Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before the debate is resumed on this bill, I remind the Federation Chamber that it has been agreed that a general debate be allowed covering the bill and the two related appropriation bills. The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this the honourable member for Whitlam has moved as an amendment that all words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The question now is that the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question.

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was about this time of the year in 2015 that I travelled to the United Kingdom on a research trip where I was looking at the motivations and the mobilisers of terrorism. I went on this research trip specifically to speak to former terrorist operatives, and I stress the word 'former'. It was around this time of year that I met a fellow by the name of Sean O'Callaghan. In the 1970s, Sean O'Callaghan was just a teenager when he joined the ranks of the IRA and became a fairly senior operative in part of the conflict in Northern Ireland. By the time he turned 20, Sean O'Callaghan was already an experienced terrorist. But, in November 1988, Sean O'Callaghan walked into a police station at Tunbridge Wells and handed himself in, confessing to his involvement in the murder of a Special Branch detective inspector in Northern Ireland in 1974. He pleaded guilty to a whole range of charges and, for his part in the IRA conflict, he was sentenced to 539 years—a pretty big sentence. Sean only served eight of those 539 years. He was granted a royal prerogative. The reason that he was handed this royal prerogative is that, before handing himself in, he had spent around 14 years as an undercover informant with the Garda, the Irish police force.

When I went to the UK, I wanted to meet with Sean O'Callaghan. He had several death threats and evaded attempts on his life by the IRA when his role as an informant came out. I was told that I had 15 minutes with him. I met him in a public cafe in Soho. Those 15 minutes turned into five hours, sitting there, drinking coffee and talking with a man who had spent a good part of his teenage years as a high-level terrorist operative involved in a very well-known conflict. When I first approached Sean, he looked me up and down and said, 'You're an academic.' I said, 'Yes; I am.' He said, 'I suppose you want to know why I joined the IRA and why I left the IRA?' I looked at him and I said, 'No, Mr O'Callaghan, I don't want to know that, because I've read your book.' He wrote a book called The Informer, which was on The New York Times best seller list, by the way. He said, 'Well, why are you here and why do you want to meet me?' and I said, 'Because I want to know why it is that you do what you do now,' because for the last 10 years of his life, Sean O'Callaghan had devoted all his time to working with young violent offenders—getting them off the streets, getting them into employment and getting them onto a positive pathway of life.

Anyway, Sean and I sat there for five hours, and in the middle of all this Sean turned to me and said, 'You know, ehm'—because he was Irish—'life is just a series of negotiations, isn't it?' I looked at him and said, 'What do you mean by that, Sean—life is just a series of negotiations?' and he said: 'Well, you get up in the morning, you decide whether you're going to get in there, have a shower, get out there, go to work, do something positive, or whether you're going to stay in bed, whether you're going to drink, whether you're going to watch TV. You make choices. That's what life is. Life is about choices.' Then he said to me, 'But what if you never had a choice, or what if you never felt like you had a choice?' He said, 'It's not rocket science. All you need to do for these kids'—because he was talking about the young people that he worked with—'is give them a choice, give them an opportunity.'

That phrase, 'Life is just a series of negotiations', has stuck with me, and not just in my personal life. You know those days, when you're all frustrated and you'd just like to sit there? I just go: 'Life is just a series of negotiations, Anne. Life is just a series of negotiations.' It stuck with me not just for its personal relevance; it became the underlying philosophy for my charitable work and for the charity that I set up, working with young people: the idea that if you give somebody who doesn't feel like they have an opportunity, if you show them that they do have choices, that they do have opportunities and you guide them into making the right choice, you can change their lives—and not just their lives but the lives of their families, the lives of their community and ultimately the lives of an entire society for the betterment of our nation.

Indeed, I would say that that phrase, 'Life is just a series of negotiations', drives what I do here today. When I think of that phrase and I hear the Prime Minister say the phrase, 'Those who have a go get a go', it makes me think about what Sean O'Callaghan said. Yesterday in question time, our Prime Minister said 'If you're good at your job, you'll get a job.' I'm not so sure that they were ill-chosen words said in the heat of a debate. I think they speak to a much more deeper underlying philosophy, and I have to say that I don't think it hits the mark here. I don't think that it hits the mark. I think it's a very different philosophy to the philosophy that Sean O'Callaghan was imparting to me when he said, 'Life is just a series of negotiations'—the point that he was trying to get across—because who gets to have a go? Who?

How do we decide who gets to have a go, who gets our help, who gets to benefit from the policies of government? Shouldn't our policies, the settings that drive our economy—the settings that we have to grow jobs and develop the economy, particularly in the post-COVID era that we're hopefully moving into—benefit everyone? What if you're good at your job but you still can't get a job? What if you're good at your job but your job was ripped away from you, like it was for the thousands of university workers, tutors, lecturers and admin staff who have lost their jobs? I know many of those people. I worked with them. I know they're good at their jobs. I know they have a go. But they're not getting a go. What about the travel agents and the small-business owners who have lost their livelihoods? Do they deserve a go? I think they've had a go. I think they're good at their jobs. Do they deserve our help? Do they deserve to get a go?

Sean O'Callaghan passed away in 2017. I have to say that. No doubt the eight years that he spent in prison took a toll on his health. But he did some incredible work in the last two decades of his life, where he helped young people move into a positive future and gave them a chance at a positive future. I could have only hoped to emulate part of what he did in my own work with my charitable organisation, giving young people opportunities to get into work.

But I'm here now in a position, as we all are, to put into practice those words, to put into practice the idea that life is just a series of negotiations, to put into practice that philosophy that if you give people choice, if you give them opportunity, if you show them that there is opportunity and you guide them to those opportunities, then they have a better chance of contributing positively to our society, whether it's social participation, economic participation through a job, or through volunteering. Many of the young people who worked with me started out as volunteers for my organisation. One of them, who started out as a volunteer for my organisation, now works for the World Economic Forum in Geneva. He has met the Queen. I haven't even met the Queen.

Honourable Member:

An honourable member interjecting—

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have met a queen, but I haven't met the Queen! This was a young fellow who came to Australia as a Somali refugee at the age of five. I am very proud of the work that he did with my organisation and the young man—he's just turned 28—that he's become.

I want to take the opportunity today to reflect on the words of Sean O'Callaghan. My husband, who works in law enforcement and security, was extremely worried that I was going to meet a former terrorist, who still had death threats and who was still under the watchful gaze of the IRA. He made me promise that I would call him as soon as the meeting was done. I remember walking back to my hotel in London that evening and calling my husband and gushing about the five hours that I had spent with Sean O'Callaghan. My husband, who was a former police officer, reminded me that this man had actually killed police and that he was a former terrorist. But I have met a lot of people who were terrorist operatives in their lives. All of them had turned their lives around in some way. All of them have said the same thing to me. All of them have spoken about opportunity. All of them have spoken about choice. All of them have spoken about this idea that if people feel that they don't have a choice and don't have an opportunity, then they turn their lives in negative ways.

In the last three minutes or so of my contribution today I want to come back to the budget and to JobKeeper and JobSeeker. The wage subsidies are something which Labor called for and which I commended the government on providing during this—I hate the word 'unprecedented', but here it comes—unprecedented time. I commend the government for providing these, but I would urge the government to think of those words. I know the member for Moncrieff, I know the member for Goldstein, and I know that both of them personally have a commitment—I know that you do you, Deputy Speaker Zimmerman—you all have a commitment to providing opportunities for young people. I know you believe in that underlying philosophy that life is just a series of negotiations. I've had conversations with you, so I know. I truly believe that most of the people here are here for the right reasons. So I urge us all to think about those questions that I posed earlier. Who gets to have a go? We have an incredible opportunity here to ensure that everybody gets to have a go, to ensure that the people who most need it get to have a vision of their lives where there is an opportunity to do good and to contribute. We have that power right here, right now. Let's not squander that. Let's stay true to that philosophy of helping those who need it the most, of providing opportunity, of providing vision, of giving people hope—because that's what we all want.

Now, I have to brag a little bit here: yesterday my son got engaged.

An honourable member: Congratulations!

Thank you. It's been a long time coming! I am now negotiating the terms of grandmotherhood—but anybody who knows me knows there is no such thing as negotiation! Yesterday my son got engaged, and it was a particularly proud moment for me because I was a single mum. I know that all of us here who have children, stepchildren or young people in our lives in some capacity might have a lot of differences, but the thing that we have in common is that we want the next generation to have it better than we did. We want our kids to have an easier life than we did. We want them to have a better education. We want them to have more opportunities. We don't want them to face the hardships that we had to face. That's why we're here: to make it better for them, and the next generation, and the generation after that—for everyone's children. You will meet somebody who you think you will have nothing in common with, but, I guarantee you, if you sit there and you start talking to them about kids, about the future, about opportunity, you'll find something in common and you will form that bond that makes us all human.

