The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. Scott Ryan) took the chair at 10:00, read prayers and made an acknowledgement of country.
DOCUMENTS
Tabling
The Clerk: I table documents pursuant to statute as listed on the Dynamic Red.
Full details of the documents are recorded in the Journals of the Senate.
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Coronavirus
The PRESIDENT (10:01): I will take this opportunity to make a statement. Thank you, and welcome back for maybe the last occasion for awhile and in quite extraordinary circumstances. I'd like to take this opportunity to inform senators of a number of matters relevant to this and coming weeks. At the outset I thank senators and particularly party leaders and whips, officials of the Senate led by the Clerk, and the staff of the Department of Parliamentary Services for their efforts in ensuring that this sitting can go ahead in a safe manner, consistent with the rules, guidelines and recommendations of health officials in what has been a rapidly evolving environment since we last met.
I will not restate the provisions of the statement of the Speaker and myself last Monday. But in terms of basic operations, senators will notice changes in the building to catering and other services, including some closures. These decisions have been taken by the Speaker and I to minimise the risk of transmission. With respect to the galleries, the public, press and President's galleries have been closed, apart from a limited number of photographers determined by the press gallery itself. Provision has been made for members of the parliamentary press gallery to use the glassed-in galleries on the second floor. The Speaker and I have jointly determined these arrangements to apply to both chambers for this sitting.
Regarding the operations of the Senate chamber itself, as senators will know, we are operating with a somewhat reduced Senate today, the product of extensive arrangements between the parties, because two of our colleagues, Senators McDonald and Bragg, have tested positive to coronavirus and several other senators are self-isolating after close contact with Senator Bragg at a committee hearing on 9 March. I also note that several committee staff from the Department of the Senate have been required to self-isolate and take other steps after managing hearings by affected senators. I know that all senators wish all affected senators and senators' staff the very best at this time.
Minor procedural adjustments will apply to sittings this week to enable observance of social distancing and other health advice. I seek the consent of the Senate to the following. It is intended that senators be able to speak from a seat other than their own. Where this occurs, I know there may be some delay before the relevant microphone is turned on by Broadcasting. If required, senators may be counted in a division if they are standing behind the bank of seats on the relevant side of the chamber, but they must remain still. If the Senate is required to resolve into a Committee of the Whole, that committee will be chaired from the President's chair rather than the chair at the Clerk's table. Finally, the doors to the chamber will remain open throughout proceedings. Divisions will be counted with the doors unlocked, with the usual rule that senators may not move from the seat or from where they are standing once the tellers have been appointed. With the concurrence of the Senate, it is so ordered.
Finally, the operations and procedures of the Senate and its committees will be radically different to usual practice over the coming months. I thank senators and the Department of the Senate for their understanding and cooperation. If any senator wishes to raise further related matters, they are of course very welcome to do so with the Clerk and myself. I thank senators.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:04): by leave—We come together in this place as our nation faces one of the greatest challenges in its history. The COVID-19 coronavirus crisis is evolving so quickly, on so many fronts, that the people of our great nation are quite shell-shocked. Not only are they fearful for their own, their family's and their friends' health but they are uncertain about their very existence in life as they have long known it. And, of course, as active participants in our communities, as family members and as individual Australians with family and friends who are particularly vulnerable to the health threat of coronavirus, we also are not immune from those feelings. Our nation has faced many challenges and, history tells us, Australians have a unique grit, determination, strength and resilience, which allows us to rise to great challenges.
Mr President, I know that I speak for all of us when I say that we can assure the Australian people that we come here today with a steely resolve to do everything humanly possible to help lead this country through this challenging period. Our health mission is very clear. It is to slow down the spread of the virus, to save lives. We will not be able to stop the spread of the virus, but to slow it down will ensure that our health system has the best possible chance to appropriately prioritise treatment and support for our most vulnerable fellow Australians, while providing world-class health treatment to all affected. Our economic mission is to provide support to the economy and to business, to save jobs and to provide appropriate levels of support to those Australians who lose their job through no fault of their own or lose income as a result of the economic impact of the coronavirus. This enemy, in the form of a fast-moving and highly contagious virus, will be defeated but we need all Australians enlisted in the battle.
This is, first and foremost, a health crisis, and the government is dealing with the health battle as its highest priority. But it is, of course, a health crisis with very, very serious economic consequences. I can inform the Senate that as of this morning 1,316 Australians have tested positive to COVID-19. Those people are spread right across our nation in all of our states and territories. So far, seven Australians have died from this virus. Sadly, it will spread to a large proportion of our population in coming weeks and months, and the number of deaths will grow. It is so important that all Australians heed the advice of our country's top medical officials and strictly follow the laws, regulations, protocols and advice the federal government and state and territory governments have put in place to slow the spread of this virus. I say it again—we can't say it often enough—that by slowing the spread of this virus we will save lives.
