A thank-you note to Oprah from Tourism Australia

Lise says:

12:40pm | 14/09/10

Well done Paul! Hahah

Joolz says:

12:52pm | 14/09/10

I love Oprah. Some of her shows are absolutely brilliant, others are relevant and then there are the ones about fashion which infuriate me because we don’t get the sort of selection the Yanks do.

When Oprah does something, EVERYONE wants to do it. So if they come to Australia into Sydney and leave via Cairns, I’m good with that. Particularly if they spend a few thou’ while they’re here.

Peter says:

01:18pm | 14/09/10

Brumby, when all those tourists get here and jump on our public transport in the belief that they may be able to purchase tickets on them, are you going to fine then as a welcoming jesture to Victoria?

Dagg says:

01:25pm | 14/09/10

Look, they’re Americans. They probably all think they’re going to Austria.

They’ll be surprised we speak English and they’ll still complain about the fries.

Can’t we get ‘em to change the booking? Either that or give ‘em the Doc Neeson greeting, big time.

Gregg says:

03:05pm | 14/09/10

I reckon we could at least round up a few truckloads of kangeroos and let them loose in Hyde Park just so they can go home and say yep it’s true, there are Kangeroos jumping down the city streets.

And they had better put up some good signs to say No!, that rugged looking guy at the beach in tiny bathers is not Mickey Mouse re-incarnated.

S.L says:

03:42pm | 14/09/10

It’s a great marketing strategy bringing the queen of world TV (and a couple of hundred clueless Americans) to our shores. For whatever it costs the State Government the returns will be assured. How many American do you think watched the Olympics? Compare that to how many of them watch Oprah week in week out! It costs a lot less than building sports stadiums for a once in a lifetime event.

BK says:

04:13pm | 14/09/10

Thank goodness that I don’t live between Sydney and Cairns. Imagine being somewhere when 100 Oprah fans suddenly arrive.

AlexW says:

04:51pm | 14/09/10

It is a too good an opportunity to educate the general American public in a basic ‘geography lesson’ sense, if not history & politics (it might help explain why Aussie soldiers are still up to their eyeballs in IEDs in Afghanistan). While Julia may send an affirmative message to the mostly female audience re female political leaders, I don’t think that they necessarily need to go home and vote for Palin either!
If Aussie taxpayers are footing the bill - and with our $ so strong, it has got to get a better bang for the buck than the last 2 campaigns: think about all the other countries where Oprah is syndicated! The itinerary needs to give a real sense of what else Australia has to offer beyond the stereotypes. According to my recent discussions with taxi drivers in the US, Steve Irwin & all our deadly critters are still making a disproportionate impact over there, more so than Paul Hogan’s shrimps or big knife. I’m sure Rob Oakshot could provide some pointers on how to spread the spend outside of Sydney with a tour of some regional centres. They might even enjoy a portion-controlled kangaroo kebab at a genuine Aussie BBQ (men drinking beer around the BBQ while the women are shooing kids & flies, or inside washing up!). I only ask that some go home & ask the US Masterchef producers whose great idea it was to ask Gordon Ramsey to be a judge (their first episode made me glad I was leaving North America before the next went to air!)

Kim Morrison says:

05:17pm | 14/09/10

I would pay the Tourism budget just for a seat in her audience.

Oprah For President.

Courage. Compassion. Change.

chris says:

05:22pm | 14/09/10

There should be just enough time to change the national anthem to this:
http://www.actionext.com/names_d/doug_anthony_all_stars_lyrics/oprah.html

Spending Money says:

06:18pm | 14/09/10

Whoopeee we are paying for hundreds of US couch potatoes to have an all expenses free jolly.  In the US 5% of the population hold passports and I expect none of them watch Oprah, nice bit of target marketing there.  70 million Oprah viewers (including Australians) will see an episode of their beloved Oprah in Australia - it will cost well over (state federal and Qantas ) $3million, we could have given each viewer $42,000 each to come and have a holiday here and out Oprah’d Oprah.

Walker Waters says:

06:44pm | 14/09/10

Oprah is an extremely formidable intellectual,dismiss her at your peril, the warning has been given.

Scarneck says:

08:07pm | 14/09/10

...and this is good for Australia, why? Apart from the fact that anyone that watches this very typical overweight loud mouthed American woman wouldn’t have even heard of Australia, so they now have, great!

Bruce says:

08:49pm | 14/09/10

The reason Oprah is bringing her own audience is that Australian audiences are much tuffer and harder to impress….well usually !!

stephen says:

09:30pm | 14/09/10

Tourism Australia is over the moon Oprah is coming down under.
Just imagine what 2 Oprahs could do for us.

Denise says:

09:50pm | 14/09/10

I think it is wonderful for the whole of Australia.  Majority of Americans all say that they would love to visit Australia. This is one way they will all get to see our beautiful country. Well done Oprah.