On a final note, I repeat: life is just a series of negotiations. Let's negotiate a better way for our country.

Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cowan. I'm not quite sure what Mr O'Callaghan would think about that perfect Scottish accent that you spoke in!

An honourable member: Irish!

It sounded Scottish to me!

Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the appropriation bills. I thank the member for Cowan for that contribution. I do indeed agree with her three key points. Life is of course a series of negotiations, and life is about opportunities and grabbing those opportunities when they are put in front of you. I myself, coming from three generations of factory workers in South Australia—in Elizabeth West, one of the most disadvantaged areas of South Australia—understand, as the member for Cowan does, about taking those opportunities with both hands to propel yourself forward through education. I know you've educated yourself, Member for Cowan, as I have as well throughout my life—to make sure that I took those opportunities, as you did as a young person. We find ourselves here on opposite sides of the chamber but agreeing on many of the points that you raised—including that one on choice, which is a very good one.

Our government is delivering opportunities for Australians through the 2020-21 budget. I will go through some of them now, remembering that the government delivered 1.5 million jobs before the coronavirus hit, that we had 30 years of consecutive growth in this country and that the government brought the budget back to balance for the first time in 11 years. I think we're in a pretty good position, and that's why we have been able to deliver so much for Australians.

The budget delivers many measures worthy of mention. They provide support to the Central Gold Coast and, indeed, to all Australians. The health and wellbeing of the good people of Moncrieff has of course been front of mind during this pandemic. The Morrison government is delivering a world-class health system. This year's record $93.8 billion in health funding has continued our government's strong record on health investment. Over five years the government is investing $134 billion in public hospitals through the 2020-25 National Health Reform Agreement with all states and territories—a 30 per cent increase on the previous five years. Affordable access to medicines is being approved for all Australians through a $376 million measure in this budget for new and amended listings on the PBS. Those in Moncrieff suffering from conditions such as leukaemia, melanoma and Parkinson's disease will benefit. Since October 2013 there have been over 2,400 new and amended listings on the PBS.

Frontline mental health services, including suicide prevention, will be some of the many services delivered through the government's $5.7 billion investment in mental health and wellbeing. In Moncrieff the 10 additional psychology sessions available through Medicare are already making a big difference to Gold Coasters. I note that, because of the extra 10 psychology consultations, students and staff at Southport State School have been able to have a psychologist visit the school two days a week to help young people with their mental health challenges and to counsel their families. This has all been made possible through the extra 10 free consultations that this government has delivered to the Australian people.

Investing in medical research, with the certainty of a 10-year plan, supports research for lifesaving innovations and jobs, which are so important now. The Medical Research Future Fund has reached its target balance of $20 billion. That's quite significant.

The government is simplifying private health insurance and addressing affordability and access. The age limit for dependants is being increased from 24 to 31. There will be no age limit for those with a disability.

Aged-care improvements include $1.6 billion for 23,000 additional home-care packages. The $29.8 million funding increase for the Serious Incident Response Scheme will help to address problems in aged care for older Australians. The $11.3 million provided will connect young people living in residential aged care—the youth the member for Cowan was talking about—to age-appropriate accommodation, which is good news. The government is making a $91.6 million workforce investment as it develops its alternative aged-care funding tool, the Australian National Aged Care Classification.

Those in Moncrieff with a disability and their families will be supported through the Morrison government's guaranteed support for the NDIS. Over 400,000 people across our nation are benefiting from the NDIS. It is being guided by my Gold Coast colleague Minister Robert and supported by the government with a further $3.9 billion. That's half what Gold Coast tourism is worth per year.

Our veterans will be provided with better support through the budget. This includes $94.3 million to improve mental health outcomes for older veterans. There is $7.4 million for the Coordinated Veterans Care Program and Open Arms counselling services. In Moncrieff I have about 3,000 veterans who will benefit from that.

There is $17.7 million of funding over four years for the establishment of the Joint Transition Authority in Defence to support ADF members and their families with transition to civilian life. I've mentioned that I have three RSLs in Moncrieff—Nerang, Southport and Surfers Paradise. There is continued promotion of the skills of ADF personnel to employers, with $6 million for the Prime Minister's Veterans Employment Program. That includes rewards for businesses with initiatives that support veteran employment. We're doing lots for veterans.

Moncrieff students, parents and schools know that our government shares their values on the importance of education, as I talked about before. There is record funding for schools. The budget education measures include $310 billion in total recurrent funding from 2020 to 2030 from the government. There is $146 million for better educational outcomes that will benefit disadvantaged students. These are big numbers.

There is support for the Smith Family's Let's Count program, which helps 120,000 children between the ages of three and five to improve their numeracy skills—very important life skills. There is a $453 million investment in preschool education to extend the National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education till the end of next year, 2021. This year the government will pay approximately $9 billion in means-tested childcare subsidy payments.

The JobTrainer Fund will provide the skills for jobs and recovery. By investing $299 million the government will create 12,000 undergraduate Commonwealth supported places by 2021. Fifty thousand higher education short courses will be funded with a $252 million measure. Around 340,000 additional free or low-fee training places will be provided through the $1 billion JobTrainer Fund. Also $18 billion of funding for all higher education institutions, including Griffith University, has been guaranteed by the government in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superannuation reforms for Australia's compulsory system are important for the retirement incomes of 16 million Australians. Around $3 trillion in retirement savings is managed by industry, and some Australians have been let down the superannuation industry, including through $30 billion worth of fees, which are high by international standards. The government's Your Future, Your Super package will continue the reform of the superannuation system. This will be important for the good people of Moncrieff, to maximise their retirement savings as we go forward.

The Morrison government is continuing to keep the people of Moncrieff, and all Australians, safe through measures such as the $202 million for the 2020 Cyber Security Strategy, $1.7 billion for cybersecurity uplift, $300 million additional funding for the AFP, and bringing forward $1 billion worth of projects to support the Australian defence industry and the wider economy. The Morrison government's $270 billion investment over 10 years delivers on a commitment to invest two per cent of our GDP in defence budget. This is a floor, not a ceiling. The government's commitment contrasts radically with Labor's neglect of the ADF.

While the Morrison government has been cushioning the blow and rebuilding our economy, the Queensland state government's harshly lingering border restrictions have meant that the Gold Coast is one of Australia's hardest-hit local economies, and Surfers Paradise has been whacked for a six. Our much-loved $5 billion tourism industry, population growth, small business, education and construction have historically been what holds us up on the Gold Coast and what drives our growth. In Moncrieff, the pandemic's economic blow has been cushioned by federal government support. One-third, or 10,400, of the small businesses in Moncrieff have been on JobKeeper. Close to 7,700 small and medium businesses in Moncrieff have received the cash flow boost payments. I met last night, on a Zoom call, with those travel agents who are having difficulty at the moment, who tell me that they've been able to access that cash flow boost and JobKeeper has been the only thing keeping them going. I continue to work with them with their plight. In Moncrieff the coronavirus supplement, added to JobSeeker, has assisted 14,374 people, giving them extra support at the height of the crisis. Over 21,500 age pensioners and carers received $750 in April and again in July. They will receive $250 in December and another $250 in March next year.

Additional measures include almost $95 million across the country for exhibiting zoos and aquariums. Sea World in my electorate received some of that funding. It costs $1,000 a week to feed a dolphin, and the federal government has been doing that.

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes. We have a number of dolphins at Sea World. It costs $1,000 a week to feed Sunny at Sea World. Indeed it does. Also, the koalas at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary have been fed by the federal government funding, which is great. There's been $400 million for the movie industry on the Gold Coast. Of course, Movie World will benefit greatly from that, as will many of our kids who are actors. They might be able to come home and act at Movie World, which is really good news. The $10 million for regional tourism that the Gold Coast has received also will help to hold us up on the Gold Coast while we fight through this terrible economic downturn.

The 2020 federal budget looks to the future. It looks to our plan, it looks to our hope and it looks to our confidence. It looks to protect and create livelihoods and jobs. Our government knows that you out there can manage your own money. We know that. You don't need us to tell you what to do. Around 77,800 taxpayers in Moncrieff will keep an extra $2,745. There are a lot of numbers coming out here, but that means that there will be an extra $200 million that will go into the economy in Moncrieff alone. Multiply that by the three federal Gold Coast coastal seats and that's about $600 million that will go into the local economy over the next year, which is fantastic news for Gold Coasters.

We know that eight out of 10 jobs come from the private sector, and that's why I convened the City Heart Taskforce in May and the Reimagine Gold Coast forum, to bring together industry heads to reengineer a pathway forward for jobs for Gold Coasters. Since then, the Morrison government has announced $1.5 billion investment over four years for our modern manufacturing strategy called Make it Happen. That was designed by Minister Karen Andrews, the member for McPherson, also a Gold Coast colleague.

