Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to commend all Australians on their outstanding work in following the evidence based recommendations that the Prime Minister of Australia and the national cabinet have executed on behalf of us all. We have all seen the devastation of the outbreak that COVID has caused across the world, in particular in the US, Europe and England. But with less than 100 deaths currently in Australia, we are faring better than most. This can be attributed to the strong border protection measures implemented very early on in this outbreak, strict quarantining measures that Australians have engaged with and followed, and the strong physical distancing measures that have been carried out across Australia. We know this has had an effect on all Australians. We have done it because it's been important. Staying home has helped contain the COVID pandemic, so that our fatality rate is now lower than an annual flu season. That's something we should celebrate and feel that we have done the right thing. We are fighting this virus and we are winning, but it is now time to get ahead of a mental health curve that may occur. It is now important to balance the state of the economy with the health of the nation. We cannot forsake the prosperity of Australia; but, more importantly, the mental health of Australians represents a very important aspect of our nation. I'd like to congratulate the Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, for putting this front and centre for all Australians. Failure to ease restrictions now that we are in a safe harbour and to keep the economy strong will see a mental health crisis that could be more damaging than the pandemic. Modelling conducted by the University of Sydney has predicted a potential increase of suicides of up to 50 per cent. These are horrifying numbers, which should be taken seriously. With the projected increase of unemployment up to 10 per cent, the significant changes to people's livelihoods and the social distancing required for people with regard to their loved ones mean that mental health professionals have a big job ahead of them.

Our best defence against these outbreaks in our community is by encouraging everyone to use the COVIDSafe app. That is our ticket out of here. We know that there will continue to be cases. Unfortunately, coronavirus will continue to see deaths. But these are proportionate to the measures that we have taken. We need to make sure that we continue to use evidence based approaches. We have seen the worst of the COVID epidemic. We now have the tools at our hands to test, to track and to trace COVID. We need to make sure we continue to use and evidence based approach and to remain calm. We know that when overseas gets a cold or sneezes, we get a cold. We want to make sure that when overseas gets COVID, we stay safe.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly I would like to put on record my sincere thanks and appreciation to all the amazing workers who have continued to serve our community every single day in the face of sometimes quite extraordinary challenges throughout this COVID-19 pandemic—the frontline workers who risk their own health and wellbeing every day in order to protect ours; the educators who help nurture, develop and enrich the lives of our children; but also the unsung heroes of COVID-19, the people who deliver often now to our doors the very things we have needed and relied on during this period of isolation and lockdown; those who have been serving us in supermarkets or the pop-up stores, markets and takeaways; or those local government workers who are diligently maintaining our public spaces and essential services. Many of them have had to adjust to a difficult new environment: modified jobs, reduced hours and, of course, fear that their duties may expose them and their families to the virus. We are living throughout historic and, frankly, catastrophic times. We saw within one week in my home city of Newcastle a collapse of jobs and wages that dwarfs the growth of the last four years. Centrelink lines have spilled out of the office, down the street and around the corner for days on end.

Throughout this crisis, the opposition have worked constructively with the government to get the best outcomes for the nation. The decisions that have been made certainly are not the decisions that a Labor government would always have adopted, but we have never allowed the perfect to be the enemy of the good. We have always been as supportive as possible.

But there is no hiding the fact that the Morrison government's implementation of some elements of the COVID-19 response have been sadly lacking. A case in point is the JobKeeper payment. In recent weeks, I have had been absolutely inundated with calls for information, advice and help around the government's COVID-19 responses in general, but JobKeeper has consistently been the No. 1 issue of concern in my community. Let me be clear: Labor supports the principle of JobKeeper. It was indeed Labor that argued for the dire need for a wage subsidy scheme before this government finally relented. We understand that, unless we protect people's livelihoods, a contagion of cascading disasters could quickly develop, but too many people have missed out on the JobKeeper scheme. We know of the one million casualised workers and people in the arts and entertainment industries, along with those in the retail, accommodation and food sectors, who are all missing out. It needs to fix this and needs to get us back on track.