Oprah trip "Down Under" surprises Australians - with a bill "Oprah is a household name and her star power has the potential to lift Australia's profile as a premier tourist destination," Ferguson said in a statement Tuesday. Former federal tourism minister John Brown asked the media not to be "cynical about the cost" at a time when the number of Australian leaving for overseas holidays outstrips the number of tourists coming to Australia for vacations. "We spent hundreds of millions of dollars over 30 years without much effect, I must say that honestly," he told a news conference. "The publicity that Oprah will bring to Australia around the world is something you couldn't buy." http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68C42V20100914