Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

We are living in extraordinary circumstances and at a time of tremendous concern for many in our communities. Not in the living memory of many, if any, Australians have we experienced such a health crisis and an economic crisis in one event. Time is of the essence, and I will not take up too much time of this House, but I think it's important that I briefly speak as a member of the crossbench and also as the only member of Centre Alliance to speak on this bill, both here and in the other place.

I would first like to commend to the government. This is an enormous package of legislation pulled together in a short time. It is comprehensive in outlook. I would also like to mention the government's fact sheets on the website, www.Treasury.gov.au/coronavirus. They are detailed and in a clear format, outlining assistance available for individuals, families, retirees and self-funded retirees, and veterans. The website also provides information on early access to limited superannuation, cash flow assistance for small businesses, temporary financial relief for distressed businesses, support for small-business investment and the increase and expansion of the instant tax write-off. I know many people are discovering they no longer have employment, and this is crushing. Many businesses are operating differently or are required to close their doors. It is my hope that, with the support package available, the closure of those doors will indeed be a temporary measure.

Sadly, every one of us will be impacted by coronavirus in some way. As my colleague Senator Stirling Griff said in the other place this morning, 'If we stick together, and with the right support, we will get through this.' We know that there is an extra $22 billion in the supply bills for government to spend as they deem necessary in the coming months. This is, I believe, a sensible measure. As we close borders in many states, returning here to allow government to release more funds will not be an easy thing to arrange. Transparency on this spending, however, is important.

I would like to mention that where I think there is a gap in support that needs to be addressed is in community wellbeing assistance. Arriving here last night I had the opportunity to chat to the former member for Indi, Cathy McGowan. Perhaps it is because we are both regional women, but our conversation immediately went to our concerns on how we can lift up our regional communities. Who will keep people connected? When we look at those who already do this, those who are best providing support to those based in our community, the answer, I believe, is simple: it is local government. So I would urge the government to again look at providing financial assistance to our local governments. I know my regional local governments do extraordinary community work. It worked so well with drought funding, where there was $1 million provided to each local government area, and more recently with bushfire assistance, with funding again directly provided to local government. Like the member for Indi's area, my community has also experienced huge devastation over summer and coronavirus is just compounding our loss and devastation.

Local government know who are vulnerable and isolated and they work closely with small NGOs if they are not providing the service delivery themselves, such as social wellbeing programs. I'm deeply concerned that, without the community wellbeing support that will need to be delivered in different ways than it currently is, we will lose more people to mental health issues, exacerbated by loneliness and isolation, than potentially to coronavirus. The singing on the balconies that we saw from Italy, that lifted everyone's spirits and built solidarity and camaraderie, was driven by their local government network. We need to support ours to create similar initiatives.

We have been through so much—bushfires, on the back of drought. So I have a call to action for my Mayo community: we all need to do random acts of kindness. Make phone calls to the elderly. Join a group on Facebook. There's one that I know of in our community called Caremongering Adelaide Hills. These Facebook groups are spreading all across our community. This will be what will get us through. Assist an elderly person over the phone on how they can make Facebook calls and how they can talk to each other. Talk to them about Zoom. Get them on Facebook or other social media platforms, where they can share and connect and still have videoconferencing calls with their grandchild who they can't see at the moment.

I'd like to say thank you to our healthcare workers, the doctors, the nurses, the teachers, the childcare workers, the supermarket workers, the truck drivers and the bus drivers. They are all working so hard in our community. They are all keeping Australia going, and we are all indebted to them for their service. And can I ask all Australians to please be kind to the Centrelink operators—the people who answer your phone calls when you're ringing them and when you're calling your bank. Also, I'd like to give a shout-out to my staff. The phone calls started very early this morning, as I'm sure they have in every member's office. We understand many people are deeply, deeply stressed, and we want to help every one of you. But, please, just remember they are humans too. I know my staff are doing an extraordinary job.

I'd also like to make the point that we need to care for our young people. While young people may not be as susceptible from a health perspective as older people are to coronavirus, and certainly to complications from coronavirus, they are vulnerable in other ways. I'm particularly concerned about young people and disruption to their education, whether that be high school or university. They are incredibly vulnerable in their mental health, and we need to make sure that we can still support them. They are social beings, and we need to make sure that they are with us for generations.

As a student of history, I've recently reflected on how decision-makers and the community responded to the Spanish flu pandemic between 1918 and December 1920. It was actually called the Spanish influenza because Spain was the only country that was reporting on the deaths and giving information. It actually started in Kansas. In another century, students will judge us on the decisions we make today. In the near future, we will be judged on how we support each other and our most vulnerable. It is my great hope that we will be looked upon in a favourable light. We must remember, at every turn, that we are a community and we are all in this together. I commend this bill to the House.

See this speech in context