House debates

Monday, 2 March 2020

Questions without Notice

Coronavirus

2:02 pm

Photo of Katie AllenKatie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is for the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister inform the House why the Morrison government is well prepared to respond to the coronavirus outbreak and its impacts, and what next steps will be taken to further protect Australians from the effects of the coronavirus?

2:03 pm

Photo of Scott MorrisonScott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the member for Higgins for her question and for her engagement as the government seeks to manage this very difficult issue, given her background and experience.

The sad death of the 78-year-old James Kwan from Perth is a very sad reminder that Australia is not immune from the coronavirus, COVID-19. But I can say that Australia is as well prepared as any nation can be and as well advanced. We've got ahead of this issue early, and we intend to stay ahead in the interests of the health and wellbeing of Australians. The declaration on the coronavirus under the Biosecurity Act was made a week before such a declaration was similarly made at a global level by the WHO, on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer. Equally, the pandemic emergency response plan was agreed in January and has been activated, so Australia is now on a footing to effectively deal with this issue as a pandemic. The WHO is yet to actually form a position on that. I want to thank again the Chief Medical Officer and all of the state health officers who have been part of providing that advice to government to ensure that we are getting ahead and staying ahead on this issue, with travel bans, evacuation arrangements for Australians out of some difficult situations, and quarantine facilities established and stood up both in the Northern Territory and on Christmas Island. I want to thank state and territory authorities for their assistance. The border measures are under increasing pressure now as the coronavirus extends into more and more countries around the world, and I want to commend the excellent work that is being done by the Australian Border Force in standing up these arrangements, often at extremely short notice based on the urgent medical advice that we have received.

On the economy, our response will be the same: we are engaging broadly on pulling together a response plan in the not-too-distant future. Earlier today the finance minister, the Treasurer and I, and senior officials, held discussions with the Governor and the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank to talk through the impact of the coronavirus on the economy at a global level and its impact on markets, as well as the impact here in Australia. The impacts of this coronavirus economically, and the assessment of those impacts, are changing on a very frequent basis.

We will be focusing on ensuring that we keep Australians in jobs, we keep businesses in business, and we keep investment flowing during what will be a very challenging time for the Australian economy. This is a health crisis, not a financial crisis, but it is a health crisis with very significant economic implications. It's important that we understand that on the other side of this crisis, when the health issues are addressed, there will be a bounce-back, and our plan will be ensuring that Australian businesses and jobs and the economy bounce back strongly.