Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Victorians wouldn't be locked down today if it weren't for the Morrison government's failures on vaccines and quarantine.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my right! Members will cease interjecting. The member for Rankin will begin his question again.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Treasurer. Victorians wouldn't be locked down if it weren't for the Morrison government's failures on vaccines and quarantine. Why has this Treasurer refused to provide any additional support to small businesses and workers hardest hit by these failures? What kind of Victorian abandons Victorians in their hour of need?

Opposition members: Hear, hear!

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my left!

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Treasurer, this Prime Minister and this government have provided more support to Victoria than any previous government.

Mr Keogh interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Burt will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Burt then left the chamber.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know the member for Rankin's maths isn't too good. He's been doing the numbers for some time and he still can't even get to two. But the reality is that the Morrison government has provided more than $45 billion already to families and businesses across Victoria. The state Treasurer in Victoria has confirmed that the state government has delivered $13 billion. That is less than a third—

Ms Ryan interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lalor will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Lalor then left the chamber.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is less than a third of what we at the federal level have already delivered. The people of Victoria have received on a per capita basis more from the Morrison government over the course of COVID than any other state or territory. We have provided more than $28 billion of JobKeeper payments to the people of Victoria. We have supported—

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What are you doing now?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Shortland will leave under 94(a) yet again.

The member for Shortland then left the chamber.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have provided around $90 million of cash-flow boost payments to the people of Victoria. We have provided around $5 billion in JobSeeker coronavirus supplement payments to the people of Victoria and around $3 billion in direct payments to veterans, carers and pensioners across Victoria.

I remind the honourable member that Victoria is not the only state that has gone into lockdown since the end of JobKeeper. His own state of Queensland, in Brisbane, saw stay-at-home orders in late March/early April. We know that the Perth metropolitan area and the Peel region also saw stay-at-home orders, between 24 April and 27 April. According to the Victorian government, this is a seven-day lockdown. It is a short lockdown, and we anticipated, at the time of the budget, that there would be outbreaks and indeed short lockdowns. That's why we provided an unprecedented amount of support, in this budget and in previous budgets, including $41 billion in direct economic support to support and strengthen our recovery in the state of Victoria as well as across the nation.