Trainspotter with a mission

By IRENE CHAPPLE

Tim Fischer - former Deputy Prime Minister and now chairman of Tourism Australia - wears a tie patterned with train pictures, held down with a train tie pin and calls for his bush hat when being photographed.

After our interview, he's off to visit Britomart. In his book Transcontinental Train Odyssey, Fischer comments that train stations are "a great way to assess the local standard of living and the economy".

He reports back later: Britomart looks good. So good, if he'd seen it before writing his book it would have made his list of favourite train stations. Which bodes well.

Fischer is here as the face of Tourism Australia as it pushes its new campaign, launched last night, to get New Zealanders across the Ditch.

It is his first international trip in his new role. Having New Zealand first on his list "reflects our priorities".

The campaign aims to remind New Zealanders about the hidden treasures of Australia such as its outback and - this is Fischer's favourite, naturally - its train travel.

Australia's tourism industry was battered after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States but latest figures show a 10 per cent rise in international visitor numbers, to 5.1 million.

New Zealanders are also heading back, with numbers up 25 per cent for the first six months of this year, to 450,000.

The republican supports Prime Minister John Howard, under whom he was deputy and Trade Minister for three years to 1999, in invading Iraq alongside the US. He grimaces at what he calls the "mistakes" after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime.

But Fischer dismisses comment that, despite the trend back up, selling Australia as a destination is tainted by fears of an attack. Terrorism has been a constant for decades.

"It has been, sadly, on the face of planet earth for decades, be it Spain with the Basque [separatist group], England with the IRA or Germany with the Red [Brigade]. We are working through this phase at the moment. But will it be the end of tourism worldwide? No."

Fischer has a deep belief New Zealand and Australia should have a common currency.

This month, New Zealand, Australia and the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) ministers announced a timeframe for free-trade talks. Negotiations for the talks have been given a completion date of 2007.

Such negotiations - arguably - raise issues for New Zealand as a smaller and less protected market, but Fischer says the country should not underestimate its abilities in areas such as farming and wine.

Fischer, an advocate of zero tariffs, points to New Zealand farmers - who have been internationally successful without Government protections - as best proof of a successful free-trade market.

Fischer also actively promoted a common New Zealand and Australian currency during his years in power.

Now, despite his being "out of the loop", Fischer is still passionate about the introduction of a common currency, the "Zac", which is a play on the word Anzac.

A common currency is common sense and means "one less wrinkle for the tourism industry and one less wrinkle for the trade industry".