Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for taking the time to come to this announcement.
The Australian Government recognises that the Black Saturday fires changed Victoria forever.
These fires destroyed lives and livelihoods.
The Government's priority is to support survivors and help rebuild properties.
Just last week the Australian Government announced tax amendments to the Bushfire Appeal Fund to broaden the funds support for charitable and community activities.
Of course - The fires had a profound impact on Victoria's tourism industry, particularly in Victoria's High Country, the Yarra Valley and Gippsland.
Generally, around 100 tourism businesses suffered direct fire damage and 50 tourism businesses were destroyed in Marysville alone.
Today's announcements are designed to help tourism operators rebuild, re-employ and reinvigorate this region that has endured so much.
The bushfires came as the global financial crisis revealed itself, making the recovery all the harder.
I toured the fire-affected regions soon after the fires came through and I met with tourism operators.
I was able to see first hand the extent of the damage to the landscape and the physical and emotional damage the fires left on the survivors.
Their stories will remain with me forever, and contributed to the design and implementation of the Victorian Bushfire Tourism Industry Support Package, to which the Australian Government is proud to contribute $5 million.
Never before has the Federal Government allocated this level of funding in support of tourism following a natural disaster, but we all know the magnitude of this event warranted it.
Australian Government funds were matched by $5 million from the Victorian Government, providing a valuable package to help rebuild the tourism industry.
The Victorian and Federal Governments have worked together to ensure the funds are expended in a timely and relevant manner.
I thank these organisations for their work to reinvigorate these communities.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those companies which have done so much to assist the people directly by these tragic fires.
There are of course many - but I would like to specifically thank Virgin Blue, which has assisted the Victorian Bushfire Recovery and Reconstruction Authority's respite holiday program.
Nearly 800 people who were affected by the fires have flown with Virgin Blue to a number of holiday destinations including Cairns, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. This has been at no cost to them and I am advised this program is continuing for another month or so.
I would also like to highlight that the Qantas Group's overall contribution has been in excess of $500,000, including an immediate cash donation of $100,000 to the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund and the establishment of staff fundraising program.
Qantas also established a $100,000 fund for the Victorian Government to support transportation of firefighters.
With that in mind, I would like to highlight some of the projects that will be funded through the Victorian Bushfire Tourism Industry Support Package.
Over $5.5 m of the $7m in marketing and events funding has so far been approved for a number of fire affected regions including the Yarra Valley, Gippsland and the Victorian Alps National Landscapes region.
Public Land provides the site and the setting for many tourism and recreational activities in regional Victoria.
National and State parks were severely affected by the recent bushfires with more than 2/3 of the fires located on public land. More than a million people visit these places every year.
The Australian Government took the unusual step of supporting the rebuilding of visitor facilities in National Parks. Over $1.2m of the $3m has been approved for the upgrade of the O'Shannassy Aqueduct Trail in the Yarra Ranges National Park and Grants Picnic Ground in the Dandenongs National Park.
If you are directly involved in the tourism industry I would like to reassure you that these funding initiatives are not the only measures unveiled this year that will assist the tourist sector.
These measures are simply those directed specifically at assisting operators impacted by the bushfires.
As I have been emphasising since I became Minister for Tourism, the industry is an integral part of the Australian economy - so it should been seen in the context of the wider economy.
After all, tourism employs nearly half a million Australians and contributes around $40 billion to our GDP.
This means Australian Government measures implemented to boost Australia's infrastructure - such as the $42bn Nation Building and the cash payments - have also benefited the tourism industry.
Another challenge we are working to overcome is the separation of workers from their leave - too many Australian workers hoard their leave.
So along with Tourism Australia I am working to get those Australians with a job and too much leave, out of the house and into a great Aussie holiday.
Believe it or not, there are 123 million days worth $33 billion of accumulated annual leave on the books of employers. Imagine what just a fraction of that could do for tourism.
And I am sure you will agree with me when I say that there are few better places they could come right now than those affected by the fires.
This has not been an easy year for the tourism industry - especially in Victoria.
But the industry shows remarkable resilience and is quick to adapt to the ever changing environment and the Australian Government stands by your side because that, ladies and gentlemen, is what Australians do in a crisis.