Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will start by commending the member for Sturt for his outstanding contribution earlier in the day. I acknowledge that there are so many businesses across Australia and throughout my electorate who are suffering emotional and financial distress through the current lockdowns. I thank you for doing what you've done over the past couple of years. We have a road map out of these lockdowns and we will get there as soon as we possibly can.

One thing I do know is that the people in our communities are sick to death of discussions like these. We are treating them like fools. We are taking them for mugs. They know what's happening on the ground. They're on the ground. They're in those businesses. They're working hard. They're doing it tough day after day after day, and this type of nonsense does nothing to raise their confidence. It does nothing to give them hope that we as politicians are doing what we should be doing every day out there: urging and helping.

We know, and they know, that, as a result of this government's swift economic actions at the start of the global pandemic, GDP grew. In this quarter alone, as we know, GDP grew 0.7 per cent. It's a positive. We shouldn't be trying to turn that into a negative. Being 9.6 per cent higher through the year, which is the strongest through-the-year rate on record, is a positive. We shouldn't be trying to turn that into a negative. We need to put that information out there to the public, to the businesspeople, and say, 'Good on you. This is as a result of your efforts.'

We as a government are helping them. I'd like to use my own electorate of Cowper, population of 165,000, as the perfect microcosm, representing what's happening across the country when it comes to this government's support of the economy. This motion talks about managing the economy. This government has done that. We've done it through tax relief. There are 56,600 taxpayers in my electorate who, with their families, will benefit from tax relief of up to $2,745. This is a result of the coalition's decision to extend the low- and middle-income tax offset 2021-22 and bring forward stage 2 of the government's tax plan. This is managing the economy. These people are grateful, and I know that because they tell me.

We've also extended the JobTrainer fund that supports over half a million new places across the country to upskill jobseekers and young people. There are 2,195 apprentices in Cowper, and, through this measure, there will be more opportunities for apprentices and trainees with the expanded wage subsidies. It's good for the economy. It's good for morale. There are more jobs. And, when we come out of these lockdowns, people can go back to work. They're not glued to the television watching question time or MPIs; they're worried about whether the lockdowns in the New South Wales regions are going to be lifted on the 11th.

This government has supported our employees and employers over the past 18 months. The JobKeeper payment supported 5,800 businesses and 19,900 employees in Cowper to help them through the pandemic, to keep employees connected to their employer and to give them that hope for the recovery. And that's exactly what we did: we recovered well. Nobody had a crystal ball. Nobody saw delta coming. We had a plan. And, because this is a one-in-a-hundred-year pandemic and there's no handbook for it, this government has pivoted and changed to move with the circumstances. We saw, through the budget, investment in roads, rail projects, and safety and community infrastructure programs. The Coffs Harbour bypass is just one project. Out of $3.8 billion in New South Wales, $1.8 billion is for the bypass alone. It's going to create around 12,000 direct and indirect jobs, and it's already engaging with the community in providing jobs.

We've got to stop these cheap shots. We need to be honest with the public. We need to be honest with ourselves and do the right thing by the public and provide them with the hope and the confidence that they need.

See this speech in context