THE Australian Labor Party has joined the chorus of voices concerned about the implementation of the $128m travel agent support scheme (TD 01 Dec), citing “significant issues with the way the program is proposed to operate”.
Just before Christmas, Shadow Minister for Tourism, Don Farrell, wrote to the outgoing Simon Birmingham and his replacement Dan Tehan (see page three), describing “disbelief and anger” from agents about the way the payments are calculated.
The ALP move came the day after AFTA confirmed that it had not been given the opportunity to review and comment on the detail of the support package before the implementation was announced (TD breaking news).
“As a result there are multiple flaws in the approach which are creating unnecessary confusion and strain at the end of an already challenging year,” said AFTA Chairman Tom Manwaring.
While appreciating and valuing the spirit of the scheme, he said “the design of the program has failed in its noble purpose,” citing disparity in the support tiers (TD 17 Dec) and other problems around eligibility.
The issues mean many agencies who report based on TTV will receive the maximum $100,000 grant under the program, which will in turn see the $128 million only support 1,280 businesses.
Adding to the frustration for agents over the holiday period was a scheduled 11-day outage in the PRODA identity system used to lodge applications, which only came online again today.
An incorrect help line number listed on the required “certificate of tax information” from the Tax Office also meant it was difficult to obtain clarification of the details required for applications.
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Source: traveldaily