175.4 million in 2019-20. 3. Export Market Development Grants
The government will provide $60 million over three years from 2019-20 in increased funding for the Export Market Development Grants scheme to boost reimbursement levels of eligible export marketing expenditure for small and medium enterprise exporters. This will include eligible accommodation providers marketing to international visitors.
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Hospitality Review
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