Due to the border restrictions and the Queensland government's unwillingness to cooperate with the national cabinet to agree on the definition of a hot spot, our historic Christmas trade for small business and tourism operators has now been devastated. The damage for the 2020-21 season has been done for tens of thousands in tourism, hospitality and associated jobs. It's time to turn our local focus to manufacturing as a leading key pillar on the Gold Coast. The manufacturing already on the Gold Coast is actually worth $7 billion, and 14,000 direct jobs, so certainly it's time to start looking at that and talking about that. We have a big range of manufacturers. Just a couple that I'll mention are Simone and James Emery from Emery Industries. They live in my electorate, and they produce stainless steel medical equipment, which is fantastic that they have manufacturing capability.

I'm going to skip forward a little bit because I only have a minute left. I just want to finish by saying that, in Queensland, the lack of regard for individuals is at the core of the Premier's harsh border decisions. Labor's 'Minister for Twitter', Steven Miles, is    fond of 'You were wrong and we were right' in his tweets on state border issues. But he misses the point that matters on most borders, and that's lockdowns and that's jobs. Jobs are the future. It's about trust. This Queensland election is about trust—trust to track and trace. It has been a dynamic environment, and even the best decisions change. As we move through the COVID-19 pandemic, state premiers must keep up with those changes. Australians trust our Prime Minister because of his consistent values and because he accepts accountability. He can be relied upon to be the voice of reason and the voice of fairness, and he listens. Queenslanders need to ask this question; they need to ask who they can trust to manage the economy and to manage jobs. They need to ask who they can trust to run Queensland for the next four years, and who will listen to their concerns. Do you trust Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk? (Time expired)

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I told the National Press Club two days after the Treasurer delivered the budget, I was still unable to decide whether Josh Frydenberg, the Treasurer, was the luckiest or unluckiest Treasurer in Australia's history. Unlucky because he's had to negotiate the challenge of a pandemic and all the economic consequences we have experienced as a result of it. But lucky because he would probably be the first Treasurer in history—although I'm not sure exactly what transpired during the First and Second World Wars—who has been able to up rack up—

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I ask people that they either vacate the room or take their seats. Thank you.

Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They really should stay and listen to this, Mr Deputy Speaker. They might learn something! He's certainly the first Treasurer since the Second World War who has been given an opportunity to rack up eye-watering debt and deficit with very little criticism from the opposition parties, the business community or, indeed, the community more generally.

I also said at the National Press Club, 'Let's hope that the debt he has raised on behalf of the Australian community is money well spent in our economy.' Now, I also said on that occasion that it will be some time before we know the answer to that question, before we know whether the way the money was spent maximises economic stimulus, maximises job retention and creation, and maximises our opportunity to give a helping help to those who are most adversely affected. I fear today that we might not have to wait as long as I thought we might. I think we can all already see signs of cracks appearing in the budget strategy. Economic commentators everywhere are talking about the economic inefficiency of the spend. For example, I think it was Ross Gittins who said investment in social housing would have given more stimulus, alongside a long-lasting impact on our infrastructure and, indeed, on some of our poorer communities.

We can see that the precipitous withdrawal of JobKeeper was probably unwise. I suspect the government has left the opportunity open to address that. Let's hope it does, because it's very clear that the economy hasn't yet sunk to its lowest depths, that things will get worse, and people will need ongoing assistance. I'm very disappointed in the decision to allow only those 35 years of age and under to benefit from the so-called JobMaker scheme. It makes no sense to me. We know, because commentators have reacted and responded to this constraint by analysing who have been most hurt, that the reality is that those who have been most hurt are our older Australians, many of whom are still of working age. It makes no sense to target only those under 35 years of age. This is an issue that the government really needs to revisit and consider.

Economic commentators and social commentators also expressed concern that the government hasn't adequately addressed the issues in aged care in all of our communities. I doubt there's a member of this place that doesn't have issues in aged care in the community. We have wonderful aged-care providers. Quality aged-care providers still dominate the sector. Unfortunately, there are a few for-profit providers who haven't lived up to the expectations. But none of them can perform without the resourcing they need from government.

I'm old enough to hark back to the good old days when the state governments ran nursing homes full of nurses and other health professionals, cleaning staff and all the people you need to make a nursing home a hygienic place, a professionally-run place and a place which can serve both the medical and social needs of residents. It's a big black mark on our society that we have allowed those standards to decline over time in the name of fiscal constraint. Moreover, it's a great shame that we didn't take this opportunity, in this pandemic and this economic crisis, to address that. I say to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer: it is not too late.

This was my 25th budget—though, I'm reluctant to say that because it might suggest that I'm a little bit older than I look. Of course, every budget is different. Every budget night I have sat through has been an interesting budget night but there's basically a similar process and there are similar outcomes in terms of their political environment. I was here for all of the John Howard era. Of course, John Howard benefited from the hard-won reforms of the Hawke and Keating governments and, save for a shaky period during the early part of their term, which was the Asian financial crisis, John Howard and Peter Costello had a pretty easy ride. The global economy was strong. They had rivers of income into the government coffers. They were able to deliver tax cuts, for example, as a consequence and bank some money away for rainy days. So they had it pretty easy. The next budget delivered outside the bounds of normality, as I might describe it, was the 2009 budget, where a Labor government, of course, was dealing with all the consequences of the global financial crisis.

In my view, budgets—now more than ever—are not much of a statement of a government policy. They are certainly a statement of government intention in terms of the revenue it intends to raise and the money it intends to spend. The budget remain a very, very important document and budget night remains an important occasion. Both of those things send important signals to the market and provide a level of transparency to the market and our communities collectively.

As hard as Prime Ministers and Treasurers and indeed the media try, budget nights aren't the time when the government's political narrative for the year and the years ahead are set. Long gone are the days when the 'Cigs are up! Beer's up!' headline was raised the day after the budget, in the days before the indexation of excise. All the big issues now tend to happen outside the budget cycle. Of course, the budget itself is pre-empted by enormous leaks ahead of the big occasion, and both the markets and the community know well in advance where the government is heading. I'd like to talk about that political narrative and the way in which it happens outside of the budget process—although arguably the 2014 budget was an exception to the rule because the aggressive fiscal brutality that marked it had a long-lasting impact, and it was, in my view, probably the beginning of the end of the Abbott government.

The big three enduring divisive political disrupters in my more than 24 years were, in my view, the arrival of asylum seekers by boat, the former Labor government's climate change policies, and the Howard government's Work Choices legislation. Each of those had immediate but also enduring impacts. Of course, there were plenty of other big events and policies along the way, but none had the enduring and divisive impacts of the three I've identified. Work Choices might be the less obvious of the three in terms of its enduring effect, but John Howard's overreach has been a lasting break on the anti-worker obsessions of the Liberal and National parties.

The arrival of the MV Tampa in August 2001 was an invitation to the Howard government to harness and unleash a latent xenophobia in our communities and in some pockets of our nation a level of racism that left me shocked and disillusioned. I feel no ill will towards any citizen who left me feeling disappointed at that time or, indeed, in later times, but I do remain angry that an Australian government was prepared and willing, in the earliest days of the 21st century, when we should have been more enlightened, to deploy the politics of fear and to work so hard to divide our communities for its own political gain.

Tampa is not so enduring in and of itself, but the demons that the government's response unleashed are, and they impact on the dynamic of this place still—every day. It gave a voice to a darker side of our society, and it has worked more than once in political terms for the Liberal and National parties. The dog whistle is now embedded in the modus operandi of the coalition parties, and it manifests itself in range of political and policy strategies to this day. The contemporary example, of course, is the Morrison government's approach to our relationship with China, our largest and most important trading partner, where it is putting its quest for domestic and political advantage ahead of the national interest.

Of the three big disruptors, climate change trumps them all. History will treat badly all those who have sought political advantage by exploiting the opportunity created by those who have taken seriously our responsibility to act on climate change. By the way, I count John Howard amongst the political victims. His belated 2007 commitment to an emissions trading scheme was seen for what it was: a belated, last-ditch effort to right the wrong. But the electorate saw through it. Tony Abbott made a carbon tax scare campaign the centrepiece of his 2013 election strategy—successfully so, sadly. He was so successful that he was able to claim a mandate to repeal the Gillard government's Clean Energy Act 2011. That was one of the most irresponsible actions I've seen in this parliament. I think Tony Abbott could have been much better than that. If the Gillard government's architecture had still been in place, the carbon price would be very low and our economy would be operating at the same strength it would have been without it. Our jobs situation would be the same, but our carbon emissions would be lower. As to the GST, no-one would even know it was there.

