Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tasmanians really feel for all Australians who are subject to lockdown and stay-at-home orders at the moment to combat COVID-19. They're in our thoughts. We hope to see an improvement in case numbers over coming days, particularly in Victoria, New South Wales and, of course, now here in the ACT. But these lockdowns are also having an impact in my home state of Tasmania. While nowhere near the impact they're clearly having on the people of New South Wales and Victoria, there's no doubt that Tasmania is also being affected.

Specifically, the tourism sector, the aviation sector, the hotels, the attractions and some of our arts sector are doing it really tough. Our iconic Salamanca Market was nearly empty last Saturday. Our hotels and restaurants are taking more cancellations than bookings. We've seen the tourism council CEO come out and say: 'Business confidence has been crushed. Our industry is at a crossroads and we need help. Tourism relies on people movement. Many of our businesses are at a standstill.'

Steve Old from the Tasmanian Hospitality Association has joined calls for federal government assistance in Tasmania. He said:

Operators are just saying 'here we go again' but there's only so many times you can take hit after hit. Venues are going to need assistance, or we really do risk some of them shutting their doors permanently.

I thought we're all in this together, Prime Minister. Tasmanians are still waiting for the Morrison government to respond. I've written, together with my federal colleagues, to the Prime Minister to say: 'Come on, PM. Tasmanians are doing it tough because you didn't do your two jobs.'