Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It goes without saying that we are in the middle of one of the worst recessions that we've ever seen. It's potentially our greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression and our greatest health crisis since the 1919 Spanish flu pandemic. There have already been immeasurable impacts in many spheres of our nation's economy.

I want to take this opportunity to extend my condolences to every family, right across the nation, who have lost loved ones, and I also want to recognise that there have also been significant impacts upon their livelihoods, on their businesses and on people's jobs. As a government, we've acted swiftly, decisively and effectively. We've provided unprecedented targeted support. We have implemented the most comprehensive suite of economic support measures in the nation's history.

On a personal note, and from my own experience as a business owner—I sit on this side, on the government side, and I listen to the other side and their approach to what being a small-business owner is and the relationship that an employer has with their employees. It's a vision of taking advantage of the employees, of exploiting them and corrupting them. But the truth is that it's a very different matter. The truth is that the vast majority of our employers care deeply for their employees. I paint my own example as the case example today.

I ran a small business which was designing and manufacturing prefabricated concrete for the agricultural sector in Tasmania. I employed between six and eight people. It was a seasonal business, where we'd do the majority of our sales during the summer months, but, during the winter months, cash flow was almost non-existent as people weren't buying our products and we couldn't get onto farms due to the environmental constraints of winter in Tasmania. But I still had those six blokes. They were still looking at me every day. And, rather than put them off for the winter period, I knew that they still had to have food on their table. I knew that they still had a family to look after, and I knew that they still had bills that they needed to pay.

And so, as an employer, you go without yourself. You make sales, you sell off things or you sell cattle so that you can go without yourself in order to keep your employees connected with your business. Because that business needs the employees post-winter. It needs those employees to stay connected to your business so that you can come out of that slump in sales and in cash flow and you can continue to thrive and grow as a business. And so you go without. It's this very paradigm that I consider a similarity with the JobKeeper program that I'm here to speak about today. It's that connection between employers and employees that's important.

As a government, we understand the connection is important. It's vital and it underpins that business' future. After all, we as employers understand that our business is all about our people and our employees. In saying that, our JobKeeper, our JobSeeker, the cash flow assistance, our instant asset write-off, our apprenticeship support measures—and the list goes on—these programs have been the pillars of support and they have been the economic lifelines for many Australians. They're something that they've needed in their time of dire need.

Since the outbreak six months ago, I've spoken to literally hundreds of businesses from my local electorate, many of whom have accessed and benefited from at least one of the assistance programs. These are hardworking folk. They live right across the north-west, the west coast and King Island in Tassie. They're from all walks of life. Many of them, through no fault of their own, are really battling. They're struggling in more ways than one—battling to keep their businesses afloat or to pay their bills or to provide for their family. What they have said, without exception, is that the federal government's assistance has been their real lifeline. It has allowed them to pay the bills that I spoke of, retain their staff and keep their doors open. The centrepiece of the government's support has been the JobKeeper program. Australia wide, it has supported over 3½ million people and nearly a million businesses. The program has provided payments of more than $42 billion to date, which has been the boost that individuals, businesses and the economy have needed during this important time.

Driving around my electorate and meeting with locals, I met with the owner of Print Domain in Burnie, a town where I have an electorate office. His name is Michael Gates and he is a mild-mannered gentleman who works well with his community. He's got a fine business and he's renowned for being a great bloke. Michael spoke to me and he said this has been 'a real blessing'. He said that the JobKeeper program had had a positive impact on his business. While not back to a full order book, Mr Gates's business continues to improve each week. Being a print and design business, he has specialty skills required with his employees. They're specialists and they do a fantastic job, and I use some of their product in my electorate office. But the beauty of this program, he said, is that he can retain those specialised staff, with their specialised skill set, and it will allow him to scale up to full operations without having to worry about retraining somebody post the pandemic, when his cash flow will inevitably improve. 'This program,' he said, 'has been a real blessing for me and I know many others as well.' I wish Michael all the best in his Print Domain business in Burnie, Tasmania.

Just across the road, where we wander up for a coffee, is a cafe called Liv-eat. It's owned by a lady called Mieke Bacon. The JobKeeper allowance has allowed her to stay open during the COVID-19 outbreak. She said it was 'a lifesaver'. The story of Liv-eat is a great example of every cloud having a silver lining. When we had the outbreak in the North West General Hospital and the AUSMAT team was deployed to Burnie, under the federal government's assistance program, Mieke and her business were able to stay open because her business was able to take the opportunity to provide the catering for the AUSMAT team. So you can see the secondary flow-down benefits that the JobKeeper program has had, just in her business alone.

