Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs (House)) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals and Other Measures) Bill 2020. I do so by also moving an amendment:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) acknowledges the bill provides for reduced rates of customs duty for goods required to combat the COVID-19 pandemic; and

(2) notes that the Government has failed to outline a plan to address the economic impacts of COVID-19."

Labor supports the aims and objectives of this bill which, in essence, is to provide a free rate of customs duty for specific medical products used in Australia's response to COVID-19, to make a series of changes to align the operation of the Customs Tariff Act 1985 with international practice and, finally, to allow for better identification and monitoring of products as they cross the Australian border. However, even though Labor does support this bill and acknowledges the bill provides for reduced rates of customs duty for goods required to combat the pandemic, we believe it's important to note that the government has failed to outline a plan to address the economic impacts of COVID-19.

Last year, while in the midst of the pandemic, Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2020 and Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 2) 2020 created temporary concessional items in schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act to provide a free rate of customs duty for medical supplies, such as face masks, gloves and COVID-19 test kits, urgently required to combat this virulent pandemic. This bill now confirms the application of those temporary concessions. So it's important, I think, to permanently put in place those measures that are required to make easier the importation of such essential goods to deal with this major challenge.

The bill now confirms the application of those temporary concessions, as I say, and while these were very important measures the government has failed in its response to the economic impacts of the pandemic, which has led to the deepest and most damaging recession in almost a century. All of us know, in this place, as members, as we speak to workers who have lost their jobs, to businesses who have gone under, to many in the community who are struggling to make ends meet, this has been a very big economic blow to constituencies, to communities, right across the country. While parts of the economy are recovering, there are many sectors and Australian workers that are very much still struggling to make ends meet. More than 200,000 jobs have been lost since the start of the pandemic, and there are almost 2.1 million Australians who are unemployed or underemployed—therefore, looking for more work—and that, in itself, is a major challenge that the government needs to respond to.

While too many Australians and communities are hurting, the Liberals and Nationals are reverting to form and using the pandemic as an excuse to cut workers' pay, cut super and strip protections from borrowers. Yesterday the government attempted to say that they're not looking to find an excuse to cut conditions of employment for workers across the country, and yesterday we saw the government tactically decide to remove a boot test provision of the new bill before the House. But there are many other provisions of that bill, we know, which still make it possible for conditions of employment, for rates of pay, to be undermined and, ultimately, cut as a result of the efforts by the government. We always know that's what the government's intentions are. If ever they get a chance, they'll do anything they can to destroy universal super. They did that—in fact, they've never voted for the increase to super. They've never voted for support for workers' wages. They find every reason to undermine them.

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