Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

After starting out in dairy manufacturing around a decade ago, Robin and Karen Dornauf began dabbling in growing berries, and Hillwood Berries was born. A booming business now covering more than 40 hectares, growing strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, Hillwood Berries has over 45 full-time employees from the local region while also employing over 350 seasonal workers. It was a pleasure to welcome the Prime Minister and the Treasurer to Hillwood Berries last week to inspect their new expansion plans, including almost 15 new hectares set aside for additional crops—plans brought forward thanks to the federal government's instant asset write-off and other business measures. These expansion plans mean more jobs and more critical investment in our local economy.

Managing director of Hillwood Berries Simon Dornauf told us during the visit that the instant tax write-off has been instrumental in enabling their business to undertake two major projects that may otherwise have been delayed for over two years. The first was a project in renewable energy, with an investment of $400,000 on solar panels, which will provide 70 per cent of the power for their berry production. Additionally, a further $3.6 million will be spent in the development of an additional 15 hectares of covered farm capacity, which, as Simon told us on the day, gives job security to their workers. With the covering of the fruit, it can be picked day in and day out, regardless of the conditions. This will allow the business to employ about 75 full-time equivalents for that project, because of the instant asset write-off. Hillwood Berries is a significant employer in my local region and the investment in the extension of the instant asset write-off for businesses like Hillwood is strong evidence that we're securing our economic recovery.

It's not only our agricultural businesses like Hillwood Berries that are benefiting from the government's economic policies. There's plenty of proof that Tasmania is leading the charge when it comes to top-notch distillery products in the Australian market. Of the 300 locally owned distilleries across the country, 52 are situated in Tasmania, producing some of the best whisky you can find. A number of Tasmanian distillers have seen their products named the best single malt whiskies in the world, and, in Northern Tasmania, we have some incredible award-winning gin that rivals the products of distillers across the country and the world over. Just like our local distillers, Abel Gin, Corra Linn, Darby Norris, Fannys Bay, Flinders Island, Furneaux, Tamar Valley, Negative and Turner Stillhouse, the majority of Australian distillers are in regional and rural areas, bringing economic benefits through farm production, manufacturing, regional tourism and hospitality. However, until recently, local distillers and small brewers faced a block to their economic growth due to the high excise tax. I was thrilled that the Treasurer answered the call for tax relief in the latest budget, with this growing sector now benefiting from a tripling of the excise fund from $100,000 to $350,000 per year. This significant announcement will allow our local brewers and distillers to keep more of what they earn, helping them to invest in their company and grow their workforce. Liane Darby, co-owner of the north-east distillery Darby Norris, told me that the change to the excise refund cap will have a positive impact on their burgeoning business. The excise cap increase will mean that they can further expand their business with new equipment and also look at hiring new staff.

Of course, it's not just investment in business that's creating a better future for my community and communities across Australia. Our commitment to ensuring the lives of women and children affected by family and domestic violence has been demonstrated in this budget with an historic expansion of support for vulnerable Australians. We're delivering an unprecedented boost to services supporting women and children through the $1 billion Women's Safety Package. This historic investment across 16 new women's safety measures will build on the work of the Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, and will ensure a pathway to the new national plan starting in July next year. Part of this critical investment includes more than $160 million to provide financial support for women escaping violence. I recently sat on the committee inquiry into domestic and family violence, and it was very clear, through the numerous submissions made to that inquiry, that financial hardship, often brought about through coercive control, is a significant factor in whether or not a woman can escape an abusive relationship. The new escaping violence payment for women will provide women with access to up to $5,000 in financial assistance, and it is estimated that annually the program will help up to 12,000 women who need financial support to leave a violent relationship.

Importantly, there's also funding set aside for changing perpetrator behaviour and preventing violence before it begins. I've said many times in this place that, to truly move the dial on violence against women and children, we have to look at stopping the violence before it begins, and this begins with teaching respect. All violence against women begins with a fundamental lack of respect. We're allocating $35.1 million for a prevention package to expand national primary prevention campaigns, including a fourth phase of the award-winning national primary prevention campaign 'Let's stop it at the start', which encourages primary influencers of young people aged 10-17, such as parents, teachers and sporting leaders, to reflect on their own attitudes and to start conversations about respectful relationships and gender equality.

