Wednesday, 11 May 2022

Evelyn electorate funding

Ms VALLENCE (Evelyn) (19:19): (6354) The matter I raise is for the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events. The action I seek is for a detailed briefing to be provided on what the strategy and funding support is for the tourism sector and regional tourism board (RTB) in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. I seek this action as there has been no growth or increase in support or funding for the local regional tourism board, no mention of Yarra Valley or Dandenong Ranges tourism support in the 2022–23 state budget, a glaring omission in the budget of any plan to urgently address the critical jobs crisis confronting our local tourism sector and no additional financial support for small and family businesses engaged in tourism in my electorate as they continue to struggle with low visitor numbers and critical workforce shortages and skill shortages.

As a result of the COVID pandemic and Victoria suffering the world’s longest lockdowns under the Premier and his Labor government, tourism in the Yarra Ranges has been hit hard, and local jobs in this sector remain under significant pressure. Small and family businesses, including wineries, farm gates, wedding venues, restaurants, accommodation and tour transport operators, and the thousands of locals working in the tourism sector in my community have been smashed. They desperately need ongoing support and a strategic road map to ensure we can recover and rebuild tourism in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges.

While there are new programs in the government’s Visitor Economy Recovery and Reform Plan, these have been slow to activate. It has not been made clear if these programs are actually supporting capacity and capability via the local regional tourism board or making any tangible impact at a grassroots level. Of the plan’s statewide goals of $35 billion in annual visitor spend and 300 000 jobs, the minister’s briefing must detail how many dollars of economic benefit and how many jobs this translates to for the Yarra Ranges region specifically and how these targets can be achieved without immediate action by the government to address chronic staff and skills shortages in the tourism industry.

The 2019 Regional Tourism Review identified the important role of RTBs in nurturing small businesses to grow the sector, attract investment and market their destinations. As a result of the pandemic this is even more true. Yet the annual core government funding for RTBs has had no incremental change in over a decade, while the need for their service at the grassroots level has exponentially increased. This problem is further exacerbated for my region of the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges because it is excluded from the majority of Regional Development Victoria funding, leaving my community at a distinct competitive disadvantage. For my community and local visitor economy these issues need to be addressed immediately with a strategy, a road map and funding to support tourism in the Yarra Ranges.