John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Let's cast our minds back to the beginning of 2020. The idea that over the next 15 months Australia would go through its first pandemic in a century, have its first recession in decades and close its domestic borders for the first time since Federation would have been unimaginable. Then again, in the middle of last year we would have been surprised to know how far we have come by now. Back then, most of the east coast was approaching a second deadly wave of COVID, the economic forecasts were grim, unemployment was at record highs, and the imminent recession threatened to be long and deep. It is in this context that we have all rejoiced at the latest budget—well, maybe not all; there are some who are misinformed. It shows that Australia has weathered the storm of the recession and grown back stronger and faster than even the greatest optimists could have hoped. Australia is the only country in the OECD to have more people in employment now than it had before the pandemic. The recession is a distant memory. Walking around Bennelong, it can be tough to remember that we were ever locked down, with crowds in shopping centres and sportsgrounds more or less back to what was our normal.

While we bask in the glow of our miraculous recovery, it is important to remember how we got here. Bennelong was one of the first places in Australia to have live cases. False rumours in the Chinese community that COVID-19 was already circulating around Eastwood were leaving a huge dent in local confidence. I visited one of our many Chinese restaurants at the time of lunar new year. Rather than fighting for a table, we found that the restaurant, at this the busiest time of the year, was empty apart from us. This is a microcosm of what was happening across Bennelong and, indeed, Australia. Businesses shut up shop, people were laid off, social activities ceased and the motions of our community seemed to come to a steady stop. There was fear, uncertainty and pain in homes and businesses everywhere. The government has to be commended for the incredible and rapid stimulus that sped out to wallets across Australia. JobSeeker, JobKeeper, HomeBuilder and other noun and verb combinations were all rolled out to help communities caught in suspended animation. Through these schemes, families and businesses weathered the storm, and, when the waves of COVID passed, we were all in a good place to get back to work and society.

This year's budget is designed to secure our recovery and continue to support the areas of our economy and community that still need help. We can't take our foot off the accelerator until we have arrived at our destination. This is a strong budget which has enormous benefits for my community of Bennelong. It is worth us considering the tremendous impact this budget will have across a variety of sectors. One of the most substantial reforms the budget introduces is welcome tax relief across the board. Around 71,100 taxpayers in Bennelong will benefit from tax relief of up to $2,745 this year. This is as a result of the Morrison government's decision to extend the low- and middle-income tax offset to 2021-22 and to bring forward stage 2 of the government's tax relief plan. The government's tax plan has already benefited 86,600 people in Bennelong. For families and workers who have struggled to make ends meet during COVID, this boost in income will be a huge benefit.

In addition, the government's new JobTrainer Fund will support 500,000 new places to upskill jobseekers and young people. This includes more than 1,450 apprenticeships in Bennelong. Having seen how businesses in Bennelong have bounced back from last year's COVID recession, I am sure that this new funding to support upskilling will only further benefit our economic recovery.

In addition to financial benefits for taxpayers, this budget provides huge opportunities for businesses, both large and small, to retain more of their earnings and invest them in their businesses. More than 23,000 businesses in Bennelong are now able to write off the full value of any eligible asset they purchase. In addition, roughly 9,800 businesses in my community will be able to use the extended loss carry-back measure to keep their cash flows working smoothly. For many businesses, this last year has been very challenging, to say the least. The government understands the pressure that businesses face, and that is why the policies that have been announced are targeted at helping smaller to medium businesses bounce back and return to strong growth.

Another area which deservedly received great attention in the recent budget is aged care. The government will be investing an extra $17.7 billion in aged care, responding to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, and establishing a once-in-a-generation reform for senior Australians. This budget delivered a record investment in aged care to help the 24,220 senior Australians living in Bennelong. This investment will deliver more home-care places and more funding for residential aged care and increases the amount of time that residents are cared for, while strengthening regulators to monitor and enforce the standards of care. I have seen firsthand the difference high-quality aged-care living can make to the lives of older citizens. We're fortunate to have so many fantastic aged-care facilities in the Bennelong electorate. I have enjoyed my many visits over the last decade as an MP.