It is up to all of us to play our part. By doing the right thing you might be able to save a life. It could be the life of a total stranger or it could be the life of someone close to you, a grandparent or elderly neighbour. If you fall into the category of someone who has to go into self-isolation, then follow those rules to the letter. All Australians must follow the rules regarding social distancing, non-essential travel and hygiene. Regretfully, we have had to move to more widespread restrictions on social gatherings, restricting the operation of facilities like restaurants, cafes, pubs, clubs, gyms, cinemas and a range of other places where Australians gather. Those latest restrictions announced after a national cabinet meeting late yesterday add to measures that were already in place and will change the way we live for some time to come. Unfortunately, there will likely be more restrictions to come.
By working together we can pull through to the other side of this. This challenge has also hit hard at the foundations of our economy. That is why this government has put in place an unprecedented package to support the businesses and workers of our nation. Yesterday we announced the second part of that package, bringing total support to the economy to $189 billion or almost 10 per cent of GDP.
Mr President, may I say that we are very grateful for the support from the opposition and other parties represented in the parliament for the package that we're putting forward, because Australians really are relying on us working as a united team to defeat the challenge in front of us. We're here today to deliver the support to the nation that will build a bridge to the other side of this crisis, which will allow us to come out stronger and ready for the recovery that will follow. The further economic response to coronavirus announced yesterday delivers $66 billion in support to the Australian economy. I'm not going to hold up the Senate by going through the details of it; it has been widely circulated.
The latest economic measures we're putting in place to help our country through this unprecedented crisis will not be the last. We will have to make further decisions in the weeks and months to come. We want to keep as many businesses in business, and as many workers in jobs, as possible. For those who we can't save or whose job we can't save, we want to ensure that the appropriate levels of support and a safety net are in place. We stand ready to add to those measures as necessary as this crisis unfolds. We want to ensure Australia can bounce back strongly when this crisis has passed. That is why we return to this place today. It is so that the government's economic stimulus measures pass the parliament and reach those affected as soon as possible.
Our government is committed to ensuring that, through this coronavirus crisis, we not only protect Australians' health and save lives but secure their jobs and livelihoods for the period beyond this crisis. This crisis will get worse before it gets better. But it will get better. Together, we will come through this.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (10:11): by leave—Before I begin, I'd like to acknowledge to the chamber that Senator Wong has issued a public statement that, this morning, she woke feeling unwell and, consistent with advice to all Australians and recognising that her parliamentary colleagues will soon return home to their own communities, she has—as a responsible precaution—sought to self-isolate, pending medical advice, and will not be attending the Senate today.
You only have to watch the news for a handful of minutes to hear one word to describe the times we're currently living in: unprecedented. You only have to look at this chamber to know that this is not a normal parliamentary sitting. People across Australia are adapting to new routines, new ways of life and new rules. We thank the Australians who have chosen to stay home, who have avoided shaking hands or hugging, or who have had to cancel weddings, birthdays or even miss out on spending time with grandparents and other loved ones. We acknowledge this is not normal. And because it isn't normal, it's understandable that Australians are feeling anxious right now. At times, I have—and I'm sure we all have—felt concern, worry or even fear for our communities and for our families.
Parents are waking up this morning concerned about whether they should be sending their children to school—whether it is safe to do so. We understand this fear. Australians are concerned for their health and the health of their families, especially their mothers and fathers, their grandparents, their children, and those who are particularly vulnerable. People who are self-isolating right now are concerned about whether essentials like food will be able to be delivered to their home. Organisations like Foodbank are concerned about running out of staples. Australians across the country are worried about their jobs and what it means for their way of life. This is exactly why we, as the parliament, are here today, even in this slightly different-looking fashion. We acknowledge the government's stimulus package, its support package. In many ways, we need to move beyond the idea of 'stimulus'. We are moving into basic support for one another.
Labor will support the government's package because Australians need help, and they need it right now. The government does talk about building a bridge to the other side of this crisis, but the construction of that bridge should not wait, and it definitely shouldn't be delayed by politics or grandstanding. All along, Labor has been supportive of the government's measures that have been announced during this crisis—decisions made on best available medical advice. We have worked in the spirit of bipartisanship because we're only going to get through this crisis as Australians by working together. However, bipartisanship does not mean the government has been given a blank cheque. We have raised concerns with the government. Many of those discussions have happened between shadow ministers and ministers. Many have happened in good faith, and we acknowledge that. Shadow ministers have called or written to their counterparts. The government has heard them out and has acted, knowing that we all have the same purpose: to keep Australians safe, protect their health, safeguard the economy and save our society from coronavirus. I thank the government for picking up the phone and for listening when they've done so. In fact, I encourage all Australians to do the same—that is, to reach out to your colleagues, to your families, to your neighbours. Self-isolation does not need to mean social isolation. Send a Facebook message or a text to your mate who you think might have lost their job. The people in our lives need support now more than ever, just like the Australians need the support of their government and the parliament. This is exactly why we are here today.
