Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No.2) Bill 2021. I have been listening to the debate on this bill over the last few days. It has been a great opportunity, with the amendments, to come into this place and talk about all of the hard work and important policies that have been developed by this government to guide Australia through the economic crisis that has resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and is still impacting on communities across the country.

One of the words that we hear thrown around so much regarding this pandemic is 'unprecedented'. Certainly we know that it's been a good century or so since Australia last had to deal with a pandemic illness of this nature, and, when we are dealing with an unprecedented situation, the economic response obviously has to evolve over time. I have quite regularly come into this place and spoken about the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the unprecedented nature of the government's response to it. It has changed over time, quite markedly—from January and February last year, when we were first recording cases on the mainland, to understanding what impact border closures and lockdowns were going to have on our community and on our economy. Of course, coming into this year we had a brief moment of opening up again and a brief moment of hope before being plunged back into lockdowns due to the delta strain, which, again, has been something that we have had to learn about and quickly adapt our policies to. I know that the way the government has responded, particularly on the economic front, has been very well received.

We understand that Australians facing lockdowns are asking questions about their incomes and the weeks ahead and what the pathway back to normal life looks like. I've certainly sensed that within the Australian community, particularly within the Tasmanian community. It's perhaps not well understood by the mainland states that have been dealing with lockdowns, but in Tasmania, where we haven't had lockdowns—at least not since the really early days of the pandemic, back at the start of 2020—our businesses are still hurting incredibly as a result of the lockdowns on the mainland, particularly our tourism businesses. I've had the opportunity to speak to a number of operators in the last little while to understand the struggles that they are facing without having the visitation, particularly from Victoria and New South Wales, that we otherwise would have had. Those businesses are hurting, and that is why the Morrison government has worked with the Gutwein state Liberal government in Tasmania to deliver a $20 million business support package for local businesses in our state. This package will give much-needed relief to Tasmanian businesses struggling with the ongoing impacts of border closures to our biggest visitor markets. The support will target businesses operating in the tourism, hospitality, arts, events, seafood and transport sectors, as well as those that have been impacted directly by reduced interstate visitation. For those businesses, financial support of between $2,000 and $10,000 will be available if they have suffered a 30 per cent decline in their turnover. I'm certainly hearing from some businesses that, as a result of the lockdowns on the mainland, there have been incredibly drastic downturns in the consumer business that they had enjoyed in the last little while.

As a government we know that there is more to be done to support our businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like I said, our approach has had to continually change and pivot and evolve, just as the virus has continued to change and pivot and evolve. We will continue to monitor the situation and we will continue to provide support to the businesses, in particular, that need it. But I think it is important to note and echo the words of the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, and indeed the Prime Minister, Mr Morrison, that we can't stay in lockdown forever. Our businesses can't survive if we stay in lockdown forever, and there will come a point where we come out of lockdowns and see the end of these border restrictions. It is absolutely contingent on our vaccination rollout, and that is, again, something I've spoken about in this chamber many times before. I urge all Australians to go out and get vaccinated once they become eligible. It is that which will stop the lockdowns and the border restrictions. The plan has been agreed to and set by the national cabinet, and I, along with so many Australians, am looking forward to enjoying a little bit more freedom, hopefully by the end of 2021.