Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on how the Morrison-Joyce government is guaranteeing that essential products and services are being delivered across the country as we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic? Is the Deputy Prime Minister aware of any alternative policies?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Mallee for her question. I note her hard work in fighting for the Murray Basin rail project, the South West Loddon Mallee rural supply line and also her dramatic and incredible work with the ag visa. The member for Mallee has not only been fighting for those; there's also the $75 million for the Calder Highway, the $4 million for the Sea Lake-to-Robinvale road, a notorious road in the north of her electorate, and even the new Ouyen to Mildura overtaking lane. From the small to the big, the member for Mallee has been fighting hard for the services that keep the product moving.

The services are absolutely vital. They're vital. We have, in the last week, completed the update of the national freight code. The national freight code is vitally important because it's about the movement of the product, the movement of groceries, the movement of your meat, the movement of your milk—the movement of the product that's required for you to make dinner. One of the greatest ways to keep people safe and secure is to keep them fed. This nation and this government have been working to make sure that we don't disrupt peoples' lives more than the least amount required. We are doing that by making sure that we are not only keeping people fed in Australia; we are moving product to keep them fed around the world. We are moving them to keep them fed around the world by the support for so many aviation packages, so that we have the capacity to move product around the world by airlines, still. We are moving product around the world to help feed our neighbours. What's important for that is that the terms of trade are what ultimately underpins this nation. Every person in this building can look at their lives and see product that's imported, product that comes off a boat. For product to come off a boat someone has to put product on the boat and that's done by the people of the hinterland. Now we are seeing record prices in beef, record prices in sheep, record prices in lamb, record prices in goat—the most consumed meat in the world. We're seeing very good prices for canola and wheat—earning well for our nation so we can support the budget to support our nation.

But, of course, it is not just that; right now one of the greatest services is health services. In the last seven days, per capita, we have rolled out more vaccines—so I believe, Mr Prime Minister—than the US or the UK. That is an incredible outcome and shows the diligence of this government—the diligence of this government to get pharmacies vaccinating people, the diligence of this government to get GPs vaccinating people, the diligence of this government to have over half our nation with one inoculation. We want people to get their liberties and the freedoms of their lives back. We acknowledge the frustrations they have. We want to make sure that we get back to the lives that we have lived as quickly as possible and this government will do that.