Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

The Morrison government has proudly stood by all Australians through the last 12 months of globally unprecedented uncertainty. We have faced the most extraordinary of times in terms of the health threat to our nation and in terms of the economic threat to the livelihoods of many Australians and to the businesses of many Australians. What we have done through that time—and, I acknowledge, often with bipartisan support—is to be able to, in working closely with states and territories and authorities around the country, secure the lives and save the lives of many Australians and to protect the livelihoods of many Australians and many Australian businesses. We've done that by acting at all times according to clearly defined principles that we laid out at the outset of the pandemic to make sure that, when economic support was delivered, it was targeted, it was proportionate and it was temporary. We have responded, as the circumstances have improved through the course of the pandemic, to ensure that we deliver support according to those principles. Indeed, when it came to the creation of JobKeeper, we created it. When it came to the extension of it, we extended it. But also, at the point of extension, we heeded messages, including from the Leader of the Opposition, that there needed to be a tapering of it before it was withdrawn. So we applied a tapering of it. And we will respond, in the lead-up to March, according to all of the evidence and analysis that is available at that time, to look carefully and closely at what types of additional support, if any, are necessary across the Australian economy in addition to those that will continue to deliver significant economic support. (Time expired)