Tourism bosses push for funding amid border confusion

Описание: Australia's tourism bosses have launched a renewed push for funding as they claim the government’s failure to set vaccine rollout targets and a timeline for reopening international borders has had a devastating impact on the sector.

The Tourism and Transport Forum briefed the federal government on a $1.8 billion plan which it claims will help the sector stay afloat for the next 12 months.

The forum said a funding boost was needed to save about 71,000 jobs and 22,000 businesses.

The plan would also include $850 million for wage subsidies in a JobKeeper style scheme.

The push for funding came after Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia’s international border would remain closed indefinitely but the nation was not pursuing an elimination strategy.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg this morning, however, confirmed a timeframe for the vaccine rollout and reopening of borders would likely be included in tonight’s budget.

“It’s very hard to be precise in the middle of a pandemic, there’s a lot of uncertainty globally, domestically with respect to the virus,” he said.

“So tonight’s budget has those assumptions in place but the key point is we’ll always follow the medical advice.”