The Minister for Tourism, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP, today announced the membership of the Steering Committee which will guide the development of Australia's National Long-Term Tourism Strategy.
The Steering Committee - which will tomorrow gather for its first meeting - will be chaired by Margaret Jackson AC. The other members are: Christopher Brown, Kayleen Collins, Saul Eslake, Matt Hingerty, Gregory Hywood, Karen Jacobs, Jeff Kennett AC and Jenny Lambert.
Minister Ferguson said: "The Steering Committee brings together a broad knowledge of business and tourism and its members have a track record of achievement, energy, enthusiasm, and creativity.
"Steering Committee members have been chosen on the basis of their expertise, ideas, and their capacity to contribute to the development of a solid long-term vision for this important sector.
"The tourism industry is critically important to our economy and we need to ensure it has the productive capacity to meet the future market demands.
"The changing nature of tourism demands a change in the way Australia views this sector. It also requires we start to focus on supply-side issues such as investment, infrastructure, labour market and aviation.
"I am highly confident that the expertise and motivation of this Steering Committee will lead to a coherent long-term vision for the tourism sector in Australia.
"Throughout the next year, this Committee will channel ideas from industry and the work an inter-departmental committee to deliver some exciting options for governments into the future to explore and consider."
National Long-Term Tourism Strategy Steering Committee
- Margaret Jackson AC (Chair) has been the Chair of FlexiGroup Limited since 2006 and a Director of the ANZ Bank and Billabong International. She is also a former Chair of QANTAS.
- Christopher Brown has been Managing Director of the Tourism and Transport Forum since 1992. He is Deputy Chair of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.
- Kayleen Collins is the Executive General Manager of Cairns International Airport and also sits on the board of Tourism Queensland.
- Saul Eslake has been the chief economist with the ANZ Bank since 1995 and has also been a long-term member of the Tourism Forecasting Committee.
- Gregory Hywood has been the Chief Executive of Tourism Victoria since 2006 and is the former Executive Director of Strategic Policy in the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Victoria.
- Matt Hingerty has been the Managing Director of the Australian Tourism and Export Council since 2005.
- Karen Jacobs is the creator and owner of Kwillana Dreaming, an indigenous cultural tour operator. In addition to being Director to organisations such as the Aboriginal Hostel Limited, she also served as a member of the Tourism Australia board.
- Jeff Kennett AC is the Chairman of organisations such as 'beyond blue' and the Enterprise Ship Trust, and was the Premier of Victoria from 1992-99. He is also a member of the Singapore Tourism Board's International Advisory Council for Tourism.
- Jenny Lambert has been the Chief Executive Officer of the National Tourism Alliance since 2007. She is the former CEO of Meetings and Events Australia.