Speech

Ladies and gentlemen

I am delighted to be here today to officially launch the Charter for Safe Travel.

This new Charter is a great example of government and industry working together, in response to an entirely new environment for Australians travelling abroad.

I want to acknowledge at the outset the contribution by:

• Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA)
• Eastern Mediterranean Tourism Association
• Australian National Tourist Office Representatives (ANTOR)
• Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO)
• QBE Travel
• Australian Business Travel Association (ABTA)

We are now operating in a new environment, characterised by threats posed principally by terrorism, demonstrated most graphically and terribly for Australia by the bombing in Bali on October 12 last year.

It is an environment characterised by an increased burden on travellers and the travel industry alike via increased security measures to counter these new threats.

And it is an environment characterised by uncertainty on the part of travelling Australians about the global security environment, and about the extent to which their own personal safety and security is threatened.

That uncertainty has generated an unprecedented demand for accurate, up-to-date and practical advice about security and related issues overseas.

In such an environment, the need for a responsive consular service has never been greater.

Last financial year my department assisted over 24,000 Australians in serious difficulty overseas.

• Our consular officers provided welfare and guidance to 19,194 Australians suffering distress as the result of illness, injury or other misfortune.
• They assisted 722 Australians who were hospitalised, and helped 116 Australians to be evacuated for medical treatment elsewhere.
• They helped the friends and relatives of 1,838 Australians about whom their loved ones held concerns.
• They saw to the consular rights of 649 Australians who were arrested overseas.
• And they continued to assist the approximately 200 Australians who are serving sentences in overseas prisons.

Every year, my Department -and in particular the Consular Emergency Centre operates 24 hours a day, every day - handles over 100,000 phone calls from Australians overseas and at home seeking consular advice.

These figures illustrate the extent of the department's consular services, provided at over 160 points of delivery around the world.

Such statistics should not be over played, however.

Thankfully, 24,000 consular cases annually represents only a little over half a per cent of the 3.5 million overseas trips made by Australians each and every year.

This alone demonstrates that international travel -despite the uncertain nature of the world, and the terrible events that have scarred us all over the past two years -remains for most Australians an overwhelmingly safe venture.

It also demonstrates that Australians are, with very few exceptions, responsible travellers.

The challenge for the government and the travel industry -together -is to be responsive to the needs and wishes of the Australian travelling public, whilst vigilant and realistic about the risks posed to Australians abroad.

Travel industry charter

The Charter for Safe Travel represents a major step forward to strengthen communication and cooperation between the Government and travel industry.

It reflects the fact that it is in both the industry's and the Government's interests to improve Australians' access to travel advice, and the traveller's awareness of safety and security issues associated with overseas travel.

It is, in effect, a commitment by industry and Government to the safety of Australians overseas: because safe travel means fewer Australians in strife, and more Australians travelling.

As Foreign Minister, I must make the point that we want to encourage Australians to travel overseas, not discourage them. Travel is an enriching experience for the Australians who enjoy it. It is also a great way to build international understanding.

I often talk about the importance of people-to-people links, with our immediate neighbours and with all other countries.

All Australian travellers, from holiday makers to students regular business travellers, contribute to those links. And travel is also a great engine for growth and economic development.

So we want to encourage Australians to travel overseas -but we want them to do so safely and on the basis of the best advice available.

Under the charter, the travel industry will encourage individuals to consult the Government's travel advice, and to take out appropriate travel insurance.

In particular, travel agents will provide information on how to obtain the Government's travel advice along with ticketing information.

And at the time bookings are made, the Government's travel advice will be provided, especially for countries with particular security problems, where my Department has recommended that travel be deferred.

How will travel agents themselves have ready access, and regular updates, on the Government's travel advice?

Well, we have established a travel advice e-mail alert service utilising the industry's own web-mail system.

This is a system, extensively used and promoted within the industry, that reaches over 4,600 travel agents.

On my Department's own website- dfat.gov.au - clear advice for travel agents on how travel advisories are formulated is now provided.

In addition, we are developing - with industry - a travel advice training module for use by industry members to increase understanding of travel advisories and how they should be used.

Our cooperation in developing this new Charter shows that there is now a high level of acceptance that regular and reliable travel advice is essential to restoring confidence in international travel.

Of course, while industry and government are cooperating to promote safe international travel, it remains a truism that it is up to the individual to stay informed of developments overseas.

Travel advice can change frequently, given changes in situations abroad, while travel arrangements may be finalised months in advance.

Ultimately, also, the choice about where, and when, to travel is an individual one.

That is a freedom which we do not intend curtailing.

Fortunately, however, the vast majority of Australians know that their freedom to travel also means that, in the end, they are responsible for their own safety and security.

Many also recognise that careful planning is an essential part of responsible and safe travel.

• Almost 25,000 Australians now subscribe to my department's travel advice email updates.
• 91,000 Australians overseas have registered their details with Australian overseas posts.
• And Australians access the department's travel advice site for information at a rate of 150,000 times each week.

Part of our job is to make sure that individuals have every opportunity to keep updating themselves on the Government's advice.

We have to keep working at improving access to our advice at every stage of planning and preparing for travel abroad.

Indeed, I want Australians to accept as routine the need to keep checking our advice -not just when talking about or planning a trip, or booking and purchasing tickets, or applying for and receiving a passport - but right up to the point of stepping on the ship or aeroplane.

At Sydney International Airport we have now installed two touch-screen kiosks providing updated travel advice from my department's website. Four of these are set up here for today's launch.

Sydney Airport have been a great partner in installing the kiosks, and I look forward to many more kiosks being put in place at passport offices and airports around the country.

Those who say that providing travel advice at the place of departure is too late have missed the fundamental point that it is never too late to update yourself on the situation in the country to which you are headed.

It is also crucial that Australians get into the habit of checking our travel advice regularly while they are overseas.

Our travel advice is not anti-travel - it is a risk - management tool for individuals and organisations to use in preparing for their travel, and while they are travelling.

No travel is risk-free, and it is crucial that all Australians planning travel overseas are aware of these risks and take them into account when they travel.

Travel advisories provide valuable information to help Australians travel safely and return to Australia with the enthusiasm to travel again

I am very pleased that the travel industry - as demonstrated in the Charter I am launching - is working with us to ensure Australians get this information when they need it.

Ladies and gentlemen

It is an unfortunate reflection of the environment in which we live, that the risks covered by travel advice include the threat of terrorist attacks in various countries.

I want to stress that our travel advisories are not about issuing terrorist warnings or "no-go" notices.

Of 139 countries covered by my department's travel advice, Australians are advised to avoid all travel to only ten.

Instead, travel advisories provide advice on a range of practical issues like visa requirements, health and medical issues, cultural or religious differences.

They also tell you how to get in touch with the local Australian mission or, if we don't have one, where else you might be able to get assistance if you need it.

The underlying message is this: prepare, be aware and return home safely.

It is an overwhelmingly positive message - a message, I am sure, that will be helped along by our new Charter.

Of course, there is much more to be done. Cooperation with the industry is but one element of a public awareness program designed to reinforce with individuals the importance of being well informed.

Champion sprinter Patrick Johnston has generously donated his time to appear in a range of broadcasts to the region, through ABC Asia-Pacific, that encourage safe travel.

Patrick is not just a renowned Australian athlete. He is also an officer of my Department and a great diplomat for promoting our common cause.

That cause is the opportunity for safe, enjoyable and productive travel for all Australians.

I hope you will join with me in the successful launch of this new Charter for Assisting the Australian Traveller, and in our continued and close cooperation in the years to come.

Thank you.

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