Travel tax plan to fund consuls
Putting aside of course ever increasing passport fees and passenger service charges ....
Putting aside of course ever increasing passport fees and passenger service charges ....
AUSTRALIANS could pay a travel levy for foreign trips and higher fees for passports under a plan to offset the soaring costs of helping those who get into strife overseas.A damning parliamentary report has found Australia's diplomats have had three decades of ''chronic underfunding'', just as the Gillard government launches a new blueprint for developing ties with Asia.
The report finds the growing burden of consular support for the thousands of Australians in trouble overseas - including high-profile cases such as Melinda Taylor, the lawyer imprisoned in Libya - is limiting the ability of diplomats to properly represent the country.
Last year, the Foreign Affairs Department helped about 14,500 Australians in difficulty, such as those who were arrested overseas, and more than 200,000 Australians needed some form of minor consular help, such as for lost passports.