There are many other examples to cite, like Robyn's Hair Studio in Latrobe. Robyn is the owner and proprietor. She said:

We were really struggling there for a while and the Federal Government support honestly kept us alive.

A lot of our clientele are elderly people and while we still aren't back to 100%, the work that the Prime Minister and Premier have done has been brilliant.

She also went on to thank me for responding to her during the pandemic. We were inundated, in the electorate office, with people who were just scared, apprehensive and unsure about their future. We kept our phones on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we provided that support when they needed it most, and that underpins our paradigm from the federal government's perspective also.

Just down the road, at Belly's Bar & Grill, owner Mark Radich said:

JobKeeper was instrumental in keeping our business afloat. When the decision was made to shut down all nonessential businesses on the north-west coast when we had the outbreak of coronavirus in April, had it not been for Federal Government assistance we would have closed our doors permanently. Now that we are able to resume trading again, the Federal Government support is still doing its job, helping our business as we get back on our feet.

He thanked the government for all that they've done.

It is not only the JobKeeper program that has had benefits and flow-on effects for the great state of Tasmania; the instant asset write-off has also been important for our businesses. I spoke to the owner and executive director of Lending4U in Devonport. His name is Justin Delanty. Mr Delanty met with me and we discussed some issues he was working with. That was possibly in the last week of May. It was prior to us extending the $150,000 instant asset write-off to the end of the calendar year, giving businesses a further six months to take up that opportunity. Mr Delanty had had difficulties processing his applications due to the backlog that financial institutions like his were experiencing, trying to get everything through on time. Mr Delanty said his phone was 'ringing off the hook' with regard to both government support mechanisms, but the 30 June cut-off would have made it hard to process much of the backlog that he was experiencing. He said that, upon hearing about the extension of the instant asset write-off scheme, he was ecstatic. He said that he could help farmers, business owners, people in the construction industry and other clients right across the electorate, due to the federal government's support. His business does equipment financing as well. When a farmer or a business owner buys a piece of equipment, you need to remember that someone needs to operate that equipment, and, often, ancillary equipment is purchased at the same time. Again, our programs, such as the instant asset write-off, continue to improve and continue to benefit many people downstream.

The owner of the John Deere tractor dealership in La Trobe is James Darcey. I've spent a bit of money there myself. He runs a fine business in Tasmania. He said his books were full. He also highlighted to me that the lead time for ordering a piece of equipment that needs to come from America or Europe often means that farmers will miss out on the instant asset write-off. He also commended our extension of this program.

Just down the road from John Deere is Delta Hydraulics. It's owned by a bloke called John White, a visionary in our business sector in Tasmania. It's a Devonport based business that has a wide range of clients, from the defence industry—he supplies parts to the Collins class submarines and F/A-18 maintenance teams—to heavy industry partners such as the Elphinstone Group. He has verbally confirmed to me that he's a big supporter of the instant asset write-off, as well as JobKeeper, and this has helped his business no end. 'Wise, wise, wise,' he said, 'from the federal government.' His business has remained open.

Capitalcorp Equipment Finance, also just down the road, is owned by a bloke called Alan Hogge. Hoggy approached me just prior to our announcement of the extension of the instant asset write-off. He had a dilemma: he couldn't process his applications quickly enough. He said the extension of the scheme to the end of the calendar year meant that he could service his clients better. Again, the financial benefits flowed downhill and across the electorate.

The initial phase of the federal government's plan has been to focus on the health crisis, save jobs and protect the economy as best we can. The government have been clear about our approach to this crisis. We've implemented the programs needed as the health and economic situation evolved. We have been, and we will continue to be, responsive and adaptive. We have announced that the JobKeeper program will be extended by a further six months. This will give businesses who need it extra time to recover. This could support up to 1.4 million people for an extra six months. Importantly, JobKeeper will remain open to new participants.

I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate our Premier in Tasmania, and his government's steadfast, responsible approach to the recovery. He has worked hand in glove with the federal government, and Tasmania has fared well as a result.

This is a time like no other. It is an incredibly challenging time for many people right across Australia. But I want one thing to remain clear today, and that is that we will always be there for them and that the good folk of the electorate of Braddon can always rely and count on me and the Morrison government to be there for them. I commend the bill to this House.

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