**check against delivery
I thank the Gunaikurnai people for your ongoing support for tourism in the Tarra Bulga National Park.
This is a good day for Australia’s response to an event that blighted so many lives.
Today we admire the new-look Tarra Valley Day Visitor Area – a small part of a bigger picture, one of resilience.
These facilities are a visible illustration of how human endeavour can make the worst of nature a little less brutal.
Tourism is often pivotal to local economies, not least here in Gippsland.
Across Victoria as a whole, tourism puts around seven billion dollars into the state’s economy every year.
Over 100,000 livelihoods in Victoria rely on tourism.
Just as tourism is often the first industry to suffer from natural disaster, it’s also among the first to offer relief.
When visitors return, they inject an immediate financial remedy into thousands of local small businesses.
And so, a little over two years ago, both governments came together to support Victoria’s tourism industry.
The $10 million support package reflected the solidarity felt right across Australia to support people who live and work here, and the many jobs that hinge on tourism.
The task was two-fold.
First, we sent out a clear message that Victoria’s tourism industry was open for business.
And we put in place longer-term measures to make Victoria’s unique appeal even more attractive to visitors.
By working together, our two governments have been helping to rebuild the economic fabric of our communities.
What we see here today is tangible evidence of that.
The visitor area represents a $600,000 investment in one of Victoria’s oldest and best-known national parks.
It recognises that areas adjoining those directly affected by the fire need investment as well as those in its path.
In turn, more visitors will enjoy the waterfalls, Mountain Ash trees, walking tracks and suspension bridge.
All of this ties in with the over-arching goal of our National Long-Term Tourism Strategy, to make the most of tourism’s part in our nation’s prosperity.
As part of this Strategy, governments and industry are working together to build the resilience of the tourism industry, including measures to ensure a more sustainable, competitive and economically vibrant industry.
And nurturing quality attractions such as those here in Gippsland is all part of our unprecedented plan.
Indeed, the Strategy laid the foundation for the entire Victorian Bushfire Tourism Industry Support Package.
The lion’s share went into marketing and brand-rebuilding.
At the same time, $1 million helped to bring forward postponed events and promote existing ones.
The focus of the remaining $3 million was infrastructure.
Today, we are launching the first major infrastructure project funded by the joint support package.
The refreshed information shelter, landscaping and other amenities will go on attracting visitors for years to come.
There’s also a welcome focus on sustainability, with rainwater collection and salvaged decking in places.
So I applaud all those involved in breathing new economic life into regional Victoria since the terrible bushfires.
Thanks to your hard work, the bitter memories of 2009 are slowly giving way to a more positive outlook for the future.