Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We've often heard, over recent weeks, the phrase 'We are all in this together' but the reality is that that is not true. There is a substantial minority of the Australian population who are bearing the full brunt of the restrictions in place because of the COVID-19 crisis. That small minority are bearing the hardship for us all. So, with that, I call on our state governments, our premiers, to lift the restrictions as soon as they can. As to any restriction that remains in place, it must be backed by full medical reasons; otherwise it should be lifted to get people back to work.

We cannot take the attitude of saying we will wait until things are safe, because that means never. We cannot have 100 per cent safety, and often the pain and suffering and ill effects on health from the lockdowns can be worse than the virus itself. Now is the time to get Australians back to work. We've already had a 20 per cent decline in the hours worked. That is far too much. So I call on our state premiers: lift the restrictions and allow Australians to get back to work.

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