John Howard introduced the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target probably more than two decades ago. It was, if you like, our first carbon tax—modest, but it was our first constraint on carbon in the market. Two decades on, we are still without a market mechanism designed to put downward pressure on greenhouse gas emissions. We should reflect on that: two decades on from when John Howard first put a market based mechanism in place, we are still without one, and our carbon growth is basically flatlining. In other words, it's going nowhere near meeting the obligations we gave ourselves when Malcolm Turnbull signed the Paris Agreement.

The current Prime Minister thinks he can fulfil our commitments to Paris without a market based mechanism. He certainly hasn't always thought that, because the government certainly had a few goes—three goes, in fact. There was the Clean Energy Target and so on in recent years, but he now says he can make it. I hope he can. Like the budget, it won't be the most economically efficient way of getting there, but, if he can get there, that would be a good thing. My problem is he's not on par to getting there. In this place, we need to put the politics of carbon and climate change behind us and work together to do our bit and meet our responsibilities with the commitments we made at Paris. We need to do our bit as a small player and make our contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions around the world. Of course, we need to do it in a responsible and sensible way, but we'll only do it successfully if we put the politics behind us, work together to deliver what both the local community and the international community expects of us.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to strongly support Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021, and cognate bills, as delivered by the Treasurer in the last sitting week. I start my contribution by firstly noting what occurred before the budget was handed down a few weeks ago, because this budget has to be remembered in the context of the significant economic challenges and the significant economic response that was announced by the government, going way back to March this year. Of course, we all know we were meant to have the budget handed down in May. No-one could have predicted at the start of the year that, far from handing down a budget in May, it would occur in October and it would be in the circumstances where, effectively, the entirety of the budget is about responding to the greatest health challenge and economic challenge that we have faced as a nation since the Second World War. It was back in March that the government recognised the need to put a floor under the uncertainty in the economy because of the health decisions that needed to be made to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and the risk of losing control of it in our community, which would not only put our health system under enormous pressure and potentially take it to breaking point but, obviously, as we've seen in other parts of the world, there are other terrible consequences to, that. So the economy was, in many ways, shut down. We had to say to businesses, 'We, as your government, are telling you that you can't trade for the foreseeable future. We, as your government, are saying, in the interests of protecting us all, you can't go about earning your livelihood as you would ordinarily expect to.' That required an enormous government response to ensure that the uncertainty and risk didn't manifest itself in a complete collapse of consumption in our economy and a whole range of other decisions by people in that environment of uncertainty, which would have sucked us into a deep and depressive vortex. It would certainly have taken this country's economy into a deeper recession and probably a depression.

So, of course, we had significant announcements in March. In particular, there was the JobKeeper program, the wage subsidy program, which said to businesses: 'Look, don't lay off your employees. Don't disconnect yourself from your staff because you, quite reasonably, don't know how you'll be able to pay them going forward. The easiest thing for you to do, if we don't help you, is to say to your staff, "I have to lay you off" and then put them onto the unemployment queue.' So the JobKeeper Payment was central to keeping a connection between employers and employees. It said to businesses: 'We will pick up the salaries and wages of your staff for the next six months. Keep them engaged with your business. Where they can still come and work, they can and should. If they can't, so be it, but keep them on the payroll and keep that connection in place.' I think that will go down as one of the most prescient policy decisions that could have been made in the face of the challenges that we had thrust upon us.

There were many other important decisions made back in March, particularly the coronavirus supplement payment on the JobSeeker side of things. Despite the JobKeeper program, there was inevitably going to be an increase in unemployment. There was inevitably going to be an increase of people needing government assistance. But, much more importantly than that, people coming from a position of economic security into a position of economic insecurity make decisions that not only affect themselves and their families but potentially have a much wider impact on the economy. If you own a home and you've got a mortgage and you lose your job, you get very nervous about that. You think: 'I don't know what my future is. I don't know what my future income earning capability might be. I don't know when I will get a job again and what my salary might be.' And you start to make decisions that contribute to contracting the economy. Whether it be JobKeeper or JobSeeker or the other payments that were put in place—the $750 payments to people on other government support packages—this was a way of putting support under consumption in the economy, ensuring that people didn't make drastic contractual decisions in their own personal family budgets that would have had a flow-on negative multiplier effect more broadly on the Australian economy.

That's not to say that we didn't still have contraction. We did, of course. Unfortunately, this year we've had the first recession in my adult lifetime. No-one enjoys seeing people lose their jobs, seeing people under financial pressure and all the other associated impacts of that. But I speak with a great deal of confidence that, were it not for the measures and the policies that we pursued leading up to this budget, we would have been approaching this budget from a significantly deteriorated position not just as a nation but as individuals, families, businesses and communities. So I commend the government, which I'm proud to be a member of, for what we did in the lead-up to the budget.

This budget builds on those measures and the policies. More importantly, this budget is about rebuilding on them. They were the foundation that limited the economic impact, the potential economic carnage, and now this budget is about rebuilding—regrowing our economy, rebuilding jobs, creating hope for the future again for so many people. Despite the fact that it is a significant amount of expenditure and it's not the natural inclination of Liberal governments to deliver deficit budgets, this one was absolutely necessary, and I'm very strongly supportive of the decisions that the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the cabinet have made, which, yes, do include an enormous deficit this year. It's a necessary deficit, and I see this as an investment: an investment in rebuilding our economy and an investment in creating jobs—getting jobs back for the people who have lost them and creating new jobs into the future for not only our existing workforce but those that will be coming into the workforce in the years to come.

I also see this budget as one that is really about empowering the private sector to create jobs and saying to the business community, saying to those sitting in the boardrooms, saying to those making decisions about the future of their business: 'We want to incentivise you. We want to back you to be positive, to have confidence to make decisions.' And some of the key measures in this budget are all about that. The instant asset write-off is a great example. It says, 'You can invest in eligible assets, in plant and equipment, in things that can expand and grow your business and write that off immediately, write that right down from whatever its value is to zero in this tax year if you want to.' This is something that isn't ordinarily available to businesses. We've had, with a much lower threshold of course, the instant asset write-off in previous years. This one is completely uncapped for eligible assets as long as your turnover is under $5 billion a year, which is, I can tell you, the vast majority of businesses in this country and the sort of businesses we want to be focusing on and helping. That opportunity means that when managers and executives in the decision-making processes of their business are thinking about whether or not they should make an investment in plant and equipment, that's a massive incentive towards saying: 'Yes, let's do it. Let's invest in expanding or modernising the capability of our business. We get an enormous benefit if we do it under this current policy setting.' In doing so, that's not only going to provide the tax benefit to the business, it's clearly going to grow business, and when you grow businesses you create jobs.

The tax clawback measure equally is a fantastic cash flow injection to businesses. Of course, until this budget, if a business made a tax loss in the current year, if in the future they proceed to be profitable they can offset that loss against future tax liabilities they might have in the future when they're profitable. This effectively reverses that principle and says, 'If you made a profit last year but you've made a loss this year, we will let you offset this year's loss on the tax you paid on last year's profit.' Given that that tax would have already been paid in many circumstances, that's going to see major refunds coming into businesses, money they didn't think they were going to have until this measure was announced. That of course means, when a business has got cash, a business hopefully will spend it. It's an excellent initiative that gives people confidence in the here and now to make decisions rather than think, 'I'll just wait and see and possibly make new investment decisions in my business when I've got more confidence from a cash point of view into the future.'

The wage subsidy for young people—this has been debated quite a bit, and there are some with different views on the efficacy of it. I really see this as something that is critical to ensuring that we don't get engendered long-term unemployment for young people in this country who might have lost their jobs because of the COVID pandemic. Certainly the lessons of previous recessions have always been that young people in particular probably lose their job very quickly when there's a recession, when times are tough, and they take an extremely long period of time, generally speaking, to re-enter the workforce. We don't want to have a generation of young people that are effectively entrenched in unemployment. The wage subsidy in many ways, in my view, is not providing an incentive to employ young people; it's probably just levelling the playing field for young people where the deck is stacked against them. There can be stigma from some employers about young people who are unemployed, they're on the JobSeeker unemployment benefit, they probably don't have a very comprehensive CV and a lot of work experience. They are probably seen in some cases by employers, generally speaking, as a risk to the business, as a risk potentially not worth taking. This is a policy initiative that gives incentive to offset that risk, and I think that is something that should be celebrated and promoted and seen for what it is, which is a way of us targeting the very real potential problem of long-term youth unemployment in this country.

