Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet) Share this | Hansard source

If you needed any demonstration that the Labor Party in this country is completely out of tune with the Australian people, you've just seen it. The opposition fail to understand that, globally, 35.3 million cases of coronavirus have had an impact around the world. Sadly, there have been over one million deaths. Here in Australia, there have been over 27,000 cases and, very sadly, 894 deaths. We are facing a dual health and economic crisis. We are facing the single biggest economic shock this country has ever seen.

Those opposite like to talk down Australia. They like to talk down the response that Australia has taken to the coronavirus, both on the health front and in relation to our economic response. But what has The Medical Journal of Australia said in relation to the Australian response?

Let me quote:

Australia has had a remarkably successful response to COVID-19, even considering the second wave experienced in Victoria. The Australian rate of COVID-deaths of 33 per million population, is 15 to 20 times lower that that observed in countries across Europe and the Americas.

These researchers have estimated that there could have been over 16,000 additional deaths if Australia had experienced a similar outbreak to England and Wales.

On the economic front, COVID-19 is an economic shock like no other. Globally, the equivalent of 600 million people have lost their jobs and, here in Australia, 10 per cent of our entire workforce have either lost their jobs or have seen their working hours reduced to zero. But in the year through to June 2020, GDP in Australia reduced by 6.3 per cent. This compares to 9.1 per cent for the G20 and 11.7 per cent for the OECD—or in the UK where GDP shrank 21.5 per cent and, across the ditch, in New Zealand where it shrank 12.4 per cent.

We have faced a health and economic crisis and, with the leadership of the Morrison government and the hard and courageous work of our health professionals, both on the front line and in our health bureaucracies, we can claim to be proud of the response of the Australian people to this crisis. I am proud of the response of the Australian people to this crisis and I am proud of the government's response, albeit one should always acknowledge the suffering that has occurred to many and the deaths that have impacted on far too many families.

This government has a comprehensive plan, one that is focused on jobs, one that is focused on supporting the private sector recover those jobs that have been lost. More than $300 billion of support, including JobKeeper and JobSeeker, has been put into our economy, and $750 cash payments to households, and our cash-flow boost, which business people in my electorate claim has kept their heads above water. This is about cushioning the blow and keeping businesses in business, and keeping Australians in their jobs.

With the next phase of our recovery, which will be announced by the Treasurer in the budget this evening, we have seen announcements already taking place: $7.5 billion in national transport infrastructure to boost the national economy, deliver safer roads and create 30,000 direct and indirect jobs; support for 100,000 apprentices and trainees to help support young people into a job; 1,200 additional university places to make sure Australians have the right skills to get a job; and an additional 10,000 places under the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme to help first home buyers break into the market. That's not to mention a $250 million injection into regional Australia, encouraging more Australians to travel and experience a home-grown holiday in their own country. We're also taking action to secure Australia's long-term fuel supply, to keep prices low for consumers and to create more than a thousand new jobs by building domestic fuel security.

On that note, I'd like to talk about the contribution of Minister Taylor, because the Morrison government has focused on delivering affordable, reliable and secure electricity for Australian households and businesses, and this is where we have succeeded. It is a credit—

Mr Conroy interjecting—

to Minister Taylor that our plan is working, member for Shortland. Central to our economic plan is making sure that we support jobs—like those in the member for Shortland's electorate; we seem to support them more than he does—productivity and economic growth, and our plan is working. We have seen CPI reductions in retail prices in every quarter since 2019—for the first time since records began. We have seen wholesale electricity prices fall 13 months in a row, and they're now the lowest level in five years.

Mr Conroy interjecting—

The member for Shortland wants to put electricity prices up and put the people in his electorate out of work. That's what he wants to do. That's his policy. The member for Shortland pursues policies that are completely out of sync with the people in his electorate. I know, because I know those people well. From 1 July last year we have put in place our price safety net, capping standing offer prices—

Mr Conroy interjecting—

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