Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Canberra asks: what did we achieve in nearly 10 years of government? The final two years were very difficult, Member for Canberra. I can remember being in those top-level meetings when we were being told by the Chief Medical Officer that we could expect tens of thousands of Australians to die from COVID-19 within weeks, if not months. And I can well remember when James Kwan passed away, having contracted COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. That was 1 March 2020. We were headed towards a budget surplus, the first budget surplus for a dozen years, and that paled into insignificance compared to what we needed to do as a government and as an executive of government to keep Australians alive, to keep Australians safe and to keep businesses' doors open. Keeping people's livelihoods was the first priority, because the first priority of a government is keeping its nation's people safe. And that's what we did.

Yes, we racked up a considerable debt. It wasn't a trillion dollars, as those opposite would claim. It isn't anywhere near a trillion dollars, but, yes, it is a massive debt, and yes, the Albanese government has inherited a large debt. But that debt kept Australians alive. That debt kept Australians in jobs. That debt kept businesses open. Whether it was in regional Australia or in metropolitan Australia, it did not matter. It was almost a war footing. They were almost warlike conditions that we were confronted with, because it was almost like a war; it was a war on Australia's health. I am very proud that, in my time as Deputy Prime Minister, with Scott Morrison as Prime Minister and with great people—

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