Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The government stands by those in Queensland as they work to rebuild their properties and communities following the devastating effects of the monsoonal trough earlier this year.

The speed at which the floods hit and spread through north and western parts of Queensland was terrifying, coupled with low temperatures, high winds and extended periods of rainfall. The scale of the damage is immense. We know the number of livestock lost in the floods or through illness is in the hundreds of thousands, with some properties reportedly losing their entire herd. At the same time, crucial and costly farm and business infrastructure has simply been washed away.

The impact socially, economically and otherwise on these communities is devastating. While the government cannot undo the damage that has been done, we can ensure that farming families and affected communities are well supported as they rebuild.

To this end, the government has set up the North Queensland Livestock Industry Recovery Agency, headed by the Hon. Shane Stone AC QC. The agency will not only assist with the delivery of the immediate response, it will work with flood-affected farmers and communities to develop and coordinate a long-term plan for recovery and reconstruction.

We also recognise it's important to make sure that these communities have access to support immediately so they can get back on their feet as soon as possible.

In addition, we have seen severe storms inflict significant damage on primary producers in the Fassifern Valley, Queensland.

This bill includes three measures all aimed at providing support to those affected by these events.

Schedule 1 to the bill will make flood recovery grants exempt from income tax.

We have worked closely with the Queensland government to provide more than $500 million to support flood-affected communities with the cost of recovery, such as clean-up, restocking and replanting and replacing on-farm infrastructure. This support includes:

Government grants are typically counted as assessable income for the recipient, meaning that taxpayers must pay income tax on the grant amount. However, given the exceptional circumstances, these grants are being made non-assessable, non-exempt income which means that:

No taxpayer will be left with an income tax bill as a result of receiving a qualifying disaster recovery grant. Every dollar received will go towards rebuilding and re-establishing operations following the floods.

Schedule 2 to the bill will make storm assistance grants to eligible primary producers in the Fassifern Valley, Queensland, exempt income for tax purposes.

The government is providing $1 million to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, which will work with the Salvation Army and a local community panel to give grants to primary producers that sustained damage as a result of the severe storms of October 2018.

The bill will make these grants exempt income for tax purposes, meaning that the grants are not counted as assessable income, but will reduce any tax losses that can be carried forward to future years.

This will ensure that no primary producer is left with an up-front income tax bill as a result of receiving these grants, supporting them in their recovery from the storms.

Schedule 3 to the bill provides a special appropriation of $1.75 billion so that the government is able to establish and administer a loan scheme that will enable banks to offer reduced interest rate loans to eligible flood-affected primary producers.

The loan scheme, to be administered by the North Queensland Livestock Industry Recovery Agency, will provide participating banks with a reduced cost of funding to be passed through to eligible primary producers in the form of reduced interest loans to help stabilise their financial position.

Together, these measures will provide further support to those affected by the Queensland floods and storms, helping them to recover and rebuild.

Further details of the measure are contained in the explanatory memorandum.

I commend the bill to the House.

Leave granted for second reading debate to continue immediately.

Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was born and raised in Townsville. I have been through Cyclone Althea, the flood of the late seventies and 'The Night of Noah' flood of 1998. But nothing in my life memory can compare with the disaster and the devastation of the flood that we experienced on 3 February 2019. Townsville experienced the worst flood in its recorded history. We had a year's rainfall in nine days, with 1,134 millimetres recorded up to 9 am on Monday, 4 February 2019, reaching over 1.65 metres. The Ross River Dam reached a record-breaking 244 per cent. More than 22,000 homes and 110 roads in Townsville were affected by this extreme weather event. Every day after the flood, my team and I visited families in affected areas, helping them clean up their homes. We delivered burritos and water donated by GYG and Morco Fresh Foods. We have been helping Townsville residents with their federal government disaster recovery claims.

I support the Treasury Laws Amendment (North Queensland Flood Recovery) Bill 2019 because it provides vital funding for our disaster-ridden community. But I will also take this time to condemn the LNP government for its difficult and shameful criteria associated with the special disaster assistance recovery funding. The claims process has created more stress for people who are already stressed. The LNP claims process is a hoop-jumping exercise that includes incredibly harsh restrictions on claims. Cherrie Vitalli, whose house was inundated by flood—she lives in the red flood zone—was denied the vital relief funding three times. Elaine in Railway Estate was denied vital assistance because she lives in a Queenslander home, and the LNP made harsh restrictions where the water had to go over the floorboards of the main part of the home. Under her home, the bottom floor was not covered. The LNP government left the local Department of Human Services staff very vulnerable. They were not allowed to assist their fellow Townsville residents with their claims because residents could only call a Melbourne number between nine and five. Townsville had to fight through the flood and then had to fight the LNP government for its fair share.

