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

There's no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has been catastrophic—no doubt at all. The statistics are sobering, and on the ground in my region the impact on businesses and families across the north-west, the West Coast and King Island has often been heartbreaking. When the crisis first hit, the Morrison government was there for all Australians and provided the programs needed to cushion the blow. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic was swift, effective and centred around a comprehensive targeted strategy. Whether it was JobKeeper, JobSeeker or the $750 cash payment to householders and the cash flow boost, the government provided the lifeline that many businesses and individuals needed to keep them afloat when the pandemic first struck.

You'll often hear about these initiatives mentioned in simple dollar terms; however, in my region, the north-west, the West Coast and King Island, they have a very human face. I will pick up on what the member for Bendigo said, relating that to real people on the ground. I will tell you about real people on the ground. Here are a few examples. A bloke in Flowerdale named Dean Edwards runs a trucking operation. He has utilised the instant asset write-off to purchase a new B-double stock grate with a 55½ tonne capacity, 26m long. And a B-double has 34 tyres, which means those tyres come from local businesses, are fitted by local people with local jobs. They fill the trucks with local diesel, they stop at local shops and locals serve them. All of this in this circular economy provides business confidence and fallout into that business community.

Leigh Elphinstone from Sisters Creek has utilised the same program to purchase a brand new twin-row spud digger to harvest his potatoes, doubling his output efficiency and improving his bottom line. John De Bruyn, who operates one of the biggest transport companies in Tasmania, has now been able to bring his vehicle procurement program a full year forward. Not only will this provide an immediate capital injection into the local community, into those local dealers with the infrastructure to build those trailers for those particular vehicles, but it will provide him and those drivers with increased efficiencies. His drivers frequently traverse some of the most rugged roads on our West Coast of Tasmania.

These programs have done their job. Owning a couple of businesses myself, I understand that business confidence is most important. If one business loses its confidence then that spill-down effect, that trickle effect that I talked about earlier won't happen. Business confidence is important. That's why I'm pleased to announce that the NAB Survey for the 2020 quarter has confirmed that Tasmania is once again bucking the national trend, with our business confidence above the national average. Tasmania continues to be ranked first in the nation for business conditions, more than 20 points higher than the national average. This is great news for the north-west, the West Coast and King Island. It puts us in a strong position as we recover from the impacts of COVID-19, as we rebuild our economy through good local and small businesses.

The survey also indicated that Tasmania was one of two states to see positive business confidence. The Deloitte Access Economics business outlook report for the September quarter confirms that the government's strategies are working in Tasmania. Businesses are confident and they're wanting to move forward: They're not listening to the rhetoric about what's behind them. They're ready to move forward and confront the new challenges. 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 returned to the state since the height of the pandemic impact in May. These statistics are facts and are testament to the effective work of the government, both at a federal and state level in Tasmania. These are not examples of failure. This is nothing short of an economic and employment success story in the face of a one-in-100-year pandemic. But it is now time to move to the next phase. It is now time to shift the focus from crisis management to recovery, to supercharge job creation, to stimulate the economy that drives investment and to provide direct assistance to families to encourage them to spend in a circular economy. This government is providing our region with a range of programs and opportunities that support them, that stand by them, that recognise that our small businesses are the engine room of our economy because that's where the jobs are, and we'll be right there beside our great small business community.

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