Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

At this, one of the most difficult times in our nation's history, we come together to serve the Australian people and guide our nation through this unprecedented challenge. Our focus today, as it has been every day since this crisis began, is to help Australians get safely to the other side. This fast-moving, highly contagious disease is unrelenting and terrifying in scale and nature—a health crisis like no other in living memory. It does not discriminate between young and old, fit and healthy, men and women, factory workers to CEOs—people from all walks of life, including, as we know, politicians. As the experience in the UK has shown, princes and prime ministers are not immune from this virus either. It has impacted many lives around the world and here in Australia, and we know that it will affect many more.

Every Australian has felt the impact of the coronavirus, some very directly, but everyone through its impact on our economy and our daily lives, and 5,956 Australians have tested positive to COVID-19. Tragically, 48 Australians have died from this virus. It is worse, much worse, in some other parts of the world. Our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones and friends while we continue to support our fellow Australians battling ill health. We are all in this together. This is first and foremost a health crisis, and the government is dealing with the medical battle as our highest priority. But it is not only the health and wellbeing of Australians at risk. Life as we know it has changed in the face of COVID-19.

In dealing with this challenge we had to make changes that have affected the lives of every Australian. Businesses have closed their doors and workers have lost their jobs. It will be sometime before we know the full extent of the economic and social impact of this health crisis. Schools have changed to different modes of learning. A number of community services are no longer operating. Facilities we've come to take for granted—gyms, pool and cinemas—are no longer open to us. Thriving industries have ground to a halt. Strict social restrictions have forced on us a new way of living.

Actions we are taking in responding to this new reality are in the best interests of Australians. They are necessary to save lives. The steps we have taken are slowing down the spread of the virus, to ensure our hospital system, in particular our ICUs, is able to deal with the flow of patients in need of care. Official data shows that we are heading in the right direction. When we last met, new cases were growing at more than 20 per cent per day. In recent days it has averaged two per cent a day. This is, of course, encouraging. We seem to be achieving our mission to flatten the curve, but, while it looks right now like the trend is our friend, we cannot take our foot off the brake in terms of slowing down the spread of this virus. We have to keep at it together, for all of us.

It is important that all Australians continue to heed the advice of our top medical officials, particularly over the Easter break and over winter. The regulations, protocols and advice that federal and state governments have put in place are based on expert medical advice, and we all have a role to play in self-isolating, working from home, practising good hygiene, engaging with friends and family virtually and not physically. We are asking all Australians to follow the health advice that has been issued by the Chief Medical Officer so that they can protect their own health, the health of their families and the health of the whole community. We are asking Australians to stay home as much as they can and to work from home where they can.

We know Australians are asked to accept a lot of changes to save Australian lives, and we need to lead by example. That is why the government moved, during our last sitting, to suspend the previously agreed parliamentary sitting calendar until 11 August 2020. We are a very large continent. The logistics involved in bringing this parliament together ordinarily involves 227 members and senators plus staff and many, many others travelling to Canberra from all corners of our great nation. In the context of the health advice, we expect all Australians to restrict travel and to stay at home where possible. This is not something we should be doing right now unless it is necessary.

We are asking Australians to comply with these restrictions to help us save lives. Where we can, we, of course, also should and must comply with these restrictions. Most states and the Northern Territory have, in fact, closed their state or territory borders and imposed strict quarantine requirements on returned travellers to their jurisdictions. Yes, as federal members of parliament, we do have access to relevant exemptions as essential workers, as we must. We have those exemptions appropriately, even though, without taking all these necessary precautions, we are seen as at a comparatively high risk of contracting the coronavirus disease, given the work we do day in and day out. So on public health grounds it is surely incumbent on us to use that exemption judiciously, to act consistently with the public health advice directed to all other Australians to the largest extent possible and to minimise our travel during this period.

Parliament not sitting for a period does not mean the government is not under scrutiny from the parliament. The government supports the important work of the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation, ably chaired by Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells. We will also be supporting the establishment of a dedicated select committee to be chaired by the shadow finance minister, Senator Gallagher, which will be examining and scrutinising the government's response to COVID-19. In fact, our government very much welcomes the establishment of this Senate select committee, which will have as its job to scrutinise and question all of the initiatives and measures taken by our government in responding to the coronavirus crisis. That committee will be supported from the coalition side by Senator James Paterson, a very experienced committee chair across the broader Prime Minister and Cabinet and Finance portfolios, who will be our nominee for Deputy Chair, and Senator Perin Davey, who will bring an important regional perspective to the work of that committee. All interested senators will be able to participate in that long-term inquiry as they see fit.