In my home state of South Australia, one of the most exciting things in the budget has been the confirmation of defence expenditure well into the future. We've already had very important decisions around defence industry naval shipbuilding in South Australia, the Attack class submarine program and the Hunter class frigate program. Both of those are enormous projects—two of the biggest defence acquisitions in the history of this country. I believe the submarine project will be the largest-ever expenditure in not just the defence budget's history but, in fact, the Australian budget's history to acquire the 12 new Attack class submarines for the Royal Australian Navy. That wasn't in doubt, and obviously it's not a surprise that that was reconfirmed in the budget. A lot of other significant defence expenditure announcements are, at their core, not only about providing capability to the Australian defence forces—which has always got to be the first priority in these things—but also about building sovereign capability and creating an industry here in Australia. For a long time governments of both persuasions found defence industry not to be as high a priority as it should be. Frankly, when they were acquiring capabilities it was probably only about the capability and the dollars and cents.

For a long time we have been an importer of defence capability into this country. We're turning that on its head and we're now not only building defence industry in this country that will provide for our Australian defence forces the highest capability that they must always be given by us but also creating sovereign capability. Sovereign capability is fundamental. It has never been more important as we live in more and more uncertain times not only in our region but across the planet. Having the ability within this country to develop and create capability for our defence forces is vital. To think that we can afford to rely on other countries into the future—no disrespect to the fact that they have been excellent allies for a long time, and I have high confidence that they will be into the future, but we need to be self-sufficient in this country. If there's one thing that the challenges of this global pandemic have shown us, it's that we must be self-sufficient. The Manufacturing Modernisation Fund we have announced in the budget is a very good example of this government investing in the need for sovereign capability and secure supply chains—particularly in areas that are of vital importance when global supply chains are disrupted, as we saw occur because of the coronavirus pandemic. I congratulate the government on the decisions and investments around defence industry.

I had the pleasure of having the Treasurer in my electorate last week. We visited a number of businesses during his visit. People have had a tough time, but they're very grateful and appreciative that their government has been there with them and supported them through these difficult times. I genuinely hope the worst of it is over. But, with that hope fulfilled, the new challenge for us is to make sure that we rebuild this country, better than it was before. I'm very confident that this budget has the policy measures in place to ensure we do just that.

Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the appropriation bills. The Morrison government has delivered a budget—145 days after New Zealand and 151 days late, but delivered. As I read through it, I was stumped. Why did this budget take so long? What was the government waiting on? The forecasts are driven by unrealistic optimism, disregarding much of what we have learned from the COVID virus since May. The policy measures are not innovative, and the politics of the photo op are this government's bread and butter. Four and a half months late seems excessive. But the closer I read, the more I realise that not being on time is the least of this budget's problems.

Prime Minister Morrison has delivered a budget with a $1 trillion debt. But for all that debt the government have still managed to leave too many workers, families and women behind. For my communities in Corangamite, there is much that is missing: a package that advances renewables and reduces energy prices; affordable child care that helps more women return to work; and a jobs plan for the future—a jobs plan that does not pit one age group against another in pursuit of employment.

So today I will be focusing on seven things that my electorate of Corangamite needs that are not in this budget. No. 1: our region hit hard by lockdown needs a strong jobs plan to support it through this COVID crisis. This government did well in following the advice of the Labor Party and introducing a wage subsidy in JobKeeper, but, as with all things, delivery is key. The wage subsidy handed down by the federal government has left casual, university, council, arts, travel and tourism workers, to name a few, out in the cold. To make matters worse the Morrison government cut back JobKeeper in the middle of the pandemic. In Corangamite this meant that $20 million was ripped out of our local economy every fortnight. It makes absolutely no sense to tear vital support out of the economy without replacing it with a comprehensive jobs plan. The International Monetary Fund has consistently and firmly warned against early withdrawal of economic support during weak growth and high unemployment.

In the face of many and loud calls to do more, this government has moved to introduce JobMaker and has offered a hiring credit to employers to take on staff aged under 35. But this scheme is ill-conceived. It will result in many older Australians having significant difficulty getting work or perhaps never working again. It also creates an incentive to fire full-time employees and replace them with part-timers. Then there's the boosting apprenticeships scheme, which enables employers to take on subsidised apprentices. This is worthwhile, but the problem is the scheme ends after only 11 months. What's the plan after that? Will employers continue to retain these apprentices? Where are the checks and balances to ensure this happens? We know this government has a poor track record on apprenticeships. There are many fewer apprentices now across our nation and in my electorate than when the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government came in seven years ago. Is this what we want for our nation? These are ill-thought-out plans, and they will hurt my region.

Number 2: my region needs an increase in Newstart. Over 11,000 Corangamite residents are now $300 worse off a fortnight since the federal government cut the coronavirus supplement four weeks ago. This was a blow to many people in my electorate, who have become unemployed due to no fault of their own. At a time when Corangamite remains under extreme economic pressures due to COVID, this cut was cruel and uncaring. It was inflicted at a time when there were 30 Jobseekers for every vacancy in regional Victoria. The result was a huge influx of calls to my office from constituents like Tina, who is a single mum who lost her waitressing job due to the pandemic and is now unemployed and struggling to feed the family and pay the bills. Even before the pandemic, Newstart was less than $40 a day, not enough to pay the rent or the rego, prepare for that job interview and put food on the table. I urge the Morrison/McCormack government to do what's right, increase Newstart and help the people who need it most in my electorate to live their lives with dignity while they search for that much-needed job.

Number 3: Corangamite needs a national disability scheme that respects participants and the workforce. My region needs a government that understands that disability support is not an obligation to be minimised but a great privilege and a serious responsibility. Instead, the Morrison government is introducing independent assessments without real consultation. For many in my electorate this move is causing fear and anxiety, because those with a disability truly believe that it's not about equity and consistency; it's about cost-cutting by stealth. The NDIS is a vital service and we need it. There is much that demands improvement. For example, I recently spoke to the family of a six-year-old boy with a long and complex medical history who has had multiple issues with the NDIS. He was rejected for respite care twice, even though the NDIA agreed that he did qualify for support. This case is still under review; but it should not take the intervention of a federal parliamentarian for participants to get the help and the support they need. The NDIS should be a service first organisation, and this House and this government must do better.

Number 4: my region needs a national communicable disease centre. This pandemic has exposed our vulnerability. The last national pandemic preparedness exercise was run by the Rudd government in 2008, 12 years ago. But due to the lack of preparedness by the Morrison government, too many people in my electorate have had their freedom and economic opportunity taken from them. A Labor government, if elected, will address this serious gap in pandemic readiness and establish the Australian Centre for Disease Control, bringing us in line with other advanced economies and ensuring that Corangamite is never again overburdened by the underpreparation of its federal government.

Number 5: my communities demand an aged-care system that cares. This budget takes no steps to fix a broken aged-care system. It does not address resourcing neglect, inadequate staff numbers, training and accountability for how funds are spent. This inaction has resulted in open sores left unattended, people left hungry and alone in their rooms and abuse not identified, nor justice sought. Older Australians deserve better than this. The people of Corangamite deserve better than this.

Number six: my communities need a reliable energy grid, powered by renewables. We need investment in an energy grid that will use the full force of today's technology to plug us into renewables, service the needs of tomorrow and, importantly, enable Australia to become a renewable superpower. A Labor government will invest in the skills, the research and training required to launch a manufacturing renaissance across this country and with the right investment in regions like mine. This is the path to driving down our emissions and driving down energy bills while driving up our employment and prosperity. This path is right in front of us. It is clear and the Labor Party will take it. This federal government has had 22 energy policies in eight years by this federal government, and it is just not good enough. It undermines investment, it reduces productivity, it is confusing and it leaves people with high energy bills and no faith in this government to pursue a renewables-led COVID recovery.

Number seven: my rapidly growing region needs a child-care system that drives productivity and releases Australian women from an unfair bargain they never agreed to. Families across Corangamite should be able to afford child care for the kids. Parents should both be able to work and know their children are well cared for, and women should not be financially worse off if they choose to work full-time. It's as simple as that. I recently spoke with Grovedale mum Pawandeep Gill. She wants her little girl to experience the benefits of an early childhood education. Pawandeep would also like to work more, but it makes no sense under the current model. She would just be working to pay for the cost of child care. Under Labor's plan, 97 per cent of families in the system will save between $600 and $2,900 a year. No family will be worse off. Importantly, women will be able to earn more superannuation for a secure retirement. They will be able to advance their skills and hopefully reach their full potential.

Yet again, this government have shown that they do not have a comprehensive vision for our future—a future that is inclusive and allows everyone to strive for and reach their potential. With this budget, the Prime Minister has claimed victory but retreated from the battlefield. He has introduced short-term fixes that do not set our nation and my region of Corangamite up for the future. This needs to change and it needs to change now.

Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I wish to talk about several measures in the new budget that will benefit my electorate of Chisholm, Victorians and the greater Australian community. The Morrison government has carefully designed a plan to help breathe life back into the Australian economy. As a Victorian living through the lockdown, I have witnessed the severe impact COVID has had on our economy, and I can tell you with certainty that I talk about these budget measures with a strong sense of relief. This budget is for all Australians, keeping food on the table for families, people in jobs and the doors of businesses open. The Australian people stand to greatly benefit from this budget.

