Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to stand in the Senate this week, after the horrific start to 2020 that so many regional communities experienced as a result of the bushfire season—and we know it's really only the start of the season; this will be going for more months to come—and speak about the resilience of regional Australians. I welcome the opportunity to speak about the recovery effort that our government, alongside state and local governments, has been delivering in the Adelaide Hills; on Kangaroo Island; in Corryong, Tallangatta and Cudgewa, in my home state of Victoria; and down in Gippsland, where I was able to visit with the community in Omeo and meet some bushfire-affected farmers a few weeks ago. There's been an absolute effort in Mallacoota in East Gippsland, a fabulous holiday destination for so many regional Victorians over summer, but also on the South Coast of New South Wales. I also visited, with the member for Cowper, Pat Conaghan, his community—the people of Kempsey and the like—who experienced fires, along with the people of Port Macquarie, prior to Christmas.

This is something that regional communities have been dealing with for a long time. Because we on this side of politics understand these communities, live in these communities, raise our children in regional Australia, to be lectured by the sanctimonious, self-righteous Left—the Labor Party and, I might add, the Greens—on how best to assist small businesses and regional communities in the urgent response phase and the recovery phase, which will go on for many years, really is beyond the pale. Our government have been supporting families, farmers and small-business owners through a $2 billion bushfire recovery fund, which we are rolling out in response to ongoing demands as they arrive. This is a comprehensive program of assistance, not just loans. There are grants available, there are financial counsellors available—I'm going to run through all the assistance our government is providing for small-business owners out in regional communities. We're not responding to people who have turned up to Parliament House this week and are choosing to speak to certain senators about the issues; we're responding on the ground in response to direct advocacy of people in that moment. That's what we were doing in January. That's what our MPs were doing in these bushfire-affected communities prior to Christmas. Our response is very much grounded in the lived experience of small-business owners. Payments have been going out the door straight to those who are in need of financial support right now: our farmers, our fishers, our foresters. There have been very quick disaster recovery payments for them, with urgent assistance required to rebuild, to re-fence, to get that second generator.

We've also got a whole suite of initiatives for small businesses. As at 4 February, we have 3.6 million taxpayers affected by the bushfires. That's around 60,000 businesses who lodge monthly activity statements. We're giving them assistance so that they don't need to do that. When you're struggling with the fact that your community has gone through catastrophic bushfires, sending in your monthly BAS statement is the last thing you need to be worried about. So we've made sure that they can defer lodging those statements until 28 May so they can concentrate on much more pressing issues. All disaster and relief payments made to businesses impacted by bushfires will be free from tax. Eligible businesses—that is, those businesses that have suffered significant asset loss or a significant loss in revenue—are able to access loans of up to half a million dollars. That recognises the small businesses on the South Coast of New South Wales, which haven't had the flood of tourists out of Sydney and Canberra that they usually would enjoy during the summer season, as well as those along the east coast of my home state of Victoria—Mallacoota and the like. Our assistance recognises their loss of revenue.

We're also recognising that some small businesses have been directly affected by the fires themselves. I was able to meet with Kim and Sam, IGA owners who were affected in the small town of Batlow. There is a fabulous cider festival there in a couple of months. I recommend that everyone gets out there and supports that community. But, given that Batlow was cut off for so many days—indeed, for a couple of weeks—because of falling trees and the like, and the risk of ongoing fire, when we were there that IGA was actually unpacking a 10-door freezer worth of stock. They only had one generator to keep the other 10 doors going. They were going through significant loss of stock and significant loss of revenue, and that is a problem.

I know that Australian's significant generosity has been great, but, as always, we in the National and Liberal parties support buying local. I want to correct something that Senator Brown was insinuating about our government's response in terms of giving these loans to small businesses. These loans are interest-free for two years. Next season, the tourists will be back. Australians will be back in small businesses—retailers and tourism operators—out in our regional communities, so they're looking at one year's loss of revenue. These loans are exactly the type of tool that won't increase their loan burden and their repayment burden, but will actually help them with the cash flow problem that they have over the next 12 months. It's an appropriate response. Small businesses can phone 1800413828 right now and receive up-to-date and comprehensive information on a range of support that our government has for them.

Bear in mind that the response to the bushfires from the federal government, as comprehensive as it's been, and ongoing into the recovery-and-rebuild phase, has to be complemented by our partners in this, which are the state governments. So there is also a range of state government initiatives supporting regional tourism areas.

We in the National Party know that family and small businesses are the backbone of our regional communities right across the country. We understand that because they are our butchers, our bakers and our farmers, our fishers and foresters. We are standing by them through this entire phase. I met Sue and Paul from Colac Colac, just out of Corryong. That caravan park is usually full of people right now. Unfortunately, because of the bushfire it's not. Bookings have been cancelled. We know the impact the bushfires are having on our tourism industry, and we've recognised that. That is why we're encouraging people to get out of the city, to come out to our communities and to support our regional tourism operators. The Empty Esky campaign—what a fantastic campaign! I'd encourage so many Australians to take advantage of that.

But we're also standing by small businesses, with real and practical support that will make a difference to them. That's because we on this side of the chamber believe that regional Australia has a very bright future. We know that these small businesses are the backbone of our regions. We know that bushfires are a part of what happens in our communities. We know that that's what happens. Rather than rail that if we shut down every coal-fired power station in this country that somehow there would never be another bushfire, we know that is an absolute crock of rubbish!

Senator Whish-Wilson interjecting—

It's an absolute crock of rubbish! I would like to know what the Greens' and the Labor Party's views are on hazard reduction burning and on how we manage the fuel load in our state and national parks. What are they actually going to do about that? Why, in my home state of Victoria, does the state Premier refuse—refuse!—to ensure the recommendations after the travesty that my state went through on Black Saturday; he doesn't have the guts to stand up against the left-wing green mafia in Melbourne and do the right thing by regional Victorians and manage the loads. He should manage the fuel-reduction burning.

Tony Burke threw the mountain cattlemen out. The mountain cattlemen said that the Labor guys were just pandering to their Greens mates. They're locking everything up and throwing away the key. And look what happens! It burns down—eight years on, absolutely nothing has changed. As we respond as state and federal governments to the catastrophic events of this summer, yes, we're there with real relief, but the rubber will hit the road if we change the way we do business in managing our natural resources.