Hello

Everyone is in Europe. And while it makes me very happy, it also makes me look around Australia and think – OK, so where are all the foreign tourists ...

Plus, we were famously closed to the rest of the world for almost two years, and news of our reopening doesn't travel anywhere near as fast as tales of our dramatic closure. To listen on Spotify, click here. Coming to Australia on a visa right now is difficult. It's just amazing to see that everyone is back out there again, and that they all seem to have gone to the same place. In June this year, Australians made 890,000 departures to overseas countries. The new Labor government says it's making this a priority to fix, though the wheels are moving slowly. Australia is a big country, too, and one that's far, far away from most people – this is a place that potential visitors want to dedicate months to, and to do that they need to plan a long way in advance. I know of a Spanish resident who was hoping to visit Australia last week on business; however, despite applying a month or so beforehand, her visa application was never processed. It feels a bit like the travel floodgates have opened, but only in one direction. Where are all the British backpackers, the Germans, the Swedes, the Spaniards and the French? Where are the Brazilian travellers? The answer is: yes and no. The Argentinians? The Japanese? The Chinese?