Soon, many hardworking Australians will begin to feel the positive effects of the Morrison government's tax relief measures. We understand that, for families to keep food on the table, it's vital that they keep more of the money that they make in their back pocket. That's why the government will deliver an additional $17.8 billion in personal income tax relief to support Australia's economic recovery. Australians are best placed to know how to spend their own money. In my own electorate of Chisholm, 74,000 taxpayers will see up to $2,745 of their hard-earned cash given back to them.

This budget isn't just about tax relief. Our government understands how tough young people have been doing it throughout COVID-19. For a young person, getting a job during the pandemic has become more and more difficult. Under the new JobMaker program, the strain of trying to secure employment will be dramatically reduced. The JobMaker hiring credit will help accelerate growth in employment during the recovery, by giving businesses incentives to take on additional employees between the ages of 16 and 35. It is estimated that the JobMaker hiring credit will support around 450,000 positions for young Australians.

The Morrison government understands that the solution for getting Australians back into the workforce needs to be multifaceted. It is for this reason that the JobMaker program emphasises skills development. The government's commitment to JobMaker will support getting people into jobs and ensure that Australians have the right skills for the jobs of the future. This means supporting up to 100,000 new apprenticeships and traineeships through an additional $1.2 billion investment into the Boosting Apprenticeships Commencements wage subsidy; investing $252 million over two years to support the delivery of 50,000 higher education short courses in areas of teaching, health, information technology, science and agriculture; and giving more Australians the opportunity to gain a university degree in 2021 by supporting the delivery of 30,000 additional university places.

The Morrison government is committed to ensuring that Australians are job ready, with jobs waiting for them when they complete their training. The coalition government recognises that, for women in the workplace, it hasn't always been easy. So, in addition to the JobMaker credit and the skills development programs, this budget supports women by providing over $240 million in funding, building on the government's ongoing commitment to deliver for women. But it doesn't stop there. Supporting women in STEM study and STEM skills jobs is a priority. That's why the Morrison government is providing $25 million to assist women through STEM industry cadetships or advanced apprenticeships whilst also expanding the Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship program over two years from 2022-23. These are just the highlights of a range of commitments and policies that we have carefully tailored to the task of supporting Australian women in the workforce.

It's not just individuals but Chisholm businesses that stand to benefit from this budget. Our local businesses have been hit hard by COVID-19. Health restrictions in Victoria have forced many shops and business premises to close their doors or reduce capacity. Meanwhile the bills have continued to rack up. There is no doubt that businesses are up against it due to the COVID recession, but the Morrison government is committed to giving them a fighting chance. This year the cash flow boost has already delivered more than $28 billion in support to keep 800,000 Australian small and medium-sized businesses afloat. The initiative of the JobKeeper program has also cushioned the blow of lockdown restrictions, providing a $101 billion lifeline and helping businesses to maintain the crucial connection with their employees. Thanks to JobKeeper so many Chisholm businesses have survived and are poised to fire again when restrictions are eased.

Our economic recovery plan for Australia presented in this year's budget delivers several further important measures that will bolster the engine room of the Australian economy, which is the private sector. Firstly, we're unlocking investment. Over 99 per cent of Chisholm and Australian businesses will be able to write off the full value of any eligible asset they purchase for their business, whether it's the manufacturer expanding their production line, a sole trader purchasing a car to help them deliver their wares or an entrepreneur working from home investing in new tech. This write-off will give businesses the kick-start they need to thrive post COVID. It will also create tens of thousands of jobs. This is a win for every sector of our economy, but the small businesses that buy, sell, deliver and install the purchased assets will really benefit.

Secondly, let's talk about manufacturing. Manufacturing employs around 860,000 Australians, including around 4,000 workers in my electorate of Chisholm. It is the key to our economic future. Australian manufacturers stepped up during the pandemic and now the Morrison government is backing them to create jobs and drive our economic recovery. Our $1.5 billion targeted Modern Manufacturing Strategy will help Chisholm manufacturers to scale up and take on the world. It will assist them to seize market growth opportunities in our national manufacturing priority areas of food and beverages, resource technology, medical products, recycling and clean energy, defence industry and space industry. This is great news not just for Chisholm manufacturers but for the whole nation. World-class manufacturing will drive our economic recovery and deliver a prosperous future for Australians.

On top of this we are: helping businesses to hire young enthusiastic workers, with our JobMaker hiring credit; reducing the cost and time it takes businesses to access credit; reforming insolvency laws to support business recovery; and expanding access to small business tax concessions to reduce pressures on businesses and allow them to invest in the future. It was suggested by a member of the opposition in the House of Representatives yesterday that each budget reflects the values of the government that hands it down. I wholeheartedly agree. The coalition government is the party of small business. It's the party of business in general I would say. This budget proves it. The private sector, as I mentioned previously, is the engine room—

Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I seek to make an intervention under standing order 66A.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do you wish to allow the intervention?

Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No. The budget goes a long way to helping businesses and people alike keep money in their wallets and their doors open, but some groups of people need specialised help. As someone who suffers from hearing loss, I understand the plight of the Deaf Society. While they have come a long way in raising awareness and supporting one another, they still require resources to accomplish these things. The Morrison government recognise this. We understand that there are groups out there that need extra and special attention. I can proudly say that the Morrison government will deliver for the hard-of-hearing community by implementing key initiatives from the Roadmap for Hearing Health through the investment of over $21 million.

It's not just the hard-of-hearing community that will benefit. Another key community group that the government will address is Australians from diverse ethnic backgrounds. As a proud member of a multicultural community, I have seen our recent and long-term migrants to be resilient, hardworking, kind and diligent. At times, though, there will be a disconnect between multicultural communities and Australian governments. We saw this during the early stages of the second wave of COVID in Victoria. The Victorian government was unable to effectively communicate the dangers and risk of the pandemic. The Morrison government recognises the need to address this problem—

Mr Hill interjecting—

and has committed over $17 million to boost the community—

Mr Hill interjecting—

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bruce! The member is entitled to be heard in silence.

Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

liaison officer network, to include more officers with dual language skills in an effort to enhance engagement with these communities at a grassroots level so that more quiet Australians can be heard.

Finally, I'm proud to discuss the government's commitment to addressing domestic violence. I, myself, have seen the sadness caused by domestic violence or any kind of bullying. I understand how terribly lonely and terrifying it can be. I understand that this feeling can be amplified during times of global crisis, so I speak to all Australians who have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence. I say this: we are here for you. The budget builds on previous commitments to help women and children stay safe, and on ensuring access to justice by providing the Family Court with an additional $10.2 million. I just want to reiterate that this budget is for all Australians, and this budget is a proud budget from the government.

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very glad to speak on the appropriations bills and the government's budget on behalf of the people of Fremantle. I always feel proud and privileged to represent my community here on such an important matter. For those who are playing at home, Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021 and cognate bills are the means by which the government gets the money to pay for its programs. They're always important, even if they sound a bit boring. They've never been more important than they are right now in 2020, and there are two reasons for that. The first is because we're facing a global pandemic, a health crisis that, in turn, is having severe economic impacts. They're also important because, in response, the government is embarking on a massive program of borrowing and spending, the likes of which we have not seen in my lifetime, and the consequences of which will play out for decades.

The brutal reality is that you cannot borrow and spend this gargantuan quantity of money twice—you cannot—and so you have to get it right. I think most people, even at this early stage after the budget has been handed down, know that, unfortunately, it's not looking very good so far. It's not looking very good because the budget's falling short of the obvious tests that should apply. That is: will it meet the needs of the Australian community, especially those facing the most acute impacts and the sharpest disadvantage, and will it provide lasting benefits that will carry us through from the survival phase into the recovery? Will it shape a stronger and fairer Australia? Unfortunately, we already know that there are so many people in so many sectors that are not having their needs met, and there is absolutely nothing in the budget. I didn't have high expectations of the budget, but even I was taken by surprise that there is nothing that looks to the medium- or long-term needs of Australia. There is nothing that builds on the most important things, which are the things we share: public education; public health; public infrastructure, like transport and community infrastructure; our environment; and our biodiversity, which is in crisis and should be protected.

The Morrison budget, in response to the Morrison recession, comes at a time of crisis—not just the pandemic but the aftermath of Australia's first national climate change disaster, in the form of last summer's unprecedented bushfires; not just the challenges at home, here in Australia, but the challenges in our region and in our trading relationships. The budget should respond to those circumstances, and that's how the government will be judged. There are lots of ways in which a government can be judged. In the course of the debate, we've heard already, and we'll continue to hear, lots of frames or perspectives or rubrics that seek to establish the basis upon which the budget will be judged. Some of them might be a bit critical. That's what the government will say of us—that we're being hypercritical. You can be sure that some in the government will be ultra-self-serving. In fact, we heard a little bit of that just before.