Labor will raise our concerns about this stimulus package, this economic support package. It isn't perfect, and we acknowledge it may not ever be. It may not be as Labor would have implemented it had we been in government. We will look at additional methods of accountability and scrutiny to ensure this stimulus is getting into people's pockets as quickly as possible. When it comes to both our health response and our economic response, we need to be asking ourselves as a parliament: if we know we are going to need to do something in a week or two weeks time, wouldn't it be better to do it as soon as possible? Wouldn't it be better to take action as soon as possible to save lives and livelihoods? We will do what all of us have been elected to do to protect Australians and our Australian way of life: we will be constructive as we work through this evolving and complex crisis. Australia now, more than ever, needs leadership and clear messaging. We need to support Australian families and we need to support one another, because we're only going to get through this health and economic crisis together.
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (10:16): by leave—To state the obvious, we are all in this together. Whether it be those of us in this chamber, those of us in this parliament or those of us right around the country or, for that matter, the world, we are all in this together and we need to remember that that is the case. The Greens will approach this debate constructively, whether it be in this chamber or in the broader community, but we will speak up for those who have been left behind or will be left behind if the government's response is not changed and improved. The government's response is not big enough, it's not fast enough and it's not fair enough. Of course we need to focus, as a priority, on things in our health system that can save lives, ICU beds and ventilators being the classic example. But, more broadly in our response to coronavirus, we need to not be scared to make difficult decisions and to make them early. We need to go hard and we need to go early. It is far better for us to make the tough calls and then later on say, 'Well, perhaps we didn't need to go that far,' than it is to be afraid to make the tough calls and end up counting the cost in human lives. Support for business needs to be linked to job and wages guarantees. We should be looking at taking an equity stake if we're bailing out big corporations. We need to make sure that no-one is left behind—no students, no carers, no people with disability and no creative economy workers, none of whom are receiving the supports that they need in the government's current proposal.
When this crisis is over here in Australia and around the world, the world is never going to be the same again. There will be no return to normal, as the Prime Minister claimed yesterday. We need to use this crisis to make permanent changes to the way we do business, to make sure that governments take a more active, hands-on role supporting people in our community, increasing taxes on those who can best afford it, so that we can fund proper public services in this country: our health services, our education services, our public transport services and the supports that we provide to people who really need it.
We in the Greens hope that this crisis becomes an opportunity—an opportunity for us all to understand that governments should be playing a far more significant role in our economy and that governments should be playing a far more significant role in looking after people who desperately need it. Colleagues, those are the challenges, and the opportunities, before us here today, and the Greens are ready to work constructively with you all to respond to them. Finally, can I say: please, stay safe, do all the sensible things, look after yourselves, look after your families, look after your communities, and we look forward to working with you to respond to this crisis.
Senator McKENZIE (Victoria—Leader of the Nationals in the Senate) (10:20): by leave—The Nationals associate ourselves with and support the comments of the Leader of the Government in this place, Senator Mathias Cormann. We won't be seeking to politicise what is absolutely a crisis for our nation, and indeed the globe. For regional Australians, we stand ready to do our bit in responding to the crisis. Keeping food supply chains open at this point in time is incredibly important. Australians will have access to clean, green, fabulous food produced by our farmers right across this nation. Our government stands willing to make sure that those supply chains remain open and that our farmers can produce that food—so, there is no need to panic-buy—to make sure that the very vulnerable in our community can have access to the food they need to keep their families fed in a nutritious way.
We are going to find new ways to exhibit the Australian spirit. Our resilience as a people, our compassion as a people are things that we Australians somehow find very deep within ourselves, in our communities and as individuals, when we're faced with global crises. We're very good at it. Our regional communities have exhibited it through the drought and through the bushfires over summer. I know that we'll do the same through this crisis.
I thank the government for their response in this ever-evolving, ever-changing current space. I think we have to use the best evidence available to us and trust our chief medical officers in what is an ever-evolving incidence. I applaud the Prime Minister's decision to hold a national cabinet where we, as one—Labor, Liberal and Nationals—are sitting around the same table focusing on how we can best support our communities and our nation through this unprecedented time.
From The Nationals' perspective, we look forward to our community supplying fabulous food, but don't rush out and buy it all at once—it'll still be there tomorrow. The trucks are on the road at this time. I know that our government, along with the opposition and the state premiers, will be working towards making sure we're as healthy and safe as possible. I ask us all to stand together to ensure that we get through this as best as we can as a nation.
Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (10:23): by leave—We applaud Senator Cormann's opening comments, and also Senator Keneally's opening comments. This is, as Senator Cormann said, a huge threat to our nation, to people's health, to our security, and to our economics. COVID-19, as Senator Cormann said, is moving so quickly and on so many fronts. Yet, Senator Cormann, when we went shopping yesterday to get some food in Canberra, I saw business as usual. People are not aware of what is happening—not aware of the threats of this. We need to work on that. One Nation will work with the government to serve the people. What we want to do is not just slow down the virus but shut it down, in order to save lives and minimise the economic impact. Saving jobs will require restoring the productive capacity of our country. As many people around the world have said, this is now a war, and we're on a war footing. That's why it's so important to have our productive capacity restored.
Italy has an excuse for the mess in which it finds itself—open borders and ignorance in dealing with a very new threat. South Korea made the same mistake initially but has rebounded remarkably, through rigorous testing, isolating key people and then getting back to normal. It's reported that it has had minimal disruptions. As Senator Cormann said, we need to heed the advice of the top medical people. I ask everyone in this chamber to look at the data and the facts around the world. We now have the data and facts that Italy and Korea initially didn't have. South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and even mainland China are showing how to deal with this.
The third point I'd like to make is that history shows that some entities during such crises and challenging times take advantage of others. We in One Nation will make sure we protect our taxpayers and protect people's health. We will join with the government in doing that. We need though to remember to look to the future and to restore the productive capacity of our country after 20 years of neglect. We need to restore freedoms as soon as possible because economics depends on interaction of people. Once we cut that interaction there's minimal economic trading.
I ask everyone in Australia to cooperate with the government. We elected the government. Whether you voted for it or not, it is the government. We need to go beyond that to ensure the virus is stopped. Everyone in Australia has a role in stopping this virus.
Senator GRIFF (South Australia) (10:26): by leave—These are unusual times and frightening times. It's a time when we all need to pull together to support each other and very much not play political games. We will all be impacted by COVID-19. Over time we will all know friends, family, business associates and others who very much succumbed to it. Some will have few symptoms, others will struggle through and some will die. Life will very much be put on hold. But with the right support we will all get through this. We're all in it together.
Small business in particular is very much suffering. You can see the worry on proprietors' faces and hear it in their voices. They might not be across the latest numbers—and everything is moving incredibly quickly—but the falling number of customers through their doors, the falling store sales and very much the dwindling balances of their cash reserves show what the true state of play is. Their employees know it too. They can see the strain on the faces of their bosses and managers. They know that they might not have a job for long, but, fortunately, this package the government has put forward is going to be a big help for them and others. They're cutting back and keeping spending to the essentials just in case their worst fears are realised.
Everyone is affected—every business, every industry and every state. Alongside the public health crisis is a crisis of confidence that is very much stalling spending and investment. It's a crisis that threatens to cripple our economy long after the coronavirus has passed and a crisis that needs our attention and resolve at a time when we should be completely focused on the health of those we care about. Centre Alliance very much welcomes the government's economic response. We recognise that it has two objectives: to provide relief to the individuals who will find themselves in difficulty in the coming months and to provide relief to the businesses that will depend on it after the crisis to get back to normal.
There are measures in this package which in normal times we would seek to amend. We have a preference for policy measures to be well targeted, for rules to be in primary legislation rather than in delegated legislation and for legislative instruments to be disallowable. We believe this enables more scrutiny and provides a parliamentary check on government power. But we are not in normal times. This is a crisis and perhaps the most challenging situation for an Australian government since the war, so we recognise that the situation demands a timely response rather than a perfect response. We believe it's better for us to provide constructive suggestions and criticisms in private rather than through amendments and to hold off on formal scrutiny until the crisis has passed. This is very much the responsible thing to do.
BUSINESS
Days and Hours of Meeting
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:29): by leave—I move:
That the Senate meet on Monday 23 March 2020 only, the hours of meeting be 10 am to adjournment, divisions may take place between 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm and the routine of business be as follows:
(a) authorisation for committees to meet
(b) notices of motion;
(c) placing of business;
(d) committee membership;
(e) a motion relating to the extension of reporting dates for committee inquiries;
(f) government business notice of motion no. 1—Approval of the Health Insurance (Extended Medical Safety Net) Amendment Determination 2020;
(g) government business order of the day—Consideration of the Advances to the Finance Minister under the annual Appropriation Acts;
(h) consideration of the following bills:
(i) Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2019-2020
Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2019-2020,
(ii) Farm Household Support Amendment (Relief Measures) Bill (No. 1) 2020,
(iii) Australian Education Amendment (Direct Measure of Income) Bill 2020,
(iv) Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020
Boosting Cash Flow for Employers (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020
Assistance for Severely Affected Regions (Special Appropriation) (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020
Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill (No. 1) 2019-20
Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill (No. 2) 2019-20
Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020
Australian Business Growth Fund (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020
Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, and
(v) Supply Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021
Supply Bill (No. 2) 2020-2021
Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021
(i) at 2 pm, Question Time;
(j) further consideration of the items listed in paragraphs (e) to (h);
(k) a motion relating to the next meeting of the Senate and leave of absence for all senators, and
(l) adjournment without debate.