Oz says:

06:58am | 15/09/10

Yeah, right. Well done Oprah my arse.

300 odd Yanks are to come over, paid for by $3 million of our tax dollars.

Got that? We pay. Not Oprah.

We’re paying 300 ignorant American loudmouths to freeload.  And they’ll all think that *Oprah* paid for it.

They’ll be surprised - if they get here this Spring - that somehow it really isn’t Autumn.

They’ll try and cuddle the damned koalas, which they won’t be able to spell or pronounce.  And they won’t be able to spell kangaroo either, Gregg.

Then they’ll go on and on about our cute accent.

And best of all? They’ll start complaining the moment they set foot here. About the coffee, about the chips, about the TV channels, about the size of the sambos, about the flies. 

If they complain long enough and loud enough on Facebook, the famously vindictive Ms Winfrey will have a major hissy fit and start bagging out the joint too. Broadcast to 144 countries, all on *our* flaming $3 million.

Come to think of it, that’d be a good result.

Put a whopper dent in flying visits by pig-ignorant Yanks for decades.

Roger says:

07:43am | 15/09/10

I thought this was a masterstroke, then I realised that we’re paying for it! LOL..

Ozzie says:

09:27am | 15/09/10

Actually,  its about 450 people and more like 6 Million Ozzie taxpayer dollars. True.

Mulga Bill says:

10:45am | 15/09/10

A Dozen Handy Hints to help our American visitors enjoy their brief stay.

1. It’s a koh-ah-la, not a kwahler-bare. Oh, and it is *not* a bear, though it climbs trees with those cute furry little paws. And they have real claws. They’re not made for cuddling, got that?

2. We drink coffee, fresh, strong, hot, in cups. If it’s black and well-made, there will be aromatic frizz on top. Taste it and wonder. We sent Whats-is-Bucks broke for trying to peddle your tasteless flat grey dishwater in styrofoam.

3. Unless you’re in a Macca’s (you know, the golden arches) you’ll be ordering and eating *Chips* not Fries.

4. We eat *Biscuits*, not “cookies”. Best are Anzacs,  if home made or from a proper bakery. Or Tim Tams,  though they aren’t what they were since one of your giant slop factories took Arnott’s over.

5. We eat pancakes or pikelets, not “biscuits”, and then only once in a while. If you must have something soft, sweet and floppy to eat with your meal, stay home. We don’t *do* pancakes with maple syrup on the same plate with eggs, steak, bacon and chips. We just don’t, OK? Don’t ask.

6. Don’t bother with the “G’day mate”. It makes you sound very very foolish. And no, we don’t speak Cockney, and none of our varied accents are *anything* like it.  It was a Yank tried to tell you that. He was wrong.

7. If someone tells you to get stuffed, you’ve made them rather cross by your boorish behaviour. Unless he’s a friend of years standing and you’re both a bit sloshed.

8. If someone refers to you as an ass, no, he’s not talking about your rear end. He too has noticed your poor behaviour.

9. Your rear is your bum. Not an ass. You may be an arse, better than even chance I guess, but I wouldn’t know for sure till you get here.

10. Given that you’re almost certainly a minimum of 15kg over your ideal weight for age, yes, your bum really does look big in that.

11. Five Things to Eat and Enjoy:
Kangaroo steaks grilled.
Camel casserole.
Wild Top End-caught Barramundi grilled.
Fresh Aussie Prawns. NO, they are not Shrimp. Who told you that?
Crocodile if you must.

12. Five Things to Avoid
Swimming in Top End billabongs (small lakes) and tidal rivers. The crocodiles must eat, you *are* on their menu, and they will spot *you* before you see them.
Stingers and Blue-ring Occies. Just ask, before dashing in for a beach swim up in Qld or NT.
To be safe, any snake. Brown, Black, Red Bellied, etc. Watch where you step and leave ‘em be.
American tourists, if you can.

Amber says:

11:28am | 15/09/10

Who’s going to translate when Jools tries to have a conversation with Oprah?

Amber says:

11:34am | 15/09/10

And to Scarneck - Americans have MORE holidays than we do - every year up to 6 years it goes up by a week.  Of course it menas you have to stay in the same job to get that, but you can be with a company for 40 years here and you will only ever have 4 weeks/year.  Alos they are also MORE interested in Oz than any other country;  if you ever go there just tell them where you’re from and they will ask a million questions, relating to what it’s like to live here. This has been my experience of many years of living and travelling there.

Sean Williams says:

04:03am | 16/09/10

Come on Aussies, admit it, you’re all secretly bursting with pride over this - even those who claim to be against it. Never underestimate the power of the collective Australian orgasm whenever the world (especially America) pays it the slightest bit attention (even if sometimes they’re confusing it with Austria). If Oprah brought her show to London no-one in the UK would bat an eyelid