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

It gives me pleasure to speak to Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021 this morning. This year's federal budget represents the next phase of the Morrison government's economic recovery plan. There's no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic. The statistics are sobering, and, on the ground in my region, the impact on businesses and on Tasmanian families right across the north-west, the west coast and King Island has often been heartbreaking.

When the crisis first hit this year, it was the responsibility of the federal government to provide support to all Australians in this time of need and in this time of crisis. They expect it and they deserve it. The Morrison government has been there for all Australians, and the programs needed to cushion the blow have been put into place. The response to the COVID pandemic has been swift and effective, and centred on a comprehensive, targeted strategy. Whether it's JobKeeper, JobSeeker, the $750 cash payment to the householder or cashflow boosts, the government provided the lifeline that many businesses and individuals needed to keep them afloat when the pandemic first struck.

These programs and these measures have done their job in Tasmania. To that end, the NAB business survey for September 2020 confirmed that Tasmania is once again bucking the national trend when it comes to businesses confidence about their futures. They understand that the government has their back. Tasmania continues to be ranked first in the nation for business conditions, more than 20 points higher than the national average. It's great news for the north-west, the west coast and King Island, and it puts us in a strong position as we recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and we rebuild our community and our economy. The survey also indicated that Tasmania was one of two states that have seen positive business confidence. The Deloitte Access Economics business outlook report for the September 2020 quarter also confirms the government's strategies are working on the ground in states like the great state of Tasmania. The report indicated that, despite the pandemic, Tasmania's economy is forecast to grow strongly. Importantly, Tasmanians are starting to spend again, to the point that retail trade has bounced back to above pre-COVID levels.

On the jobs front, nearly 16,000 jobs have now returned since the state reached the height of the pandemic impacts in May. These statistics are testimony to the important partnership between the Morrison government and the Tasmanian Liberal government, led by Peter Gutwein. But, of course, there is much more to be done, and we can't rest on our laurels. Business still needs us, and Tasmanians still need us. It's time to move to the next phase. It's time to shift the focus, to move from crisis management to recovery; to supercharge job creation, to stimulate the economy and to drive investment; and to provide direct assistance to families, to encourage them to continue to spend in our circular economy.

It's important to understand that government's role is not to drive our economy. It doesn't do that. That is not its job. It's businesses role to drive our economy, and we understand full well that businesses, particularly small businesses, are the engine room of our economy. They will be responsible for leading us out of this dark place. Businesses have always driven our economy, and it will be businesses that will lead us out of this pandemic. The government's role is to provide the opportunities for businesses to get back on their feet, to streamline process and to support them, to give them the tools that they need to go about their business. That's the focus of this budget. That's where the focus lies: getting businesses back up and going again, getting employees back into jobs and getting businesses spending and investing in our local communities.

Quite rightly, the 2020 budget's priority areas are job creation and business support and skills development. This is an investment in our future that will ensure, as our region rebuilds from this pandemic, we are best placed to maximise the benefits of emerging opportunities. The budget does not just focus on getting us back to where we were before COVID-19 but it's targeted at ensuring that our region is able to take advantage of all opportunities that lie ahead of us. It prioritises the opportunities available and ensures that everyone—whether you are young or old, whether you live in the city or the bush—can make the most of these opportunities and to be the best that they can be.

This budget, more than any budget before, recognises the vital contribution of our regional communities—like ours, like the one I'm proud of and I represent today—and the part that we play in our nation's prosperity. We are the food bowl of the nation when it comes to dairy, beef and minerals. We are a leader in advanced manufacturing and defence manufacturing, and we're home to one of Australia's great regional universities. During the initial outbreak of the pandemic, it was these industries that did the heavy lifting. It was these industries that were the first to start the recovery, and they underpinned our initial economic response to the pandemic. I want to thank every last one of them. Every last small business in Tasmania that did the hard yards, that kept people on, that kept them employed, that took that extra step and made those employees part of their business family, I thank you all for that. This budget focuses on what needs to be done to take our region to the next level.

I now want to take a little time to talk about the JobMaker Hiring Credit, which I think is a wonderful and very worthwhile initiative. The JobMaker Hiring Credit is a game changer in my region. It's already working. Businesses right across the region are looking to employ new staff because of this important initiative. I was contacted by Catalyst Business Improvement last week. They're a great small business in Devonport on the north-west coast. They told me that the program is a winner and that they were looking at putting three or four new staff on because of that JobMaker Hiring Credit. 'Great policy at work,' they said. It's working on the ground. I have no doubt that the JobMaker Hiring Credit will make a huge difference right across our region, giving businesses, small, medium and large, the extra motivation to employ young people and to grow their business to the level that they should be at. This will improve the economic, health and social outcomes for the region and will reduce the scarring from long-term unemployment, and we know where that leads us.