Bennelong is Australia's capital of innovation, and it was fantastic to see our local innovative sector at the heart of the budget. Indeed, when describing the heights of Australian innovation, the Treasurer listed wi-fi and Cochlear—one invented and one now based in Macquarie Park. We're the home of Australia's medical industry, and this budget holds great promise for the companies of 'Pill Hill'. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the great strength of Australia's medical and biotech industries. In recognition of the need to foster local innovation, the 2020-21 budget papers unveiled plans for a patent box policy. The government has promised $206 million to effectively halve the concessional tax rate for Australian developed and patented medical and biotech innovations, to 17 per cent compared to the 30 per cent standard company tax rate for large companies. These figures are encouraging and will be of an enormous practical benefit to many companies based in Bennelong. In addition, we hope to see the patent box drawing out more local innovation in the Bennelong area, securing Australia's economic recovery through fostering research, development and commercialisation of new Australian technologies.

As in every budget, there has been a slate of new drug listings, many of which are from local companies and all of which will benefit local residents. One of the happiest announcements is that of the product Emgality, made by the local company Eli Lilly. Emgality treats migraines and will go from costing $1,000 a month down to under $50 and will be available for thousands of Australians. Across Australia, there are nearly five million people who suffer from migraines, and more women than men suffer from them. This announcement will bring relief to thousands, and we are so grateful to the government for listing this and also to Eli Lilly and all of the numerous groups that have been lobbying for this for so many years.

As we have learnt in the last 12 months, investing in health and wellbeing pays enormous dividends. It's very encouraging to see that the government has made a strong and deliberate effort to upgrading several different aspects of our health infrastructure, including $1.9 billion on the medium- to long-term vaccine strategy designed to give Australia its own mRNA vaccine production capacity. Moreover, the government has made a substantial commitment to women's health. The budget provides $100 million for improving cervical and breast cancer screening programs. It has extended free mammogram services to all women in Australia, and it has assigned $47 million towards depression services for pregnant women and new mothers.

Additionally, the government's investment in child care and preschool has seen an expansion worth $1.7 billion as compared to the current budget. From next year, eligible families with two or more children in day care will see rebates of up to 95 per cent, making more than 250,000 Australian families better off by an average of $2,200 a year. The new policy will be directly and tangibly a benefit to over 1,400 families in the Bennelong area. Further, not only does the increased funding make child care more affordable and accessible for local families; the roll-on benefits will be felt elsewhere across the electorate, with the policy set to encourage greater workforce participation and generate jobs in the childcare industry in this time of economic recovery.

On top of the investment for hardworking Australians, this budget has also got important provisions for providing infrastructure in our local communities: $3.8 billion is being committed in New South Wales for projects that will ease congestion, connect communities and improve road safety. They will support the economic recovery in the short term and boost productivity in the long term. I've been fortunate in recent months to open a number of local infrastructure projects in my electorate which have been announced in previous budgets and which only now are coming to fruition. Carlingford Ovals has new lights, better drainage and is the first step towards the vision of a number of soccer and cricket grounds linked by lockers and catering facilities. It was great to open this recently with Rohan from the Roselea Football Club, and I look forward to seeing this club and these facilities.

Another I opened recently is new Scouts boatshed at Meadowbank Wharf, which has been needed for many years. The old boatshed was full, old and threatening to fall into the Parramatta River. The new one emerged over the course of 2020 and will be a fantastic asset for Scout groups across the electorate and the Meadowbank community. Congratulations to Alan Cunningham and Peter Buckley, after whom the shed is now proudly named, and all the Epping Scouts, who put in so much effort to get this important project off the ground.

Before I close, there is a disappointing note: again not to see a commitment to more sustainably funded infrastructure and a broader vision for Australia's settlement; I've spoken too often in this House about the need for high-speed rail linking our east coast cities, about the need to master-plan our infrastructure and open up our settlement, provide an endless supply of affordable housing, and fund it through taxing the windfall on property speculation. We have the opportunity to use the recent crisis to fundamentally change the way we fund infrastructure; stop the ad hoc, piecemeal, pork-barrelling way we have done it; and finally set out a vision for the future for this country. Once again, we have missed this opportunity.

In closing, the previous 12 months have put tremendous strain on Australia's businesses, which have had to navigate challenges: adopting COVID-safe practices, managing weaker demand and adapting to new economic landscapes. Similarly, people from all walks of life have had to deal with the pressures of a weaker job market, slower wage growth and the demands of the COVID economy. The government understands these challenges. I am proud to see that the budget recently announced by the Treasurer comprehensively addresses these difficulties that Australians are facing and puts a strong economic recovery at the heart of the budget's objectives. Australians together will come back stronger than ever.

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