Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the contribution from my colleague the member for Cowper and I share his disappointment that this motion is grossly inaccurate. I will actually mention that I have seen the member for Bruce contribute very positively in this place. He is passionate about helping others, including those in nations around the world who find themselves in trouble. However, I do have to point out some inaccuracies and I feel also compelled to passionately defend the record of this Australian federal government during the response to the pandemic and indeed now, during this recovery phase.

Australia is the envy of the world right now, and this is absolutely no accident. It's through the careful and practical approach that has been displayed by our Prime Minister, our Treasurer, our health minister and indeed our whole team. The Treasurer put it very accurately last night when he said:

We are better placed than nearly any other country … to meet the economic challenges that lie ahead.

Indeed, our economy has recovered strongly and is set to return to pre-pandemic levels nine months earlier than expected, and our unemployment rate is set to recover five times as fast as after the 1990s recession. Australia, on both the health front and the economic front, has outperformed all other advanced economies in 2020. Consumer sentiment is at its highest in 11 years, and more Australians are now in work than ever before. We're delivering personal income tax cuts, business tax incentives, new apprenticeships, more jobs, more infrastructure, and record funding for schools, health care, aged care and the NDIS.

I was elected to represent the people of Stirling, so let's have a look for a moment for what that means for my constituents in Stirling. As to the Morrison government's JobKeeper program, I still have people coming up to me and saying, 'Vince, I want to just pass on that JobKeeper helped save my job,' or, 'It helped keep me able to employ others and move through that initial response and into this recovery phase.' In Stirling, there were 5,800 businesses who benefited from JobKeeper. That's translated to 23,800 employees whose jobs were saved. Those businesses are now back to high levels of vibrancy and profitability.

Around 62,100 taxpayers in Stirling will benefit from tax relief this year. There are 1,750 apprentices right now in Stirling, and this is set to take off, with more investment in apprenticeships and trainee places. Twenty-one thousand six hundred businesses in Stirling will be able to write off the full value of any eligible assets, and $1.6 billion is being committed in Western Australia for projects that will ease congestion, connect communities and improve road safety.

HomeBuilder is another resounding success in the way it has been adopted and in the aims it has sought and achieved. In Western Australia, there have been 17,752 applications, and these continue to support jobs in the construction sector and assist owner-occupiers as they build a new home or substantially renovate an existing home.

Now I'll move to the part in this motion which specifically refers to the Morrison government's environmental record, and I am very pleased to provide some important corrections in this regard as well. We have strong targets, an enviable track record and a clear plan for the future. Our approach—technology, not taxes—is already delivering results. Indeed, we beat our 2020 target by 459 million tonnes, and we're on track to meet and beat our 2030 Paris target. Last year was a record for new renewable energy capacity being installed in Australia, with seven gigawatts of new renewable capacity. That is more renewables in one year under the Morrison government than under the whole of the previous Labor government. Unlike Labor, we're not going to try and reduce emissions by shutting down whole industries or taxing and regulating industries off the planet. We have a clear target, we have a proven ability to get there and we will continue on this pathway.

But it's not just government but also businesses and key agencies who play an important role. My former employer Woodside support the Paris agreement and have set their own clear targets to reduce emissions. And, of course, there are agencies who are championing LNG as a marine fuel. I congratulate Tony Brooks and BE&R Consulting for partnership with the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel.

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