Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome this opportunity to make a few remarks about the appropriation bills in the federal budget handed down by Treasurer Frydenberg a few weeks ago. Of course, this is a budget that is aimed at achieving two principal things. It's firstly about securing our recovery from what has been an extraordinary 12 months for all Australians and, indeed, the global community. Importantly, it's also a budget that thinks beyond that. Not only is it about securing the recovery, it is about what comes next and how we, in fact, rebuild an Australian economy and an Australian society that is even stronger than that which we entered the pandemic with.

I want to focus on some of those elements of the budget which I think are most important in that regard, particularly on securing the recovery. Obviously, the primary focus of the government continues, as it has been for the last 12 months, to protect and to restore jobs for those Australians that have been affected by the pandemic. And, of course, the budget builds on the work that we did over the last 12 months to secure that outcome. But I mention that it also focuses on the future. It is a budget that focuses on critical areas like the skills that Australia needs to meet the demands of a modern economy; like the opportunities that exist in a digital economy, which surely must be one of the areas in which Australia expands its strengths. It also focuses on that third pillar of the priorities that have been identified by the Prime Minister of making sure that Australia can capitalise on the energy transition that is underway, particularly as we head towards a net zero economy.

But before I talk about some of those things, I want to reflect on the context of this budget, because the last 12 months have been hard for Australians. They have been hard for the citizens of the world no matter where you live. It's quite extraordinary to think, particularly as a Sydneysider, about where we were just a little over 12 months ago. Those months of lockdown have left a scar and enduring memory for so many of us, as we saw the norms of our society, the norms of our economy, literally taken away from us overnight.

Of course, back in those days we wondered where we would be heading. We wondered what the impact of this pandemic would be upon us. Many of us, quite understandably, feared those daily news bulletins showing the increase of infection rates; feared what it would mean for our parents and loved ones; feared, in some cases, what it would mean for ourselves. But we also feared the economic consequences. I don't think any Australian of this generation will ever forget the sight of those queues outside Centrelink almost immediately the day after the lockdowns were implemented across Australia. They were scenes probably not seen since the generation who lived during the Great Depression. They were scenes of despair and heartbreak as people in otherwise secure employment and an otherwise secure trajectory in their lives saw that suddenly pulled from under them.

The predictions back then about the impacts of the pandemic were severe. We know that so many of our economic agencies, including Treasury, predicted that we could see unemployment rise to 15 per cent. We predicted the worst in relation to the impact that the pandemic would have on so many businesses large and small.

So we entered 2021—it's hard to believe we're almost halfway through—with a different landscape, a different environment. What has happened in Australia has truly been nothing short of miraculous but it hasn't happened by accident.

On the health front we have been an extraordinary success story and that's been the result of the combined efforts of federal and state governments, particularly working through the national cabinet. But just as importantly it's been through the success of Australians following the best health and scientific advice. Economically, we didn't see that 15 per cent unemployment reached. In fact, we saw half of that. And now today we enter an era where, in fact, as a first of all developed nations, there are more people employed in Australia today—over 70,000 more than there were before the pandemic. No other developed nation has been able to achieve that outcome.

Again, that hasn't happened by accident. It's happened through the combined actions of Australians and their governments. And it's particularly happened because of the structures that the federal government, the Morrison government, so quickly put in place when the magnitude of the pandemic caused the realisation that it would require a massive and unprecedented effort to support Australians. We have, in fact, seen over $300 billion spent over the last 12 months to try and secure the employment and the livelihoods of Australians and the businesses that employ them. That's why we are in the situation today, almost unique in the world, of being able to sit here on this continent of ours and not have to endure the pandemic that is raging around the world at levels as great as they have ever been, and not have to endure the economic consequences that are besetting so many other countries and causing such despair.

We know that we're not out of the woods. The events of this week have shown that we are not far away from more outbreaks, but we also know that, through the support of government, we can actually make sure that the type of protection that we saw last year continues. This budget does that in so many ways—be it the measures through which we have continued to provide tax support for low- and middle-income workers, or be it the support that we're providing for businesses, small and large, through things like the instant asset write-off. We are seeing it through the investment that we're making to support for today, but also, importantly, for tomorrow, the skills of Australians, the traineeships and the apprenticeships that will keep young people focused on the opportunities that Australia can provide them.

I continued to see that in my own electorate and over the last 12 months. I've seen the multitude of businesses—in fact, over 9,000—that relied on JobKeeper. I met with the business owners that said that their employees were only there because of JobKeeper. I have seen the businesses in some of our smaller industrial areas which, believe it or not, North Sydney has, that have been utilising our apprenticeship scheme. For example, a few months ago I visited a high-tech manufacturer of drones and met, in the aviation sector, some of the very skilled apprentices that were being brought on board. I have seen, last year and this, the benefits of the instant asset write-off scheme—businesses that have made the capital investment in their future. In fact, only last week I was talking to some businesses that were looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunities provided through its extension in the budget. For example, a business up the road from my office, famous in our area, Maggio's Cafe and Bakery, has just bought new dough machines to expand its operations, with the instant asset write-off providing that opportunity so that it can continue to provide significant sugar hits to the people of North Sydney in a way that has caused it to be much loved.