Question agreed to.
NOTICES
Presentation
Senator Faruqi to move on the next day of sitting:
That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the Fair Work Act 2009, and for related purposes. Short title: Fair Work Amendment (COVID-19) Bill 2020.
BUSINESS
Leave of Absence
Senator DEAN SMITH (Western Australia—Government Whip in the Senate) (10:30): by leave—I move:
That leave of absence be granted to the following senators for today for personal, health and other reasons:
(a) Senator Abetz;
(b) Senator Askew;
(c) Senator Bragg;
(d) Senator Brockman
(e) Senator Canavan;
(f) Senator Chandler;
(g) Senator Fawcett;
(h) Senator Hanson;
(i) Senator Hughes;
(j) Senator Hume;
(k) Senator Lambie;
(l) Senator McDonald;
(m) Senator McMahon;
(n) Senator McLachlan
(o) Senator Paterson;
(p) Senator Patrick;
(q) Senator Payne;
(r) Senator Rennick;
(s) Senator Stoker; and
(t) Senator Van.
Question agreed to.
Leave of Absence
Senator URQUHART (Tasmania—Opposition Whip in the Senate) (10:31): by leave—I move:
That leave of absence be granted to the following senators for today for personal reasons:
(a) Senator Bilyk;
(b) Senator Brown;
(c) Senator Carr;
(d) Senator Dodson;
(e) Senator Farrell;
(f) Senator Gallacher;
(g) Senator McAllister;
(h) Senator McCarthy;
(i) Senator Polley;
(j) Senator Pratt;
(k) Senator Sheldon;
(l) Senator Marielle Smith;
(m) Senator Sterle; and
(n) Senator Wong.
Question agreed to.
Leave of Absence
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (10:31): by leave—I move:
That leave of absence be granted to the following senators for today for personal reasons:
(a) Senator Di Natale;
(b) Senator Rice;
(c) Senator Steele-John;
(d) Senator Waters; and
(e) Senator Whish-Wilson.
Question agreed to.
COMMITTEES
Membership
The PRESIDENT (10:32): I have received letters requesting changes in the membership of various committees.
Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:32): by leave—I move:
That senators be discharged from and appointed to committees as follows:
Effectiveness of the Australian Government's Northern Australian Agenda—Select Committee—
Appointed—Participating members: Senators Canavan and McKenzie
Autism—Select Committee—
Appointed—Participating members: Senators Canavan and McKenzie
Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology—Select Committee—
Appointed—Participating members: Senators Canavan and McKenzie
Foreign Interference through Social Media—Select Committee—
Appointed—Participating members: Senators Canavan and McKenzie
Multi-Jurisdictional Management and Execution of the Murray Darling Basin Plan—Select Committee—
Appointed—Participating members: Senators Canavan and McKenzie
Temporary Migration—Select Committee—
Appointed—Participating members: Senators Canavan and McKenzie.
Question agreed to.
Reporting Date
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:32): by leave—I move:
That, if required, the time for the presentation of reports on matters referred by the Senate to standing committees, select committees and joint committees may be extended by agreement of the committee, duly notified to the President.
Senator CORMANN: I seek leave to make a brief statement.
The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted.
Senator CORMANN: I can advise the chamber and I can provide reassurance to the chamber that the government will not seek to report early on committee referrals without the full consensus of the committee. I thank the Senate.
Question agreed to.
REGULATIONS AND DETERMINATIONS
Health Insurance (Extended Medicare Safety Net) Amendment Determination 2020
Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:34): At the request of Senator Cash, I move:
That, in accordance with subsection 10B(2) of the Health Insurance Act 1973, the Senate approves the Health Insurance (Extended Medicare Safety Net) Amendment Determination 2020, made under subsection 10B(1) of the Act on 24 February 2020.
Question agreed to.
BUDGET
Advance to the Finance Minister
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:34): I move:
That the Senate approves the advances provided under the annual Appropriations Act as a final charge for the year ended 30 June 2019.
That is last financial year ending in June 2019.
Question agreed to.
BILLS
Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2019-2020
Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2019-2020
First Reading
Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:34): I move:
That these bills may proceed without formalities, may be taken together and be now read a first time.
Question agreed to.
Bills read a first time.
Second Reading
Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:35): I move:
That these bills be now read a second time.
I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.
Leave granted.
