Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister: Will the Prime Minister outline to the House how the Morrison government's plan for economic recovery is delivering support for Australian business, especially small and medium businesses, to create more jobs and drive our economic recovery from the COVID recession?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Longman for his question. It was great to be with him last week up in Queensland. And right across Queensland, I found—as indeed is the case right across the country—that the budget that the Treasurer delivered here the week before last has been extremely well received right across the country, so much so that, off the back of the budget that Australia needed and the budget that has been delivered for all Australians, confidence surged 12 per cent in October to its highest level in more than two years. Bill Evans, the well-known chief economist who is respected all around the country, said:

This is an extraordinary result… Such a development must be attributable to the response to the October Federal Budget…

He said:

There was a stunning lift in confidence around job security.

And that's what the budget, that was released by the Treasurer in this place, was designed to do and is already doing, but it wasn't just that.

When I was in Queensland I went up to Caboolture Crash Repairs, in the member for Longman's electorate. I had the opportunity to meet Ian Wust. Ian has a small smash repairs business there with some 22 staff. Sadly, on the day before we announced JobKeeper he had already decided to let four of his employees go. He'd written the letter and he was going to lay them off the next day. The next day the Treasurer and I announced the government's decision on JobKeeper. Not only have those four young Australians still got their jobs, but he's also been able to keep in place all of his other staff. Since JobKeeper was introduced he has employed a fitter named Aliyah and one detailer, Darren Briggs. He's put jobs in place and kept jobs in place for young men and young women working in his business. That was a game changer. The other thing I learnt from Ian is his business has graduated from JobKeeper and he no longer needs it. He will no longer be needing it. He's paying all his staff. He's moving forward like so many other businesses. They're graduating out of JobKeeper as a result of the economic plan that our government has set out.

Our plan is not to keep businesses dependent on the government. Our plan is to ensure those businesses can grow beyond the need of support by the government. The opposition wants to keep them cocooned by government. We want them to be able to go out there and build their businesses again, which those businesses are doing. Those opposite mightn't understand that but we do, and that's why the budget has been so well received by Australians all across the country. It's given them the confidence to plan for their future.