Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It certainly felt like an historic moment, watching the Treasurer hand down the budget earlier this month. As I mentioned to a room full of northern Tasmanian business owners and employees the morning after the budget, when I was elected last year I certainly didn't imagine we would be facing the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression. It's an unenviable position to be in, as a nation, but it's one that we, as a government, are able to respond to because of our economic strength prior to the pandemic reaching Australia's shores. As the Treasurer said on budget night:

We could do this because we entered this crisis from a position of economic strength, brought the Budget back to balance for the first time in 11 years and maintained our AAA credit rating.

This gave us the fiscal firepower when we needed it most.

The decisions made by the Morrison government when the pandemic first hit were made quickly and decisively to protect the health of all Australians while trying to balance the devastating economic impact that this unprecedented crisis would bring.

In my electorate of Bass we are proudly an innovative and entrepreneurial city, with around 83 per cent of Launceston's workforce employed in the private sector, compared to 76 per cent in Hobart. Our government's JobKeeper payment has supported 3,100 businesses in our region, supporting them through the pandemic and keeping them connected to their employees. Businesses such as the Tailrace Centre, Seahorse World and Flinders Island Aviation and many other businesses, from local fish and chip shops to a software development company, have all relied on this critical support to see them through.

Our support for small and medium-sized businesses did not stop there. A few thousand businesses have received the cash flow boost to help them stay afloat, and, to support new investment and increase business cash flow, the government is providing a temporary tax incentive that will allow for thousands of businesses in my region to write off the full value of any eligible asset that they purchase. From tractors, trucks and cars to office equipment, this tax relief will unlock investment, expand the productive capacity of our nation and create tens of thousands of jobs.

Our government's push to revitalise our manufacturing industries across the country will see $52.8 million offered to local companies through the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund. This will be targeted in six priority areas: food and beverage manufacturing, medical products, clean energy and recycling and defence. George Town, my home town, is a proud manufacturing town with businesses like Environex, where I was pleased to take the Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management in a pre-COVID era. I'm hopeful of seeing companies like Environex, who create new products from plastics such as IV bags from hospitals and silage wrap, benefit from initiatives such as this. The focus on recycling has been welcomed by the Tasmanian Minerals, Manufacturing and Energy Council, who said the investment and focus in this key area will build on the state's manufacturing prowess and align with the culture of 'reducing our impact', further stating that the council welcomes the government's budget announcement 'as an opportunity to improve our social licence and look after the land we're on'.

Our plan will rebuild our economy and create jobs. Tasmania, like all states, has suffered economically since the pandemic began. However, as Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Michael Bailey said after the budget was handed down, the job-creating infrastructure investment and tax cuts contained in the budget was what the state's struggling economy required. The federal budget was a win for small business in our community and the JobMaker Hiring Credit is already instilling confidence in the Northern Tasmanian business industry. Vision Hotels' Director Brendon Deeley told media that he was already discussing hiring new staff under the initiative. He said:

It will enable us to certainly bring on multiple staff, there's no question. So, if that's just us that are already, at a quick glimpse, talking about bringing more staff on because of this budget, I think there will be a whole bunch of employers.

Another hospitality owner, Karen Burbury, said that the initiative would be beneficial. She stated that she found it:

… exceptionally comforting to know that we can employ people from JobSeeker and have that subsidy in place. This is the budget we needed to have.

Australian apprenticeships will play a vital role in developing and delivering the pipeline of skilled workers that businesses and industry need to support our economic recovery. Our government's committed to supporting industries and apprentices across the country. The CEO of KEEN Partners in Georgetown, which focuses on growing people with meaningful and rewarding employment, including though apprenticeships, said:

The Federal Budget has delivered a massive opportunity for employers and apprentices.