Townsville residents shouldn't be treated as second-class citizens by this government, not to mention the fact that the LNP government is treating Townsville small businesses disgracefully. I fought the LNP government to include local small business in their disaster relief funds. Many local small businesses are struggling to get assistance from the LNP government to get back on their feet and, importantly, keep their staff employed. We dragged the LNP kicking and screaming to the table to provide relief for Townsville businesses and finally, more than a month after the flood, the government eventually came to the table. But, once again, the LNP government set strict and harsh criteria for small-business relief grants. These harsh restrictions have made it almost impossible for any small business to be granted the relief funding that they deserve and desperately need. Just as I have been visiting flood affected families, I have also visited flood affected Townsville small businesses and I can safely say small businesses are angry with this out-of-touch LNP government.

I visited local business owner Warren Figg who owns Auto Centre Townsville. His business was inundated. He has a car yard. The car yard and the office were inundated. He was concerned about keeping his business going so that his employees would not lose their jobs and he could get on with selling his vehicles. As Warren said, this funding should be easy to access to reduce the stress on small-business owners. The reality is that these funds would flow straight back into a struggling community. Surely it is not too much to expect that the LNP government would assist small-business owners after this devastation. Warren, like so many others, needs this vital funding. Warren applied for the small business relief funding almost immediately and, after six weeks, he was still waiting for a response. The grant provides up to $50,000 for small businesses impacted by the flood, but, as Warren has described, he and other Townsville small businesses have had to jump through a lot of hoops just to apply for the grant. Warren advised that, after he applied for the grant and he had not heard anything for a couple of weeks, he made a phone call. He was told an assessor had not even picked up his application to look at it and they could not give him a time when this would happen. This is simply not good enough. The LNP's criteria and mountains of paperwork seem to be designed to keep small businesses excluded rather than included. Townsville businesses need to have a simple, clear, less bureaucratic process. Simply get rid of the red tape.

Now is the time to help small businesses in Townsville. Now is the time for the government to take action to help these businesses get back on their feet. Warren has described the whole rigmarole that he has been put through by the LNP government as getting 'hung out to dry'. Warren has so far spent close to $50,000 to just get the business started again, but some businesses do not have this cashflow to get their businesses going. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and LNP members, let me tell you: you are not helping small businesses get back on their feet. You are putting the owners' livelihoods at stake and putting the one in every four jobs that is created by a small business in Townsville at risk. Townsville's jobs are directly under threat because of LNP's out-of-touch and harsh criteria for small-business relief grants.

More than 391 businesses have been affected directly by the floods in Townsville, with an average loss of $98,000. Combined state and federal funding totals $27.2 million for relief grants for small businesses. In Townsville, $724,112 has been delivered for 100 businesses. That is less than three per cent of the money delivered to our community. The LNP need to wake up. Small businesses in Townsville are hurting and hurting badly. The strict criteria are killing small businesses in Townsville and costing local jobs that we cannot afford to lose, given our unemployment rate is almost double that of the national average. Unemployment has already almost doubled, as I said, and it will continue to get worse if we do not get help to the small businesses that have been affected by this devastating flood. The LNP need to review their harsh and rigid restrictions. I demand action now on this issue. Townsville deserves our fair share and I will fight tooth and nail for my community to get our fair share.

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We thank the member for her contribution. The Treasury Laws Amendment (North Queensland Flood Recovery) Bill 2019 includes three measures, all aimed at providing support to those affected by floods and storms in Queensland. Schedule 1 makes qualifying disaster payments, recovery and on-farm grants to Queensland flood-affected primary producers, small businesses and non-profit organisations non-assessable nonincome for tax purposes. Schedule 2 treats qualifying payments to primary producers in Fassifern Valley, Queensland, affected by storm damage in October 2018 as exempt income for tax purposes. Schedule 3 provides a special appropriation for the government to establish and administer a loans scheme that will enable banks to offer reduced-interest-rate loans to eligible primary producers affected by the floods. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.