Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Regional Development. Will the Deputy Prime Minister inform the House how the Morrison-McCormack government is supporting regional Australia's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic through the extension of JobKeeper?

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to commend the member for Mallee. I want to commend her for her work on the border issues and I want to commend her for her courage in standing up for what she knows is right.

Regional Australia, as the member for Mallee knows, is the engine room of our economy. It is going to lead the way out of COVID-19. That's why we, as a government, invest in the infrastructure needed to boost productivity, to boost safety, to add to water security and to make sure that tourism is what it needs to be right across the country—right across the nation from Manangatang to Manjimup, right across the Nullarbor Plain. That's what we're doing. We're making sure the right investments are in the right place at the right time to boost regional Australia.

Investment in regional Australia is a critical part of the path out of COVID-19. There is over $100 billion in the pipeline over the next decade, supporting over 85,000 jobs, many of them in regional Australia. Thousands of these jobs are on the ground right now. The government's contribution to $50.4 million to the Western Highway in Victoria is supporting 65 jobs in regional communities. Our pipeline of investment plans jobs for the future—a vision for the nation for the future.

Though we know, in these unprecedented times, we need to stick to the plan, we are making sure that we put that vision in place. JobKeeper extending through to March is making such a difference. Peter McAllister, the general manager of True Foods, which took the plunge and decentralised from Melbourne to Maryborough in 2011, creating more than 160 local jobs, has expressed a deep gratitude for the Treasurer and JobKeeper that is in place. He said, 'Without JobKeeper we would have laid off many of our 185 staff but, with the payment, we can train people and increase depth of operational knowledge. COVID has created serious mental health challenges with an uncertainty of employment, but JobKeeper has provided management with an ability to step in and provide hope and stability.' They're really strong, compelling words.

Elliott Newspaper Group in Mildura, runs the local newspaper, the Sunraysia DailyI've read it often. This year it's celebrating its centenary. Ross Lanyon, the chief executive officer of Elliott Newspaper Group, has said thanks to JobKeeper. The Sunraysia Daily actually ceased printing there for a stage, because of COVID-19, but, thanks to JobKeeper, it has been able to resume publication. Ross said: 'Without JobKeeper, we wouldn't be here. The difference is to be able to envisage a way forward because there is breathing space to plan, budget and manage the way forward. JobKeeper has removed the guillotine from over our head.' That's what he said. That's what others are saying. I've had so many people say that, but for JobKeeper, their jobs and livelihoods— (Time expired)