One thing you can't do as a government is walk away from the standards you set for yourself. This government were elected in 2013 on the basis that they would face up to and phase down what they called a 'debt and deficit emergency'. That was pretty much the only thing that they said and they said it over and over again. Well, they doubled the national debt in this country before the pandemic. They presided over stagnant wages, falling productivity and weak growth, and they doubled the debt. That was before the pandemic occurred, and Australians know that. They will run a deficit in this year alone that is larger than the net debt they inherited in 2013. Despite the $35 'Back in Black' mugs, despite the linguistic time-travelling of the Prime Minister, who said that he and his government had delivered a budget surplus for next year, they have not delivered a single surplus, and tackling debt and deficit was their one purpose. That's the frame they chose for themselves in seeking election in 2013. That's the frame that they set for themselves at every step of the way and, by that standard, they have utterly failed. We came into this crisis with a weak and weakening economy, which will make dealing with the social and economic impacts of this crisis that much harder, but you won't hear that from this government and you won't hear it from speaker after speaker in this debate. The Treasurer, in question time, described it as a 'ripper' of a budget—a Jack the Ripper budget maybe. I heard the member for Fisher say that it was a 'sensational budget for all Australians'—every single one—

Opposition Member:

An opposition member interjecting—

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's right. Twenty-five million Australians—it's a sensational budget for every single one. However you might consider that, that is some seriously tone-deaf, own trumpet-blowing right there. At a time of crisis, when so many people are facing the most difficult year they've ever experienced, to describe it as a 'ripper' of a budget and say it is 'sensational' for each and every Australian is pretty rich and it's certainly tone-deaf. Does the government really think that the millions of Australians facing these circumstances—a global pandemic; the first recession in 30 years; the sharpest and deepest recession in almost a century—regard what they have just announced as being 'sensational'? People on JobKeeper are already seeing support being withdrawn and they know that it will be taken away all together, and there are so many sectors of the economy that have not even begun to recover—people in aviation, people in the arts and culture industries, people in tourism. The support was delivered too late, and it's being taken away too soon.

Then there are all the millions who were excluded in the first place—casuals who have worked fewer than 12 months, people in local government, people in universities, people in arts and cultural work and businesses. There are the people on JobSeeker, who do not know, since the budget was announced, what is going to happen to them. Some of the people who are currently on JobKeeper will be on JobSeeker before too long. More than a million Australians are going to see their support go down to $40 a day. That is below the poverty level. Do they think that the budget is sensational? They haven't been given the certainty of what is going to happen to them in the months to come.

Then there are the students in the university courses who know that their fees are about to double. In a time of recession, when there isn't work, when you've got massive unemployment that is already staggering and will grow by a further 160,000 people before Christmas, according to the Treasurer himself, young people understandably think, 'I might as well take this opportunity to try and get some training and some education for my future.' Well, in all of the courses in the humanities and some related areas, fees are about to double. There are the Australians stranded overseas. Do they think it's a sensational budget? Then there are the small and medium businesses in all of the sectors I mentioned, but particularly tourism, arts and culture, transport and logistics and aviation. Do they think it's a sensational budget? I don't think so.

I want to spend a little bit of time on the particular circumstances of the workers and small businesses in the arts and creative sector. I'm lucky to come from and to represent a community where arts and creative industries are a strong feature of our life—our personal lives, our cultural life and our economic life. But this has always been a 'heroes and villains' government: if they like you, you get a gift; if they don't like you, you get a whack. That's the one thing we know about this government. There are tax cuts for big business, even if they're massively profitable, even if they're based overseas, but job cuts for the public broadcaster. If you're a Liberal donor and you've got a $3 million piece of land: 'How about we pay you $30 million instead?' How do you like them apples? That's not too bad. But if you want to study the humanities, like most of the members of the government did: 'Sorry, the cost of your degree has just doubled.'

The arts and creative sector has been in the gun sight for years, thanks to this government. Does that make any sense whatsoever in the 21st century? No. It's a massive part of our life and a massive part of our economy, and it's going to and should get stronger in future. It employs 650,000 people—53,000 people in Western Australia alone. In 2017 it contributed $111 billion to the economy. In March, as the pandemic hit, I Lost My Gig Australia helped take stock of the impact on arts and cultural businesses. Half a million workers were impacted. In terms of business lost, 240,000 jobs disappeared and $330 million worth of projects disappeared. That was in March. The ABS noted at the end of March that, while 90 per cent of all businesses in Australia were still operating to some degree at the end of March, only 47 per cent of arts businesses were still operating. It was the worst-affected industry. It will be one of the slowest to emerge from the circumstances we now face. But the sector hasn't been adequately supported by JobKeeper. It's one of those areas of Australian life that was just ignored and neglected by the government.

As with so many of their announcements, where the funding doesn't appear, the direct funding announced by the government hasn't appeared. That's been true for arts and cultural businesses and their workers, including, in terms of the difference between announcement and delivery, some of the businesses and the people that the government used in their media stunts for the announcements. Some of those people have subsequently had to put up their hand and say, 'Even we haven't received the promised funding.' It's just ridiculous. Rather than make reforms that would be helpful to arts and creative industry businesses and their workers, the government's decided in a crisis to take away the local content requirements for the screen industry that are essential to maintaining a distinctively Australian cultural sector—to see and hear and learn from and be enriched and uplifted by Australian voices, Australian stories, Australian songs and Australian films. They have been let down; they have been neglected by this government throughout its life; and then they are facing a particularly cold shoulder through the circumstances of a COVID-19 pandemic. It is appalling.

I said that the budget should be judged on how it meets the needs of the Australian community and how it provides long-lasting benefits. We know that, despite a trillion dollars of debt, there will be millions of Australians left in the cold. To make it worse, the government has not taken the opportunity to look at areas of longer-lasting reforms, things that will provide benefits to all of us in the future, notwithstanding this eye-watering, gargantuan sum of money that has been borrowed and spent that can never be borrowed and spent again. There's no focus on early child care or aged care, when we know that the care economy is going to be such a big part of our life—for our own benefit, for our health and wellbeing, but also as a source of jobs and economic activity. There's no focus in the budget on modernising our energy supply, not surprisingly from a government that can't even settle a national energy policy. There's no focus on social housing, despite the difference that makes to the lives of people facing acute disadvantage and the way in which it provides stimulus to local economies around the country. Over the seven years they have presided over the loss of 140,000 apprentices, and that's caused key shortages that we're now dealing with. Only in the last week or so they've finally admitted to themselves that delivering that National Broadband Network using 19th century copper wasn't such a bright idea. Now it's going to cost billions more in funding and take years longer, as they start to turn the ship around and go back to Labor's policy of delivering fibre.

In a time of crisis that has a number of elements, the pandemic chief among them but not alone, it's crucial that government spend wisely. The gargantuan borrowing and spending exercise cannot be done twice. It should be focused on the needs of the Australian community and it should deliver lasting benefits. Unfortunately, the Morrison government's economic management was weak before the crisis, and the Morrison government's economic response to date has been warped during the crisis so far, not just ignoring huge sections of the community, but ignoring some of the people who need the help the most. The government's response has every appearance of being wasteful because it doesn't focus on the delivery of lasting benefits. At every point in the last seven years you'd struggle to identify a recognisable agenda or a positive program that this government might be seeking to implement. In fact, I defy anyone to point to one notable reform or lasting achievement of this coalition government. They were elected as the masters of negativity. They set one task for themselves, which was to reduce debt, and they have comprehensively failed to do that. They doubled it before the pandemic, and it will quadruple by the time we get through the pandemic. They have neglected to do anything in aged care or early childhood education. They have made a howling mess of Australia's broadband network. They've been unable to settling on a national energy policy. They've hammered both our vocational and our university education sectors. They've waged a cultural and funding war on public broadcasters. They've sat on their hands as we face an extinction crisis and the impacts of climate change. Weak, warped, wasteful—that's been the record of this government. Unfortunately it's a theme they continue with this budget, when Australia needs them to do so much better.

Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This budget is the next step in our economic recovery from COVID-19. It's about helping those who are out of work to get into work and helping those who are in a job to keep their job. We're investing heavily in infrastructure that will not only benefit our community but create jobs in the short and long term.

