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

It is certainly true that we were forced to impose significant sacrifices on many Australians. The restrictions that we had to put in place as a country on the economy in order to save lives by slowing down and suppressing the spread of the virus has imposed, of course, significant burdens on many businesses and on many working Australians. That's why we put in place the economic support package that we have in order to keep as many businesses in business through the transition as possible, to keep as many working Australians connected to their employer during this transition as possible and to provide enhanced support to those Australians who, through no fault of their own, lost their jobs because of the coronavirus crisis.

Now, you can argue whether one decision or the other decision could have been made differently, but, if you look at the actual outcomes both on the health front and on the economic front, I think that Australia is in a very good position compared to other countries around the world.