It also, of course, remains possible for senators to ask ministers questions on notice, and I know a number of colleagues in this chamber take furious advantage of that opportunity. Furthermore, the parliament may well sit again between now and August, if and as required. The motion the Senate agreed to unanimously when we last met allowed for the President to determine the day and time of the next meeting of the Senate at the request of or with the agreement of the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. That is, in fact, precisely how today's sitting of the Senate came about, and I will be moving a motion to the same effect before the Senate adjourns today. To put it simply: the Senate can sit and will sit to ensure measures are implemented that protect Australians and support the economy, jobs and Australians in need of support, in response to the increasing threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus. But, during this period, we will only sit if that is necessary for us to act consistently, as much as we can, with the public health advice directed by medical experts to all Australians.

Mr President, our nation has faced many challenges, and history tells us we will emerge on the other side of this stronger and closer. Through our determination, our strength and our resilience, Australia and all Australians will see this challenge through in our own unique and gritty way. The COVID-19 coronavirus crisis is not just a health crisis. It has rocked the foundation of our economy, and we know many Australian businesses and workers are hurting. As a government, we feel their pain and we are here to help. We want all Australians to have the best possible opportunity to get safely to the other side of all this. We want to help as many businesses as possible to remain in business, and we want as many workers as possible working for those businesses to remain in their jobs. And we want to ensure that those Australians who do lose their jobs receive appropriate support through our temporarily boosted social safety net.

Our $130 billion JobKeeper package—which the parliament, in a very unified fashion, will legislate today—will provide a historic wage subsidy to around six million workers. This flat payment of $1,500 per fortnight, paid through employers, will help keep Australians in jobs as businesses tackle the significant economic impact from the coronavirus. As of this morning, more than 730,000 businesses have registered for this support. It is equivalent to around 70 per cent of the national median wage for workers in the accommodation, hospitality and retail sectors. It will equate to a full median replacement wage. Not since World War II has the government dealt with a piece of legislation as significant and as important as the legislation we are dealing with today. What we as a country are offering to our fellow Australians who are economically impacted by the coronavirus is extraordinary in scale and size. These are extraordinary times.

The JobKeeper package is one piece of the bridge we are building together to the other side of this crisis. It brings the total additional support for the economy to $320 billion or to 16.4 per cent of GDP. We have previously doubled support for welfare recipients and provided greater support for social security and veteran income support recipients and eligible concession card holders. Individuals in financial distress because of the coronavirus crisis can access part of their superannuation now to relieve financial strain. Retirees have more flexibility to manage their superannuation assets, and lower deeming rates will help those under financial pressure. Eligible small- and medium-sized businesses have received a boost to their cash flow and will have easier access to new loans. Rent relief is on the way for commercial and residential tenants. We have injected more money into our domestic violence and mental health support services, which are so valuable to us.

All the while, we have continued to build the National Medical Stockpile. Over 30 million masks have arrived in recent days, with more than 500 million masks on order. Domestic production is also underway. I should advise the Senate that, since we last met, I've made $800 million in additional funding available from the advance to the finance minister legislated during our last sitting. That $800 million in funding has been provided to the Department of Health to fund the further procurement of masks and other emergency health equipment to deal with the impact of COVID-19 in Australia.

We have moved decisively as a nation to address the economic storm confronting us, with an unprecedented economic and fiscal response. We have done what we believe was needed and will not hesitate to do more if required. As a government, we are forging a path through this crisis that will enable us to come out stronger and ready for the recovery that will follow—because follow it will. And we do not want any Australian left behind in the meantime. Our government stands ready to add to these measures as necessary, as this crisis continues to unfold. As a government we know, and the Australian people know, that during this time of serious national challenge, all of us represented in this chamber and in this parliament will continue to pull together in doing what needs to be done in the national interest. I thank the Senate.