April 6 2018 Government chaos and dysfunction will hit tourism sector The Government’s sacking of Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation Director General Stephen Wood was a demonstration of the chaos and dysfunction in the McGowan Government following Premier Mark McGowan’s machinery of government changes. Shadow Tourism Minister, Libby Mettam said there was no issue with Stephen Wood and no one had ever questioned his professionalism, capacity or capability. “Mark McGowan’s suggestion that he was not satisfied with the way the tourism portfolio was being managed is a cop out,” Ms Mettam said. “Mr Wood had an impossible task to manage the unique and significant portfolio of tourism, in addition to the departments of Jobs, Science and Innovation. “Mark McGowan rushed through his machinery of government changes, without waiting for the outcomes of his Priority Services Review, and now he is throwing experienced, respected and well qualified public servants under the bus because of his failed reforms.” Ms Mettam said the issue was firmly about what the Opposition had been saying for some time – that is Tourism WA needed a dedicated CEO and the Premier’s poor decision was a distraction from what was the real issue. “Other states have tried pushing tourism into a mega department and it hasn’t worked,” Ms Mettam said. “The fault lies not in the individual but the decision of this Government to relegate tourism into a mega department and to provide a part-time CEO function. “This is another case of the government throwing another bureaucrat under the bus. We saw the Minister for Education do it with her department. It’s clear that it is now a dangerous time to be a bureaucrat in Western Australia. “There is significant and justified concern within the tourism industry regarding the abolition of Tourism WA as a standalone Government agency at a time when we should be seeing the promotion of this key sector. “International visitor spend is down 5 per cent and interstate visitors down 12 per cent – the McGowan Government has committed no extra funding and gutted the executive. Ms Mettam said the decision to diminish the role of tourism in other states, namely Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania had all been failures and they were subsequently reversed. “The McGowan Government needs to accept responsibility for its own poor decisions. “This is not a time to be undermining the important role tourism has to play as one of our biggest employers and economic drivers in this state.” Media Contact |