Under the scheme, we're providing for 100,000 new apprentices in the 2021 budget to support the next generation of our skilled workers and to help jobseekers get back into work, introducing a new 50 per cent wage subsidy for all businesses that take on apprentices over the period 5 October 2020 to 30 September 2021. The $1.2 billion Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy will support our next generation of skilled workers through 100,000 new apprenticeships. This measure is in addition to financial support already provided under the government's $2.8 billion Supporting Apprentices and Trainees package for existing apprentices and trainees, which is now expected to support 90,000 employers to keep 180,000 apprentices and trainees in employment and training.

Unsurprisingly, our $1.2 billion apprenticeship scheme has been given the thumbs up from business groups, with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO James Pearson saying the new subsidy should go a long way to turning around the concerning long-term decline in apprenticeship numbers. 'This is the right prescription to restore the health of the apprenticeship system,' he said. Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Warn said, 'Young people and building and construction business will be big winners.'

As of 31 March this year, there were more than 9,000 young Tasmanians in apprenticeship and trainee programs, an increase of 16.1 per cent from just four years prior. Our government's continued investment in this area is working. This package announced in the budget is significant and provides an incredible opportunity to gain a job-ready skillset in a range of industries: hospitality, tourism, agriculture, aged care, arts, graphic design, hair and beauty and, of course, our tradies. These are all industries, I might add, that employ men and women, which is why I was left somewhat bemused by claims from the other side that this budget was not for women.

There were a significant number of measures in this budget which specifically support women, and here is a quick reminder for those who may need it. To start, our 2020 Women's Economic Security Statement includes a wide range of measures to provide targeted support for women to explore pathways to improve their employment opportunities, pay, participation and flexibility. The $240.4 million package over five years is a vital step in creating more opportunities and choices for women, not just for the recovery from COVID-19 but for the generations ahead. The economic support statement supports women into jobs now and helps drive economic growth into the future.

Key budget initiatives include: expanding the Master Builders Australia's Women Building Australia program to support more women into the highly male dominated building and construction industry, expanding the innovative enterprising girls program to give girls and young women across Australia the skills and opportunities to start their own businesses in the digital economy. An additional $35.9 million will be invested in the existing Boosting Female Founders Initiative, to support up to 282 additional startups and 4,300 women entrepreneurs. As part of this ongoing support, we will link female founders up with expert mentoring and advice for women entrepreneurs. As a key measure in the 2018 economic statement, this initiative is already on track to support over 100 businesses to build their potential.

Women currently make up a minority in STEM education, workplaces and senior leadership positions, at only 17 per cent of the STEM qualified population. The 2020 women's economic statement provides more opportunity for women to move into rewarding and lucrative STEM careers by investing an additional $14.5 million to expand several women in STEM programs, including the women in STEM and entrepreneurship grants program, expansion of the girls in STEM Toolkit, extending the Women in STEM Ambassador role and creating new STEM industry cadetships and advanced apprenticeships specifically for women. This $25.1 million program will specifically provide 500 women valuable career experience and a salary while they study an industry relevant qualification in STEM.

The Morrison government are providing a range of measures to support families by extending the paid parental leave work test to 20 months, offering important financial support to parents who do not meet the current work test provisions because their employment has been affected by COVID-19. Additionally, in recognition of the challenges that disadvantaged families are facing as a result of COVID-19, we're investing an additional $24.7 million in the ParentsNext program. Disadvantaged jobseeking parents who are struggling to re-enter the workforce and support their families will be able to access streamlined and extended services to get the support that they need to re-enter the workforce. This will provide assistance to approximately 235,000 parents, including those in my northern Tasmanian community.

On a personal note, I'm incredibly proud of securing $5.4 million through this budget to move the family law court in Launceston, which has become increasingly unsafe for families to access their services and to the employees who work in the building. I'd like to thank the Attorney-General for working so closely with me to listen to my concerns and working to achieve a fantastic outcome. Additionally, as someone who has continuously advocated for increased access to mental health services, I am particularly pleased to see the doubling of the number of Medicare funded psychological services from 10 to 20.

This year the government has been committed to saving lives and livelihoods and this budget paves the way to rebuild the future of our region and our country, supporting Australians when they need it now and working together to build our country back even stronger.

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