Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

I've been overwhelmed by the number of calls that I've received to my electorate office in response to the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. I'm sure that the member for Grey has had the same number, and the members for North Sydney, Chisholm and O'Connor have all experienced it. And I suspect some of those on the other side of the House have also had calls from people about how pleased they are with the government's performance and about how the Prime Minister has handled this in a very statesmanlike manner by calling the national cabinet together—Australia's first national cabinet. Australians desperately want leadership. They won't get it from this shadow Treasurer and they won't get it from this Leader of the Opposition, but they will get it from this Prime Minister.

When the Prime Minister spoke about our JobMaker plan in question time today, it was really inspiring to hear what he had to say—to hear that he understands Australians need and rely on the services that we deliver. We want to ensure that revenues are restored, that people get back to work, that the Queensland borders are opened, that tourism is flourishing, and that the services that people rely on are delivered. We know that getting people back to work pays for all the services that people rely on, whether it's the $31 billion in additional funding that we pumped into hospitals, including the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, or the almost $20 billion that's been forecast for schools funding. When I was elected, we were spending something like $14 billion a year on schools. It's currently $21 billion a year. Fantastic! And those services can be delivered to our children because of the economy that we're in. We want to make sure that the economy is up and running again as quickly as possible.

But what we hear from those opposite and what we just heard from the shadow Treasurer is a whole lot of negativity. He actually used the words: 'sacrificed in September'. Those are the words of the shadow Treasurer. We heard nothing from him about jobseeker and the doubling of jobseeker, for those important people who are living in public housing or are looking for work or are doing it a bit tough—nothing from the opposition acknowledging the help that is being provided to those people. We heard nothing about the emergency relief funding that's being rolled out around the country or about the JobKeeper payment that is helping so many Australians and the many small businesses who have called us and said, 'Thank you for what you're doing and the plan that you have in place.' Deputy Speaker, do you know that the stimulus that the federal government has delivered is almost ten times larger than the states' combined? It's unbelievable what the Australian government has been able to roll out to help so many people.

Those opposite don't have a plan. The member opposite, the shadow Treasurer, just criticised the Prime Minister's speech to CEDA yesterday. The opposition leader didn't even do a speech, and he has criticised JobKeeper because the forecast was wrong. If those opposite had been in government it wouldn't have been an underspend, I can tell you that, Deputy Speaker. It would have been a big overspend. So I do find it appalling that this opposition come in here at this time and try to talk down the economy—'sacrifice in September' is the sort of language that the shadow Treasurer brings to this place to inspire people.

I heard the Prime Minister speak today about the JobMaker plan. People are inspired by that, and I know they are because people have been calling my electorate office. There's also a plan for manufacturing—making it, for the agriculture sector—growing it, and for the resource sector—mining it, and there are infrastructure projects being rolled out around the country—servicing it.

In relation to manufacturing, the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology has spoken about the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund, which is a really good opportunity to help all Australians support manufacturing. This government has supported over 200 job-creating projects, investing over $215 million; that's over $1 million on average per project. We're also investing in homegrown companies like Kestrel Manufacturing and Clets Linen—both in Labor-held electorates, I might say. They're manufacturing personal protective equipment and looking for opportunities to export. Under this minister, we've also set up service hubs and new cybersecurity hubs. In my own electorate, the Dolphins leagues club were recently hacked by someone and they've had to strengthen their own cybersecurity, but we've set up hubs in Brisbane, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast. We've also set up SME export hubs in Boothby in South Australia and in Melbourne to work with businesses and help businesses gain access to international markets.

In the agriculture sector, we are doing a lot to help grow the economy. We're making sure the agriculture sector has the workers it needs, and we're making sure that the freight assistance to support that is also in place. There's a lot happening in agriculture. The resources minister, Minister Pitt, spoke about mining yesterday. He said that the Australian resources sector has contributed around nine per cent to Australia's GDP and 25 per cent growth of all our exports have been coming into the economy in this sector in the last couple of years—some $100 billion in the iron ore industry and $50 billion in liquid natural gas. We've got a lot of plans in place in the resources sector and in agriculture, and what do we get from the Queensland Labor Party? We get roadblocks at every opportunity. That's why we need a new government come October in Queensland. There are good women up there who understand that we need to get rid of the red tape and the roadblocks that others are putting up—LNP candidates like Amanda Cooper in Aspley; Kerri-Anne Dooley in Redcliffe; Yvonne Barlow in Murrumba; and Kara Thomas in Pine Rivers. We would love to see them elected.

It is nice, by the way, that the federal government is investing in Victoria as well. We are investing in both of those hubs in Jagajaga and Scullin. Unlike the Victorian Labor Party—and unlike what is happening with Adem Somyurek at the moment—at least we are actually looking after Victoria.

In relation to infrastructure projects, we've just seen $1.8 billion invested in councils right around the country to make sure that councils can get jobs happening right now. That involves projects in my own electorate to upgrade places like the Clontarf Beach Scout Group and a road upgrade at Bonnet Parade and Mango Hill Boulevard, where we've invested $555 million. These projects, relying on councils, are happening right around Australia.

The JobKeeper wage subsidy program has been really helpful to people. The cash flow incentives for small and medium businesses have been essential. Some small-business owners told me the other day that they received a $50,000 rebate in PAYG. We've put in place a 50 per cent wage subsidy for apprenticeships and a safety net for companies facing financial stress. The instant asset write-off is really helping the economy: you can invest up to $150,000 and ensure that that item is written off straightaway.

I would say to the member opposite who raised this matter of public importance that what he's saying is false, because the calls that we are receiving are overwhelmingly supportive, right around the electorate. When I get out and talk to people, they're really happy with what the government is doing. There's more work to be done, but I believe that the Prime Minister is providing the leadership that this country needs and the plans—particularly our JobMaker plan—to ensure that, over the next five years, we continue to go from strength to strength.

Australia is the best place to live. I am proud to live here and to be a member of this House. I say to those opposite: don't talk negatively and try to scare people. Look at what you're doing and how you can contribute to a better Australia.

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