I want to talk about some fantastic projects that are going to be getting underway or have started in Townsville, because Townsville is in Herbert and Herbert is the best electorate in this place. There is $76 million for Riverway Drive Stage 2. This project will create a whopping 280 direct and indirect jobs over its construction lifetime. These 280 jobs don't just support the construction industry. There's not only the men and women who are working on the construction going in local cafes to get their bacon and egg burger in the morning and cafes putting on extra staff to help with admin but there's also the flow-on effect that has for the economy. So, while we talk about construction, actually there's a wraparound that affects the whole community and the whole economy in Townsville. This will not only benefit residents of the Upper Ross but also drive our economy forward with significant investment in the sector.

The upgrade will cover from Allambie Lane up to Dunlop Street, duplicating a 1.6 kilometre section between Allambie Land and Hammond Way, while safety upgrades for 3.1 kilometres between Allambie Lane and Dunlop Street will include three sets of traffic lights in that section to ensure safety and traffic flow. This will reduce congestion and improve travel times and safety, and I know everyone, regardless of the coloured shirt you wear in this place, thinks road safety and ensuring that people who leave in the morning come home safely at night is extremely important.

Honourable Member:

An honourable member interjecting—

Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You wear white shirts? Excellent heckling from the opposition! There's also $20 million for the Bruce Highway upgrade, which is a strategy about developing a plan for the future along the Bruce Highway. This is important work on the duplication of the entire Bruce Highway will start in priority sections, and I would suggest that priority sections would be in the north. We know that too many people have died on our roads, and any investment in the safety of our roads is a good one, a welcome one and something that needs to always be at the forefront of everyone's minds when we're doing construction and duplications on our roads. There is, in addition to our $184 million commitment for the Townsville Ring Road Stage 5, $86 million for the Northern Access Intersections Upgrade, duplicating the Bruce Highway between Veales Road and Pope Road.

We're also investing in CopperString. CopperString is a fan favourite, and it's a fan favourite because it's going to connect the north-west minerals province, which is near Mt Isa—or the Isa for locals—to the National Energy Market, the NEM, which is near Townsville. We know that this will put downward pressure on electricity prices and also create jobs, but the downward pressure on electricity prices is what's important, because industry, big business, mining companies and manufacturing want to go where there's cheap electricity. They want to go where they can run their business at a lower cost than somewhere else, and this is something that I know, regardless of political party, has support because CopperString is the future and it is something that will definitely benefit the north.

We're also investing $60 million for monsoon trough long-term recovery strategy. This is extremely important for the residents of Townsville but also for the north, because not so long ago we saw a one-in-500-year monsoon event in Townsville. We still have people that are struggling to get back into properties. We have insurance which is a market failure because of this and other things, and head of cattle and farmers were devastated. This is something that I believe is needed to help the community. But, when you say, '$60 million,' what does that actually mean? We need to break it down a little bit because it's not just a number; there are important strategies involved. I hope the member across from me gets here soon—I could finish quick so he might have to jump up and talk! What we're spending is $9 million for projects that support emerging industries, extend small-scale industries and add value to existing industries and their supply chains to generate economic and development opportunities.

The telecommunications and energy improvements—that's going to have a $15 million price tag on it and will support locally-led solutions that improve access to reliable and affordable telecommunications and energy services to support business and community growth. I think the key thing to take out of that was 'locally-led solutions'—not Canberra based led solutions, not Brisbane based led solutions but locally-led solutions. Not only will local governments have a lot to play here but also community groups, because any good level of government creates the healthy environment for them and the community to do what they do best and do their job and tell us what they need, not be told what to do from some bureaucrat in Canberra.

For managing disaster risks, there is $12 million for improved disaster risk management planning and risk mitigation. The funding will be available for individuals, enterprises, industries and communities, to increase risk management capability and capacity building. My favourite bit of this funding is for helping young people to be resilient. It's $2 million to support preventative mental health measures for children who have been in flood affected areas, making children more equipped with skills to identify the early signs of mental stress, talk about mental wellbeing and know where to turn for help. This is on top of the funding that's already been made available, but there's nothing more important than ensuring that our young people, our future, are mentally well and know how to communicate and who they can talk to. This is funding that is definitely needed. Headspace—and National headspace Day was yesterday—is overwhelmed with young people who are trying to get in and see a counsellor, and there's a long waitlist, so any extra funding to give support to these hardworking men and women who help our young people will be welcomed. The recovery and resilience grants have $20 million for locally led solutions that improve the strategy's objective. Flood affected individuals, businesses and communities will be actively involved in the region's recovery, to make sure that local needs are a top consideration. Once again this is locally led, and that's something that is welcomed.

We've also got $40 million for Reef HQ. Reef HQ is one of the wonders of the world. This is the largest and oldest coral aquarium in the world. We are on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef. With Reef HQ, our young people, our scientists and people from all around the world can come and visit and learn about the reef, learn about the fish, learn about the corals, go to the dangerous predators area, walk through the tunnel and see all the sharks swimming around. It's great for education, great for our young people, great for Townsville. We know we have the leading university in marine biology and marine science, JCU, and Reef HQ works hand in glove with them. I have asked if I can go for a dive and a snorkel in Reef HQ, but I'll be keeping away from the predator tank, because I'd be a tasty little snack for a shark! This $40 million is not just to improve the inside but also to give Reef HQ a facelift on the outside. You don't just want to see the inside of the best coral aquarium in the world; you also want to have a nice experience from the outside, so we're making sure it gets a bit of a facelift. Pre COVID, Reef HQ generated in the order of $2 million of revenue each year. This is reported in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's annual reports. They get around 130,000 visitors each year. Ramping up what Reef HQ will look like and the facilities—making sure that the turtle hospital there is not on the roof, in the sun, making sure that they have appropriate measures to look after the sick and injured wildlife that they pick up—and the experience that the young people have is so important. I know that Josh, the CEO, has been lobbying me and other members pretty hard. I see the importance as he does, and so do the community.

With defence, there is $1 billion over two years to deliver projects that will support an estimated 4,000 jobs. This is across Australia. The reason I'm bringing it up today is that in Townsville we are the largest garrison city in the country, so we know that this kind of spend will be fantastic in Townsville, creating those local jobs and driving the economy. It will also increase the employment of our reservists in the Australian Defence Force. This funding will look after them a little bit more, since some of our ADF reservists have lost their jobs through the coronavirus pandemic. It will also increase funding available for defence innovation industries and skills grants. It's very important that we grow our defence industry inside Australia and look to our professionals here to grow this industry instead of always looking at what we can get from somewhere else around the world. What we've learned through this pandemic is that it's extremely important to have manufacturing in Australia. We have always known that, but there's nothing more important now to drive our economy and to keep our nation safe and its sovereignty secure. We must bring forward investment in defence estate and accelerate important ADF capability development projects. Like much of the economy, our local defence industry is doing it tough because of COVID-19. We know this is especially so for small and medium businesses that support our defence industry. Australia's largest garrison city is Townsville, and I do expect quite a big piece of this pie for it; I hope Linda Reynolds is watching, because I'll be knocking on her door soon to talk about where we can get some of this funding rolled out in Townsville.

In Herbert specifically, 57,700 taxpayers in Herbert will benefit from the tax relief of up to $2,745 this year. It's important that we note that it's their money. It's not a handout, it's not a gift—this is taxpayers' money; it's their money. They're keeping more of what they earn. That is extremely important, because, in a time where we are all doing it tough, having more of our money in our hip pocket so we can spend it the way we like is something that I know that everyone wants to see. I spoke to my mum about this, and she was very happy. She said, 'You tell my Josh I'm very happy I can spend more of my money on what I want to do.' It does not feel like a handout, because it's not; it's their money, and they should keep more of their money.

We have a lot of people in Townsville that are doing it tough and we have a lot of small and medium businesses that are also doing it quite tough. I know that 10,100 businesses in Herbert will write off the full value of any eligible asset they purchase, building on the success of the instant asset write-off earlier this year. JobKeeper is supporting around 2,700 businesses in the electorate of Herbert. It is supporting them through the pandemic and keeping them connected to their employees. As they move off JobKeeper—I know that a lot of them are trying their best to do that—and get on with doing what they do best, getting governments out of their way and not having politicians ringing them all the time saying: 'Hey, how are you doing? Is there anything you need?'—they just want to get on with what they do best. The Ville in Townsville is a fantastic place; it connects to the casino. A lot of people that come from and travel to this place will stay there. They had to let a lot of people go at the start of the pandemic. I was speaking to their CEO, and they're bringing more and more people back on. We want to see them operating near normal. We haven't had a positive case of COVID-19 for several months, so we're nearly back to normal in our operating. Easing restrictions there a bit will be welcomed.

In my last 30-odd seconds I just want to say that, regardless of politics in this place, I know that everyone puts their community first. Through this global pandemic, which has been so tough, I just think it's so important that we all link together and learn from each other, to best support our communities around the nation. The people have to come first, and that's exactly what we need to put first—the people of Australia.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand it would suit the convenience of the Federation Chamber if the debate was adjourned. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.