I have also seen the other side of the equation—that is, the heartache that the pandemic caused. I just want to pause to thank all the wonderful organisations in my electorate that supported residents in distress over the last 12 months. They are multitudinous, and I can't mention them all, but I particularly think of our local community services, like the Crows Nest Centre or Sydney Community Services, which services the Lower North Shore, or the role that many of our churches played. During the height of the pandemic, I had the great pleasure of helping find volunteers and volunteering myself for a local food bank run by the LifeSource Church in Chatswood. These are contributions that we need to capitalise on as we continue to emerge from the pandemic.

I want to touch now on three areas where I think this budget will deliver for the residents of North Sydney but also deliver for Australia. They are areas of the budget which I think are particularly relevant to my own electorate. Firstly, I do think it is so important that the government, as it has done in this budget, continues to focus on the opportunities of lowering the tax burden for Australians. What I am excited about is our commitment, brought forward last year to help as a stimulus measure, to provide real personal income tax reform. Of course, phase 3 is still a couple of years away, but that is going to be such a game changer, when we enter that era with so many Australians—in fact, I think 95 per cent of Australians—paying no more than 30c of tax in the dollar. That is a game changer for incentive, for reward for effort, and for encouraging Australians to be entrepreneurial, to use their initiative and to work harder.

I also want to focus on an area which perhaps hasn't received as much media attention as it ought, and that's the opportunities of the digital economy.

This budget contains a package of $1.2 billion to support the digital economy. It's a sweeping package which covers everything from an investment in artificial intelligence, to making sure that we have the skills, to renewing our commitment to getting more women into STEM, to supporting areas like quantum computing to support the workforce needs of the digital economy. I particularly want to focus on one area which I spoke about in this chamber the other day: the incredible opportunity that we have identified for new areas for endeavour in Australia. In this case it's through the support that we are now intending to provide to the interactive games industry through a 30 per cent tax offset. An offset, which we have shown time and time again has been so vital to our vibrant film industry, will now be applied to the creativity of those involved in interactive digital games. For my electorate, which is already a hub for that type of creativity, we're going to see that offset drive further growth, further opportunities for young people in particular, who have those unique skills which for sure elude me in relation to interactive games development. That is something I'm very excited about.

The other aspect of that budget which flows into the commitment that we're making to innovation, the digital economy and then more broadly to science and technology and which I'm particularly excited about is the government's commitment to a patent box. The term 'patent box' doesn't mean much to most Australians, but it will be a game-changer. It will provide a 17 per cent tax rate to those that are creating intellectual property in Australia and registering their patents in Australia. That is going to make a real difference to the research efforts that are made, firstly, in the biotech industries and the medical industries. We've flagged that we want to extend that to clean energy as well, which is just so important.

That leads me into the third area I want to talk about tonight, which I know is something my constituents are passionately interested in: what we are doing to support the transition to a low-emissions economy. Again this budget provides over a billion dollars to support the technology that we and the world will need to make sure that we achieve our goal of reaching net zero emissions. It builds on the $18 billion technology road map that the government has already released. Of course, there is a lot more to do, which I will continue to strongly advocate for, but these are important steps on that journey.

Finally, I want to touch briefly on some very practical ways in which my own local community has benefited from this budget. I particularly want to make reference to the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, overseen by the Deputy Prime Minister and his ministerial team. It is providing stimulus on the ground for shovel-ready projects that otherwise wouldn't have been funded, to be delivered by our local councils. So far the four councils in my electorate have received $7 million through that program and through this budget will receive $2 million more. I have seen the practical ways in which they're applying that funding to projects which are going to make a real difference in the lives of residents in our area. Some councils are using it to upgrade roads and pedestrian footpaths. Others, like Willoughby council, are making our streets safer through CCTV in areas like the hub of Chatswood. We're seeing some councils spend it on sporting and recreational facilities. For example, in Lane Cove, the upgraded Tantallon Oval is being supported by this program. In North Sydney, a tennis court complex used by over 500 residents will be completely rebuilt with this funding. It was subsiding due to a pretty dodgy construction many years ago. Its future is now saved. That program is also supporting programs like playground upgrades—for example, the Helen Street playground in the Lane Cove municipality or the Grasmere Reserve playground in North Sydney.

It's also being used to support exciting projects—for example, revitalising some of the laneways of Chatswood to replicate what we so admire about Melbourne's achievements in making laneways so important and vibrant. It's also being used for the upgrade of community facilities like the Dougherty centre in Chatswood, which is being done by Willoughby council. These are all changeable outcomes of this funding, which is going to be so important to helping our local area recover from the pandemic.

I want to conclude with one final point. In this budget we invest in those essential services that are so important: aged care, NDIS, child care, education and record levels of hospital funding. But of course we keep the funding going for the health needs that have arisen because of this pandemic. Obviously, central to that is our vaccination program.

I want to conclude by saying that whilst we have achieved so much as a nation, our path to normality depends and rests on one thing and one thing alone and that is Australians taking the opportunity, when their turn comes up, when they become eligible, to receive the COVID vaccination. I did that last week. It's a sense of relief. It's a sense of protection that you have when you have had that vaccine—in my case the AstraZeneca vaccine. I want to say, as the events of Melbourne today have reminded us, it is not something that we should be delaying. We should be doing it today, if our turn has come up. Let's get on with getting Australia vaccinated so that all we've achieved can be locked in to the future.

See this speech in context