Dave Sharma (Wentworth, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer remind the House how the Morrison government's strong and cautious management is helping the Australian economy to continue managing the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic?

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

I thank the member for Wentworth for his question and I acknowledge his strong and effective advocacy on behalf of small- and medium-size businesses right across his electorate. It's a very difficult time for Australians right now. We've got millions of people who are in lockdown in New South Wales, in Victoria and, indeed, in Cairns today as well, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The economy will bounce back as it has done so before. We are there providing significant economic support in partnership with the state governments. We have announced income support for workers who have lost hours of work of between $450 or $750 a week. Around $2 billion has already been paid out to around one million Australians, including 700,000 Australians who reside in New South Wales. Today, legislation passed the parliament to make those COVID disaster payments tax-free. There are now tax-free COVID disaster payments of $450 and $750.

There is also business support. Today, in partnership with the Marshall government, we announced a $40 million package, around $40 million of support for around 20,000 businesses in South Australia. Businesses in the tourism sector, businesses in the hospitality sector, businesses in the recreation sector in South Australia will get economic support. We've also reached an agreement with the Victorian government. We are providing hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses across that state. In New South Wales, we have a fifty-fifty arrangement, where businesses with a turnover of up to $250 million who have lost 30 per cent or more of turnover or seen a decline of 30 per cent or more in turnover will be eligible for payments of up to $100,000 a week. This is significant economic support and this economic support will help Australian small- and medium-size businesses get to the other side.

We know that when we were facing an unemployment rate that could have reached as high as 15 per cent, our economy bounced back. Today in the most recent data it was at 4.9 per cent. We heard from the Reserve Bank just last week in its statement of monetary policy that the recovery has been quicker and stronger, and that Australia's experience is that when restrictions are lifted spending recovers strongly. We've also heard from Standard & Poor's that, in its words, it 'doesn't expect the current lockdowns across Australia to weigh heavily on the nation's AAA rating'. We know our Australian economy is sound and will recover strongly. (Time expired)