James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

The government does not support this one-size-fits-all bill amending the Fair Work Act. As proposed, it won't be effective, it won't be scalable and it won't be quick, and so the government will be opposing the Greens' bill, the Fair Work Amendment (COVID-19) Bill 2020.

I would like to start off my contribution to this debate by talking a bit about how businesses and how Queenslanders have been working and coping with COVID-19 over these past few months. One of the things that I've found as I've travelled around Queensland—and I've been everywhere from out to Eromanga in the south-west corner, up to Windorah, and up to the Far North quite a few times—driving around my home state, is that when I speak to and listen to Queenslanders, they are very much relieved that Scott Morrison is the Prime Minister and that the national cabinet, under his leadership, has worked together and has worked to save lives and protect livelihoods. In particular, businesses, and those who work in the businesses, are so appreciative of what the government has done through the JobKeeper program. The positive impact that JobKeeper has had on protecting businesses and saving livelihoods in Queensland should not be underestimated. It is making sure that, when we get through coronavirus and when there is a vaccine and when Australia is safe, there will be businesses standing up and there will be millions of people working in those businesses. I don't know who can take credit for the JobKeeper program. I don't know whether Mr Morrison or Mr Frydenberg can take credit for it or whether it was a collective effort of the Expenditure Review Committee of cabinet, but I'm grateful for what it has done to protect the economy of Australia and I know many businesses and employees in Queensland are grateful for it.

Of course, we mustn't forget that the money that is being used to fund these programs is money that is being spent on behalf of the taxpayers of Australia. It is money that has been earned by those working, whether as pay-as-you-go taxpayers or those working in businesses. Their blood, sweat and tears goes towards these taxes, and any government, whether at a territory, state or Commonwealth level, needs to make sure that the money we expend on behalf of the taxpayers of Australia is spent appropriately and soberly. We should not forget that the money that is being spent at the moment to save the Australian economy is not money that is sitting in a vault of the Reserve Bank. It's not sitting hidden in the Treasurer's office. It is money that we are borrowing. It is money that we are borrowing to ensure that we have a today, but it is money that will have to be repaid by the taxpayers of tomorrow, of next year and of decades time. That's why, to someone who sits on the Right of politics, it is sometimes concerning when you really listen to what the Left say. They're very, very good at spending other people's money. They're very, very good at wanting to spend money—