Additionally, there's a $129 million funding injection into specialised women's legal services which will support thousands of women and children to safely escape violent relationships, and that has been welcomed by women's legal advocates. As the CEO of Women's Legal Service Tasmania Yvette Cehtel told me, 'Women experiencing violence can take some comfort that they will have better access to justice and wraparound supports as a result of this budget. I also really appreciate that the work specialist women's services in this space have been valued and respected, especially following COVID-19 and the national debate around violence against women.'

It's important to remember that last year's budget, handed down just nine months ago, was the first step towards securing our country's economic recovery in the midst of this pandemic. This year's budget, laid out by the Treasurer earlier this month, is a road map to securing our economic recovery. While there are certainly still challenges facing our economy, particularly as we are clear that the pandemic is far from over, we are, as the Treasurer has said, better placed than nearly any other country to meet the challenges that lay ahead. Since the last budget, more than half a million jobs have been created. In the electorate of Bass, which I represent, around 40,200 taxpayers will benefit from tax relief of up to $2,745 this year. This is as a result of the decision to extend the low and middle income tax offset to 2021-22. An extended and expanded JobTrainer Fund will support 500,000 new places to upskill jobseekers and young people. We already have 1,825 apprentices in Bass, and these new measures will lead to more opportunities for apprentices for trainees, with expanded wage subsidies.

Just like Hillwood Berries, more than 12,000 businesses in my region will be able to write off the full asset of any eligible asset they purchase. Additionally, around 3,000 businesses in Bass will be able to use the extended loss carry-back measure to support cash flow and confidence. This has helped business invest more in the local economy and to create local jobs.

The JobKeeper payment support of 3,400 businesses and 14,000 employees in Bass to help them through the pandemic and keep them connected to their place of work set the groundwork for the recovery. The tax-free cash flow boost has helped around 3,000 small and medium businesses, providing $135 million in payments to help businesses in northern Tasmania stay afloat. We're also providing an additional $67.7 million to boost assistance under the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme. The TFES will be expanded for eligible goods shipped to Tasmania by the mainland where there is no Australian equivalent good. This boost means inputs to production for Tasmanian manufacturing, mining and primary industries will be eligible for TFES assistance. This extends the benefits of TFES and will help Tasmanian companies to keep producing at this critical time when business continuity is paramount. This is another example of the Australian government acting to keep Australians in jobs and businesses in business as the economy recovers from the impacts of COVID-19. Businesses in Tasmania will be able to submit TFES claims from 1 October for imported goods shipped to Tasmania from the mainland on or after 1 July.

The budget invests in major road and rail projects, road safety and community infrastructure programs, supporting additional jobs. Three hundred and seventy-seven million dollars is being committed in Tasmania for projects to ease congestion, connect communities and improve road safety. They'll support the economic recovery in the short term and boost productivity in the longer term. The Morrison government's HomeBuilder program has received 3,062 applications in Tasmania and continues to support jobs in the construction sector and assist owner-occupiers with grants of $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate their existing home. The Morrison government is providing additional investments in respiratory clinics, pathology testing and tracing, and the continuation of telehealth services.

In Bass there have been more than 208,920 telehealth consultations through Medicare since the start of the pandemic, and these services are now being extended. We're increasing funding for early learning in the region and making child care more affordable and accessible. Childcare reforms in this budget will directly benefit over 770 families living in Bass.

The budget delivers a record investment in aged care to help the 19,760 senior Australians living in Bass. This investment will deliver more home-care places and more funding for residential aged care and will increase the amount of time residents are cared for while strengthening regulations to monitor and enforce the standards of care. I was pleased to have visited a Uniting Care aged-care residential home in northern Tasmania last week and meet some of the residents who will benefit from this investment, including Jim Ockerbie and Joy Bryan, who was thrilled to tell me that she had just received her second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

This budget is working to secure the economic future of the northern Tasmanian community.

See this speech in context