The speeches read as follows—
Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2019-2020 seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of just over $3.310 billion. These bills ensure that there is sufficient appropriation to cover estimates variations related to existing programs—for instance, changes in costs for demand-driven programs. These bills also pay for the first-year costs for measures announced in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook and subsequently announced new measures. This year these bills feature several bushfire-related initiatives that were announced after MYEFO.
I now outline the more significant amounts provided for in this bill.
Firstly, the bill will provide the Department of Home Affairs with $948.4 million to continue implementing the government's border protection policies and support people impacted by the recent bushfires.
Secondly, the bill will provide the Department of Social Services a further $592.6 million for higher-than-expected participation in the Disability Employment Services program and additional emergency relief and financial counselling for communities affected by the recent bushfire emergency.
Thirdly, the bill will provide the Department of Defence with additional funding of $488.8 million, including $87.9 million for the Australian Defence Force's contribution to the bushfire response through Operation Bushfire Assist. Additional funding is also being provided foreign exchange supplementation due to movement in exchange rates, under 'no win/no loss' funding arrangements.
The bill also provides $287.5 million to Services Australia to support individuals, families and communities achieve greater self-sufficiency.
Further, the bill proposes an additional $170.6 million for the Department of Health, including $53.2 million to support access to medicines and medical treatments, $68.2 million in departmental funding to support the delivery of government programs and $30.2 million towards mental, Indigenous and preventative health activities.
The bill also provides $287.5 million to Services Australia to support individuals, families and communities achieve greater self-sufficiency.
Further, the bill also proposes an additional $170.6 million for the Department of Health including $53.2 million to support access to medicines and medical treatments, $68.2 million in departmental funding to support the delivery of government programs and $30.2 million towards mental, Indigenous and preventative health activities.
The bill provides an additional $66.2 million for the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, including for wildlife and habitat recovery in response to the recent bushfire emergency, busting congestion in the environmental assessment process, responding to African swine fever and strengthening the Australian Antarctic program.
Details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedule to the bill and the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements tabled in the parliament.
I commend this bill to the chamber.
Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2019-2020, along with Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2019-2020, which was introduced earlier, are the additional estimates appropriation bills for this financial year.
This bill seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of approximately $2.171 billion. These bills also ensure there is sufficient appropriation to cover estimates variations related to existing programs.
I now outline the most significant items provided for in this bill.
Importantly, the bill provides $1.567 billion to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications primarily for drawdowns for the Commonwealth's loan to NBN Co Limited of $1.2 billion; equity injections of $176.9 million for the Australian Rail Track Corporation and the Western Sydney Airport and $166.9 million for the Drought Response, Resilience and Preparedness Plan.
The bill also provides $247.9 million to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, including $235.0 million for loans through the Regional Investment Corporation to farmers and small businesses affected by drought conditions.
Details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the Schedule 1 to the bill and the Portfolio Additional Estimate Statements tabled in the parliament.
I commend this bill.
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (10:35): Labor will support Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2019-2020 and Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2019-2020 before us in the Senate today. These bills provide additional funding for the 2019-20 financial year. Appropriation Bill (No. 3) will appropriate an additional $3.3 billion while Appropriation Bill (No. 4) will appropriate an additional $2.2 billion. The bills incorporate additional funding for measures as listed in the 1920 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook released in December last year, as well as measures relating to the government's response to the bushfires that dominated the Australian summer.
The 2019-20 MYEFO was delivered only three months ago, but it may seem to many that it's like a lifetime ago. We've seen the devastating impact of COVID-19 and it has some way to play out yet. There was an initial economic stimulus package of $17.6 billion followed up by yesterday's announcement of $66 billion, a health package of $2.4 billion and $444 million for the aged-care sector. The stimulus packages will be delivered by the states and territories across the country. I'll have more to say about the response to COVID-19 when that package of legislation arrives in this place later this afternoon.
The impact of COVID-19 has certainly been unprecedented and unexpected and comes on the heels of the devastating bushfires experienced across the country over the summer. We've already seen concerning signs, both in the economy and in the budget. There was weakness in the economy prior to the bushfires and COVID-19. Prior to them, we saw economic growth and wages downgraded, almost two million Australians either looking for work or looking for more work, and wages growth stuck at record lows. In fact, real wages growth in the December quarter went backwards. And now we're faced with significant economic shocks—first from the bushfires and now from COVID-19. In terms of the budget, we saw a deteriorating budget position, with surpluses over the forward estimates decreasing by $20 billion in the MYEFO. Revenue decreased by over $30 billion over the forward estimates. Net debt has more than doubled since September 2013, and, with net debt and gross debt both at record highs based on the latest figure—net debt being over $430 billion and gross debt being over $577 billion—the government that promised to get debt under control and end the debt crisis is now facing an even higher debt situation, having to lift the debt ceiling to $850 billion.
