❓ Mr Papalia questions the Acting Minister for Tourism's comments about not swimming in the south west due to shark attacks, suggesting they are damaging to tourism. The Minister defends his comments, stating they were a personal decision based on undeniable risks.
AnsweredQoN 754Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SOUTH WEST TOURISM — ACTING MINISTER FOR
TOURISM'S COMMENTS
754. Mr P. PAPALIA to the Acting Minister
for Tourism:
I refer to the minister's
recently widely reported comments, in which he said he would not surf or swim
off the south west coast.
(1) Is he aware
that a local tourist operator has labelled his comments as ''boofhead'',
while the local shire president is more worried about road safety than sharks?
(2) Is the
minister also aware that the Tourism WA chief executive has previously said
that there is no evidence that shark attacks had affected visitor numbers to
the region?
(3) In light of
this, would the minister now apologise to tourism operators in the south west
for his potentially damaging statements?
TOURISM'S COMMENTS
754. Mr P. PAPALIA to the Acting Minister
for Tourism:
I refer to the minister's
recently widely reported comments, in which he said he would not surf or swim
off the south west coast.
(1) Is he aware
that a local tourist operator has labelled his comments as ''boofhead'',
while the local shire president is more worried about road safety than sharks?
(2) Is the
minister also aware that the Tourism WA chief executive has previously said
that there is no evidence that shark attacks had affected visitor numbers to
the region?
(3) In light of
this, would the minister now apologise to tourism operators in the south west
for his potentially damaging statements?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) What
a silly question! Of course I do not need to apologise to anyone. I am aware of
the view that there is no evidence to indicate that shark attacks have affected
tourism numbers in the south west, and that is a very good thing.
Mr
P. Papalia : You are the Acting Minister for Tourism and you made that
comment.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : I was asked what I would do in the sea in the south west.
Unfortunately, I am not noted for my surfing ability. One of my sons has that
ability.
Mr
C.J. Barnett : The Taj Burrow of the Parliament!
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : The Premier has much greater ability in that respect, as I
understand; he has been undertaking lessons. I said I would not be swimming far
off the coast of the south west. I said it as a personal decision as to what
people do. They need to make their own decisions, taking into account all the
factors and the risks that exist.
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, you can have a supplementary question.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : It is up to people what they do individually. It is an
undeniable fact that there have been a significant number of deaths as a result
of shark attacks in the south west. That cannot be denied. The government had
an approach to try to deal with that. Some people accepted that and some people
did not. The reality is that there is a risk and people need to take that into
account themselves. Of course there are other risks on the roads et cetera. In
no way was I talking down the importance or the desirability of tourism in the
south west. To the contrary, if the member for Warnbro heard the rest of my
comments, I said in addition to the surfing and swimming activities in the
south west, there is a range of other very significant attractions. I encourage
Western Australians and visitors to Western Australia to use the south west, to
enjoy it and to take advantage of the substantial attributes down there. That
is what I said. That is the whole story. There was nothing particularly
contentious or remarkable at all in what I said.
a silly question! Of course I do not need to apologise to anyone. I am aware of
the view that there is no evidence to indicate that shark attacks have affected
tourism numbers in the south west, and that is a very good thing.
Mr
P. Papalia : You are the Acting Minister for Tourism and you made that
comment.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : I was asked what I would do in the sea in the south west.
Unfortunately, I am not noted for my surfing ability. One of my sons has that
ability.
Mr
C.J. Barnett : The Taj Burrow of the Parliament!
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : The Premier has much greater ability in that respect, as I
understand; he has been undertaking lessons. I said I would not be swimming far
off the coast of the south west. I said it as a personal decision as to what
people do. They need to make their own decisions, taking into account all the
factors and the risks that exist.
Mr
P. Papalia interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, you can have a supplementary question.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : It is up to people what they do individually. It is an
undeniable fact that there have been a significant number of deaths as a result
of shark attacks in the south west. That cannot be denied. The government had
an approach to try to deal with that. Some people accepted that and some people
did not. The reality is that there is a risk and people need to take that into
account themselves. Of course there are other risks on the roads et cetera. In
no way was I talking down the importance or the desirability of tourism in the
south west. To the contrary, if the member for Warnbro heard the rest of my
comments, I said in addition to the surfing and swimming activities in the
south west, there is a range of other very significant attractions. I encourage
Western Australians and visitors to Western Australia to use the south west, to
enjoy it and to take advantage of the substantial attributes down there. That
is what I said. That is the whole story. There was nothing particularly
contentious or remarkable at all in what I said.
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