James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

without recourse to what the achievement of those taxpayers has been in working to save that money—and I will take those interjections. This government has made sure that the money that we have spent—and it is an eye-watering amount—is money that has been spent to ensure that there will be businesses and employees standing up once we get through this pandemic. However, I do fear that those on the Left might sometimes think that this is a perfect opportunity in which to just spend and spend and spend and borrow and borrow and borrow. The line sometimes does have to be drawn because we do have to stand up for the taxpayers of Australia. We do have to stand up for those who are going to come after us and who will have to pay off this quite large debt. We've got to look at what has been the strategic objective of the Prime Minister and the national cabinet since the coronavirus pandemic began. It is all about saving lives and protecting livelihoods and ensuring that, when we deal with coronavirus, we suppress it as much as possible, so we can ensure that the economy keeps going until a vaccine is found and Australians are vaccinated against the coronavirus.

We're all aware that this pandemic is taking a heavy toll on Australia, on individuals, on families and on communities. We are all aware of the impact, especially in my home state of Queensland, where we have a Labor government that has not just one eye on the upcoming state election in 68 days time, but two eyes on it. Everything that our Premier does is in the context of how she's positioning herself for this upcoming state election, and that is disappointing, especially how she is using the politics of border wars to divide people.

We have a situation in Queensland where those who live in border communities are facing immense stress. I speak as someone who lives broadly in a border community. I live on the Southern Downs. We have seen situations in Queensland where a mum has given birth in northern New South Wales but has been unable to visit her newborn baby who had to be transported to hospital in Queensland. We've seen a situation in Queensland where children were unable to go and see their dying father. My mum texted me over the weekend that one of her friends was unable to go to her own brother's funeral. This is the situation we're facing in Queensland, where we have a government who are quite happy to use coronavirus as an alibi to cover up their failed record on the economy and their failed record in Queensland. We have a state government who had, before coronavirus came along, the highest levels of business bankruptcies and the lowest levels of business confidence. The only thing that has been saving Queensland has been the actions taken by this federal government in relation to the JobKeeper payments and the other payments that have been put out by the government and also through the JobSeeker supplement.

It is somewhat ironic that there are parts of Queensland calling out for workers to come and work on farms, to go and pick the fruit. It is something that I've picked up in my travels around Queensland—that there are jobs going in Queensland, but they are in regional Queensland. I would encourage people to move to regional Queensland. I live there. My office is in a different region. I love all of Queensland. But, for some reason, sometimes people don't want to shift. I'd say to them: There is work there. Go west. Go north. It may not be work that you like, but it is work.

We are supporting people through JobKeeper and JobSeeker, and the government's pandemic leave disaster payment is another such support measure. We have put it in place to support those who don't have paid leave entitlements remaining yet have been directed to isolate for 14 days when they otherwise would have been working. We've put this program in place quickly. It was announced on 3 August. Services Australia started accepting claims on 5 August, and payments started flowing a day later, on 6 August. Already almost 7,000 claims from residents and nonresidents have been received and over $8 million has been paid to those in need. We are doing everything we possibly can to support those who have been told to self-isolate or quarantine. Workers with no paid leave entitlements, such as casuals and contractors, may for financial reasons decide to continue working.

What we have also done is allow people to access their super early. What has been interesting have been the howls of outrage from those on the Left that it is outrageous that this Liberal-National government has allowed workers to access super early. And there have been howls of outrage from Paul Keating, that failed Prime Minister of this country, that Prime Minister who deliberately pushed this country into recession, that Prime Minister who tells the workers of Australia: 'You can't access your own money. I, Paul Keating, know better than you.' This is the arrogance of the Left when it comes to dealing with other people's money. The super contributions that have been put into these super accounts belong to the workers. If people wish to access that, to assist themselves throughout this pandemic, throughout this crisis that is facing Australia, I say they should be allowed to do that. They should be allowed to access their own money to help themselves through this crisis. But oh no—those on the Left don't want that to happen. Those on the Left want the funds to stay in these huge super funds.

Here is a fun fact: my understanding is that about $30 billion has been withdrawn from super funds over the last few months, capped out at $10,000 per financial year. That's about the same amount as administration fees that are charged by these super funds! We've got these multibillion-dollar super funds in a trillion-dollar industry. They are in the pockets of big unions, in the pockets of Labor and big business, but it's Labor and the unions who do not want the workers to have access to their own funds.

The government is doing everything possible, supporting those who wish to employ people and those who wish to continue employing people and supporting through the JobSeeker supplement those who have found themselves, sadly, without work. But this bill and the amendment as proposed by the Greens will not assist the situation, will not help people as the Greens do think. So the government will not be supporting the amendments.

It is welcome to see that employers' ability to bear additional costs during an unprecedented pandemic is acknowledged by the amendment, so they get a tick for that. However, the amendment as proposed by the Greens creates a new obligation on employers and employees. The additional burden of administering payments and seeking reimbursement is not what businesses and individuals need at the moment, particularly those in Victoria but also any around the country that are struggling. It will exacerbate cash flow issues for many businesses.

This is what it comes down to: on this side of the chamber and in my own party in Queensland we have so many people who come from the business world or who speak to the business world on such a regular basis that we understand the issues that are facing businesses in Australia. As importantly, we understand the issues that are facing workers in Australia and we understand what we need to do to make sure that Australia gets through this pandemic. That's why the government's priority since day one has been about saving lives. It's been about protecting livelihoods. It's been about embarking on a strategy of suppressing coronavirus so that our hospitals can cope with any clusters that may erupt. It is all about making sure that Australia is fighting fit for when we get through this, whether it's at the end of this year or into the New Year, having fought and beaten coronavirus.