I mentioned earlier that these bills appropriate funding for a number of bushfire response measures that the government announced this year. The appropriation bills contain funding for bushfire related measures, such as funding for the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, funding for measures to support the mental health of Australians affected by the bushfires, $60 million to local government areas for bushfire assistance, $100 million for primary industries, funding for additional emergency relief and financial counselling in bushfire affected communities, and funding for Operation Bushfire Assist—the Defence operation which saw the ADF do amazing work assisting bushfire affected communities.
It's quite pertinent that we're debating these bills in the Senate on the same day the government's responses to COVID-19 are also being debated in the parliament. We'll have more to say about that during the debate, but I do hope that those measures are implemented in a much more effective and timely manner than some of the bushfire response measures. We've heard countless stories of business and communities hit by the bushfires not getting the support they're entitled to in a timely manner. We've also heard stories of businesses that, while not in the areas directly affected, have fallen on hard times because of the indirect impacts. There's also the question of when a fund isn't a fund. Announced with great fanfare, in early January, there was supposed to be a $2 billion national bushfire recovery fund, yet we find out later that it's a notional fund. With the budget being delayed until October this year, let's hope that any further measures to help deal with the aftermath of the bushfires aren't also on a delayed time frame.
Labor will support these bills, but they're not a blank cheque for the economic and fiscal management that we saw prior to the onset of COVID-19, nor are they a tick of approval for how they've dealt with some of the challenges through the response measures to date.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:40): I thank Senator Gallagher for her contribution and commend the appropriation bills to the Senate.
Question agreed to.
Bills read a second time.
Third Reading
The PRESIDENT (10:40): There being no amendments, we won't be proceeding to a committee stage unless a senator requests one. I understand that there is no request. I call Senator Cormann.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:40): I move:
That these bills be now read a third time.
Question agreed to.
Bills read a third time.
Farm Household Support Amendment (Relief Measures) Bill (No. 1) 2020
Second Reading
Consideration resumed of the motion:
That this bill be now read a second time.
Senator WATT (Queensland) (10:41): The Farm Household Support Amendment (Relief Measures) Bill (No. 1) 2020 before the house will make two sets of amendments dealing with how income affects farm household allowance recipients. The first set of amendments is to remove the provisions that give rise to business income reconciliation. The second set of amendments is to remove the 28-day time limit for conducting a farm financial assessment.
With regard to the first amendment, the minister's speech explained that that bill removes provisions that currently require FHA recipients to reconcile the prediction of annual income with the actual amount received. Labor understands that for many farmers predicting income can be difficult. Once this legislation passes the parliament an estimate of current income will be used to calculate the rate of payment, and farmers can update the estimates as often as needed during the year; however, if the estimate is incorrect, farmers will not incur a debt at the end of the year through the business income reconciliation process. The government claims that regular sampling of records will be undertaken to ensure the right person received the right payment at the right time. However, the government is seeking to reduce regulatory burden on drought affected farmers.
All members in this place should note that this third-term government could have made this simple change six years ago, but it chose not to act swiftly. This amendment does nothing to assist drought affected farmers who continue to struggle to obtain the FHA payment or, indeed, drought affected farmers who have been kicked off the FHA regardless of whether they continue to face prolonged drought conditions.
The second amendment is another minor amendment which may assist farmers who are seeking to obtain the FHA. The 28-day time period to complete the farm financial assessment should have been removed six years ago. This third-term Liberal-National government should be embarrassed that this is their 14th amendment to the farm household support measure. This is the government—full of rural members—who claim they understand and are working for the benefit of our farmers. However, the fact that this government continue to dribble out minor amendments, to appear like they are acting, is fooling no-one.
Those living with the reality of drought and organisations doing their very best to assist drought affected farmers are disappointed that assistance for farmers has been difficult to obtain. While some farmers have received good rain over the last few weeks and months, there continue to be farmers who are experiencing drought conditions or will need further follow-up rain.
Labor has supported all FHA measures proposed to assist our farmers but is critical of the coalition government's ad hoc approach. Labor has been calling for the Morrison government to undertake a bipartisan approach and develop a national comprehensive drought policy via a drought cabinet. Obviously, the current focus for the nation is the response to the coronavirus, but this cannot be an excuse for our farmers to be forgotten as they work through ongoing challenges. Labor stands ready to work in a constructive and meaningful manner to ensure the long-term sustainable and profitable future of our agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (10:44): I rise to make a contribution on the Farm Household Support Amendment (Relief Measures) Bill (No. 1) 2020. I'm speaking for Senator Rice, who as we know isn't here today and is our agriculture portfolio holder. This bill removes the business income reconciliation process—whereby farm household allowance recipients' income estimates would be checked against their tax returns and full financial statements in order to verify their eligibility for the FHA for them to receive the correct payment amount—and removes the legislated time limit for FHA claimants to complete their farm finance assessment, which is an eligibility requirement for FHA. The current limit is 28 days, with extensions of a further 28 days granted in some circumstances. A time limit will still apply, but it will be determined on an individual basis.