The JobTrainer and new apprenticeship program is, again, a wonderful and very worthwhile strategy in our budget. It strengthens the skills and training system and is a priority for this government, a priority that is reflected in the budget. The $1 billion JobTrainer program will provide up to an additional 347,700 training places right across the country from school leavers up to people that are entering tertiary and vocational job institutions. School leavers and jobseekers, right across the north-west, the west coast and King Island in my electorate, will benefit from this increased access to low-face-to-face free training under this significant investment. Over $21 million will be injected into Tasmanian's vocational education system. And $10.52 million from the Australian government, matched dollar for dollar by the Tasmanian Liberal government, will increase this important role in our VET system. The JobTrainer Fund represents substantial and significant investment in Tasmania's training system and continues to be government's commitment as we ensure that the state's VET system delivers quality training for learners and is representative of the needs of people living in the region.

Complementing this program is the new apprenticeship and trainee wage subsidy program, and, importantly, the budget has extended the subsidies that include businesses of all sizes, in all industries and in all locations—that's important for my region. Employers will be able to receive subsidies for up to 50 per cent of the wages for a newly commencing apprentice or trainee to the value of $7,000 per quarter. That makes a real difference on the ground to a business. I know this program is fit for purpose and is exactly what our region needs.

I want to talk about our tax relief and support payments. The best way to stimulate an economy and economic activity isn't to tax people; it's about getting businesses back spending money again. The 2020 budget provides an additional $17.8 billion in personal income tax relief to support the economic recovery. Around 36½ thousand taxpayers across the north-west, the west coast and King Island will benefit from tax relief of up to $2,745 per year. The timing of this couldn't have been better for the region. We're moving into the vital Christmas spending period, and it's important for families to have a few dollars to spare. This Christmas will not look like any other, but this measure will ensure that thousands of hardworking people in Tasmania will have a little bit extra money in their pocket when it's important. This means that those businesses who are relying on Christmas spending will get that extra boost that they need, right when they need it.

Also supported in the region are lower-income people and pension recipients. Around 16,740 recipients across the region will benefit from two separate payments of $250, the first being delivered prior to Christmas. That'll make a real difference. Our tax relief is also targeted at business, supporting economic activity. The extension of the government's successful instant asset write-off will allow over 99 per cent of all businesses to deduct the full cost of eligible depreciable assets of any value in the year that they are installed—a game changer for business. I don't have to go too far across my electorate to see people who are taking that measure up. Truck drivers, farmers, family people, printers, accountants, you name it—they've all told me how great the measure is and how much of a difference it's making to them to get them back on their feet. I don't have to go too far to find business owners taking this measure up either. Businesses in the transport industry, agriculture, printers, accountants, our forestry industry, our thriving fishing industry—they're all taking this up and it's all helping to get businesses more confident and spending money again.

Agriculture is a key part of my region's prosperity, and this budget will inject an additional $2 billion into projects through the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. This announcement will go further to strengthen the industry. Irrigation water is liquid gold, and it's important to my farmers. In the partnership between the state government and the federal government, our pipeline to prosperity is a statewide irrigation plan that's expected to provide almost 78,000 megalitres of water and create 2½ thousand full-time jobs. It will trigger an additional $150 million of on-farm private investment and inject an estimated $114 million into this sector just this year. It's incredible.

I also welcome the inclusion of Project Marinus as one of the three key project areas of the federal government's injection of funds. We share in the $250 million to accelerate this major transmission project across Australia, continuing to deliver more affordable, more reliable electricity, underwriting dispatchable energy and shoring up the energy that renewables are making in our energy system. The Marinus Link represents, once again, a generational opportunity for the region. It means that we are able to deliver the valuable hydroelectricity capability that we have in the state to the mainland in their time of need, to shore up the national electricity grid's requirement for dispatchable energy and provide my state with a revenue source as we go forward—not just for today, not just for tomorrow, but for many years to come. The project will deliver many jobs and is a key driver for training opportunities, particularly across the north-west. We've invested $7.1 billion into our economy and creating thousands of jobs in our region.

I have great faith in our region's local councils and I talk to them on a regular basis. Across my region, there are eight great councils, which are elected by the people for the people, and they continue to do a great job through this pandemic. It's our local councils who best understand how to spend that money and what their communities really need. That's why I welcome the budget's announcement that there will be an additional $1 billion for local governments through the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program. It's a great program, and they really appreciate it. This builds on an initial $500 million announced in May this year, and this funding will facilitate grassroots, community-led recovery plans right across our eight local government areas. It empowers local government in our region and, again, it gives them confidence. The 2020 budget provides our region with a range of programs and opportunities that support them through the pandemic. I know that they all appreciate the work that not only the state government but also the federal government have done and will continue to do, and that they will stand by them. They know they have their back and that they will be back in business and jobs.

See this speech in context