Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister please explain to the House how the Morrison government is backing regional Australia's industries, businesses and workers so that our regions become even stronger communities, with more jobs and opportunities—particularly as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fisher for his question, and I thank the many members in this place from rural and regional parts of the country. There are a lot more of them on this side, and I thank all of them, though, for the great work they've been doing through the course of the COVID-19 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the comeback is underway, there's no doubt about that. Confidence is rebuilding in our economy; figures released today show that it is at a seven-year high—a seven-year high! That shows that Australians are getting their confidence back as we emerge from the COVID-19 recession. One hundred and eighteen thousand jobs in rural and regional areas are already back out of a total of 433,000 jobs that have come back so far, and we look forward to that continuing.

But all Australians now know that this government has had their back and stood by them through the course of the COVID-19 recession with the extensive and unprecedented measures that we have put in place to support Australians during their most difficult time. Australians in rural and regional areas have always known that about our government, and they saw it in the $5 billion in support we gave to rural and regional areas of this country on the drought. That doesn't even include the $5 billion drought fund; that is on top of that $5 billion worth of support. As those terrible floods hit North Queensland and devastated those communities and wiped out generations of herds, the North Queensland Livestock Industry Recovery Agency was on the ground quickly, supported by the Australian defence forces. In the Black Summer bushfires, $1.2 billion has already been committed and spent out of a $2 billion fund that was announced early in January this year to ensure that the recovery can continue.

What rural and regional Australia know about our government is that we understand, we appreciate and we value what they value and the way of life they wish to live in rural and regional Australia. Do you know what that means? It means valuing the industries that they depend on for their livelihoods: agriculture, resources, smelting, forestry, tourism and hospitality. All of these industries are vital to their future, and we know the support they need to sustain them, whether it's in the energy sector or more broadly. It means building the infrastructure they need—as the minister for communications reminded the House, 883 base stations for mobiles with 1,229 in total to be delivered—and providing the $2 billion road safety fund has that come through this year's budget.

Rural and regional Australia know that this government has their back. The Labor Party have turned their back on rural and regional Australia.