Tourism Australia
It’s 1993 and I have a perm twice as wide as my head and a hunger to see the world so much greater than my pay packet will afford.
Each week I stuff away $80, tallying in a notebook my painfully slow attempts to raise the 2000 pounds needed for a working holiday visa to the UK. I’m shiftworking every Sunday for the double time; dodging my round at the pub because I’m saving for my big “OE”.
Then, weeks before I’m due to set off with a backpack on the overseas experience that feels so urgent when you’re born at the bottom of the world, the exchange rate plummets; my pounds are plundered. I borrow $700 from Dad – the only time I’ll ever ask my parents for money.
Continue reading "The best jobs are the ones that get you started" »
Reading about G’day USA, got me thinking – it’s time that we have a Ni Hao China event.
G’day USA is an annual event in Los Angeles to promote Australian tourism and trade opportunities with the US and has been going on for a decade. Most famous for the celebrities it attracts.
Yet our top trading partner is China, followed by Japan then the US. Last year Australia and China celebrated 40 years of diplomatic recognition.
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marley says:
@DOB - sorry, but what you’re describing with Indonesia is a country looking after its own self interest, not a country that’s going to march in lockstep with the US. Throughout the Cold War, the Non-Aligned countries, including both Indonesia and India, picked which issues on which they could expect… Read more »
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Tbird says:
Are there any other cities in Australia other than Sydney? Sydney this Sydney that…....your not that great other than the habour views - its a shit hole. Read more »
So US tourist numbers are down since Oprah’s “Down Under” fire sale of our national dignity and the much-wished-for Oprah cash has failed to materialise.
The idea of letting a foreign talk show host turn our country into giant television studios smelt dodgy from the start, but after yesterday’s revelations, it stinks.
The news yesterday that US visitor numbers have dropped by 0.8 per cent in the last year just leaves you wondering how this ever got so out of hand.
Continue reading "Why the bloody hell was Oprah here anyway?" »
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andy says:
@Tubesteak - Oh dear, tubey. Where have you been going? No wine bars? *facepalm* I am no wine drinker but Vini, Love Tilly Devine, Bentley Bar, The Winery… those are just some I can quickly think of that are about 5 minutes walk from each other. The small “melbourne style”… Read more »
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RyaN says:
Just in case you were a bit slow on the Ali G part, I am ridiculing you on the pathetic over sensitivity of being black and feeling like you are being treated differently, having traveled the world its a given that people will treat you differently from wherever you come… Read more »
Three years ago I interviewed former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett about the lack of a bold, long-term vision for Adelaide.
“I absolutely believe that by 2030 there is a very real chance that South Australia will be one of the high-speed economic states of Australia,” said the man credited with transforming Melbourne. “Adelaide is a lovely city, but in my opinion it still hasn’t identified its core.”
Fast forward to 2011. And in the same week that a possible trillion-dollar mine was tipped within the Woomera Prohibited Area, SACA members yelled YES to changing the face of Adelaide forever. Hallelujah.
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Robert Smissen, rural SA, God's own country says:
State Bank Mk II, you were warned Read more »
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James III says:
If Australian cities were like the Gold Coast there would be a mass exodus. 3 days was enough in that feral, red-neck dump. Lame, dirty theme parks, tattooed bogans. Just carparks, and devine home cul-de-sacs. No culture, not one decent pub, boring weather that is not hot enough in summer… Read more »
Did someone say “Oprah”? No? Are you sure? I could’ve sworn I heard someone say “Oprah”.
Over the past few weeks the Talk Show Queen’s name has been noticeably absent from the nation’s media – which probably has something to do with the fact we were quite preoccupied with devastating floods, rampaging cyclones and horrific fires.
Those Oprah-filled days seem so far away now – almost dream-like.
Continue reading "When Oprah runs the world, we’ll all get free Audis!" »
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VINCENTJOANNE35 says:
The loans are very useful for people, which would like to start their organization. As a fact, this is comfortable to receive a secured loan. Read more »
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chris says:
Who or what is a “Stedman”? Read more »
The screams are still ringing in my ears.
Oprah’s audience, and every Australian Tourism authority, are no doubt still trying to recover their composure after the mass hysteria that followed her pronouncement that she and several hundred of her bestest fans were bound for the positively Jules Verne-esque destination of “the other side of the world”.
Later this year, Winfrey and her troop of ardent devotees will be flown to our shores courtesy of Captain Kangaroo himself John Travolta. The Opera House will form the particularly scenic backdrop for the taping of an episode of her talk show which reaches 44 million people each week.
Continue reading "Cult leader Oprah will send her followers Down Under" »
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http://www.9160966.com/read.php?tid=340866 says:
“Thank an individual!In Qi Yun a little bit Heshou. Small sigh, nevertheless sense Chenxin Lan is needed to see the noncitizen checked out herself, would not enable nevertheless guffaw: “how would you?In Read more »
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Sangrawee says:
Good for her. At least she’s lniettg her money do some good work. But…what’s wrong with setting up scholarship programs for kids right here in the US? And what’s her stand on vouchers so kids in the cities can choose their own schools? Read more »
Dearest Oprah, can we start by saying: ohmygod ohmygod ohmyGOD.
We can’t thank you enough for getting us out of the little marketing pickle we have found ourselves in ever since the Lara Bingle Where-the-Bloody-Hell-Are-You business (yes, what were we thinking?). For your enjoyment we have enclosed some photos from inside our marketing department from the moment we heard the news that you have decided to shoot your first ever overseas show in Sydney. As you can see, there was quite the excitement.
A few more pictures follow. We will of course have a full itinerary ready by the time you arrive but now that we’re locked in there are a few preliminary things you might want to think about that we’ve listed below.
Continue reading "A thank-you note to Oprah from Tourism Australia" »
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Uh Huh says:
Do nothing. When the exchange rate favours them instead of us, they’ll come. Meanwhile, we save money. Read more »
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Sean Williams says:
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).… Read more »
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