Australian Coalition Party announces to boost tourism funding

Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on Monday used a visit to the Great Barrier Reef tourist capital of Cairns to announce that a Coalition government would spend an extra 90 million dollars (82 million U.S. dollars) to help attract visitors to Australia.

The package includes a 40 million dollars (36 million U.S. dollars) fund that would provide grants of up to 100,000 dollars ( 90,975 U.S. dollars) to build infrastructure for tourism projects.

Another 14 million dollars (12.7 million U.S. dollars) fund would provide grants to tourism organizations in regional areas.

Abbott said Australia's tourism industry had been in the doldrums and Labor was partly to blame.

"The spending that we announce today is about sustaining and protecting the 500,000 jobs in tourism," Abbott told ABC News.

"About protecting and sustaining this very important sector upon which so many Australians depend for their livelihood."

Abbott has also repeated his pledge to overturn the Queensland Government's Wild Rivers laws if elected.

He promised that a Coalition government would move swiftly to overturn the legislation, which aims to protect untouched river systems by restricting development.

"We believe that Australians ought to be able to use their land appropriately," he said.

Abbott has also reinforced his commitment to suspend plans to ban fishing in parts of the Coral Sea.

On Monday, Newspoll showed the Coalition gaining ground to be level with Labor in the two-party preferred standings.

Australia's general election date was set on August 21.

Source: Xinhua