As we meet here in this place, we aren't even 100 days into the new year, but we have already experienced the horrific tragedy of this summer's bushfires and now, of course, the unfolding of the coronavirus pandemic—millions of hectares burnt, millions of animals dead and dozens of people killed. And again we send our condolences to their families. That's what's unfolded this bushfire season. It has been a fire season unlike any we have seen before, with damage across the country. There is a climate emergency playing out in front of our eyes. In any other year, we would have had a chance to mourn, to grieve and to begin to come to terms with the tragedy that unfolded earlier this year. But, tragically, the bushfires had barely passed before we were faced with the new crisis: COVID-19, a global pandemic that has already infected hundreds of thousands of people and claimed many, many lives. The Director-General of the World Health Organization has called it the defining global health crisis of our time. For our farmers, these crises come on top of another challenge: drought. Some farmers have experienced the driest stretches on record in recent years. Drought can devastate crops, livestock and every aspect of a farm's operation. Farmers have struggled to keep their farms afloat in incredibly challenging circumstances. It's good today to see at least some small steps being taken to support farmers, and this bill does two things, as I've just articulated. We support these changes and we hope that they provide some support to farmers, some of whom have fought a drought, a bushfire season and are now facing such a new, massive threat.
Today is about so much more than responding to drought, however. We'd like to quote again from the Director-General of the World Health Organization:
The days, weeks and months ahead will be a test of our resolve, a test of our trust in science, and a test of solidarity.
Crises like this tend to bring out the best and worst in humanity.
How we respond to this crisis defines who we are as a community, and the decisions we take now in the midst of a crisis are a real test of what we value and who we will fight for when it is hardest. We've all seen the concerns in the news about people hoarding things that others are desperate for. If your only response in a crisis is to think about how you can benefit yourself then that's a shame. We've seen the heartwarming stories too of people overcoming their fear to care for their neighbours and those around them. We've made food drops and provided support to the vulnerable, which is truly showing their resilience, courage and compassion in the midst of this crisis. This bill, of course, particularly relates to the issues around the farm household allowance. As people articulated, our farmers will be playing a critical role in supplying food to this nation, and we thank them for that and support them. The Greens support this bill.
Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (10:44): As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, I support the Farm Household Support Amendment (Relief Measures) Bill (No. 1) 2020. The reform to make the farm household allowance a flat rate paid on current income helps to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers, who already work long hours for decreasing rewards. These income audits were a massive distraction, so this is a good move from the government—a welcome move. The extension of time for conducting an assessment helps farmers involve their accountants or bookkeepers in a process that was previously an ordeal.
My concern, in light of current events, is that COVID-19 assistance is targeted at urban and not rural areas. Our farmers have come through the worst drought in 100 years, and the drought may or may not be ending. What we do know is that the rivers are full but the dams are empty. Farmers are watching this bounty of water running down rivers and out to sea. General security water licence holders are still on zero allocation. They have no confidence that irrigation licences will be honoured. If international trade is being disrupted, we need to grow food. We need to allow more water to be taken for irrigation. The environment has had a drink—a bellyful—from recent rains. It's now the farmers' turn. What good is farm assistance if farmers go broke because we took too much water for the environment and not enough for food and fibre?
And I'd like to talk about the productive capacity of our country, especially the rural productive capacity. We have destroyed it in the past 20 years. Farmers have had their ability—their right—to use the land taken from them, stolen from them, to comply with international agreements, starting with the UN's Kyoto protocol. We need that back and all farmers paid compensation for the loss of their rights.
Secondly, while I've just touched on water, we need to have investment in water infrastructure to make sure that farmers have that water, because it's essential for food. And we need energy prices to be lowered. We have the world's biggest exports of natural gas and coal, yet we have amongst the highest prices of electricity in this country. We have farmers who are not able to irrigate because they can't afford the electricity to pump water—in a country that's blessed with energy. What is going on? We have to restore the productive capacity of our country, which means getting back to sensible energy policies so that we once again have the lowest prices in the world and the best policies. We now have the worst. Restoring the productive capacity will also involve other sectors, including education. But it starts with land use—the right to use the land that farmers have bought—and then there's the right to access water at sensible prices, free of corruption, and the right to electricity at reasonable prices.
I also want to talk about one other aspect, and that is that we have fallen for the globalist trap of interdependence. But that is really dependence, because when we're interdependent with someone else, around the globe, and they shut down, we're suddenly dependent on them. Australia has abundant minerals, abundant energy and abundant agricultural resources. We're not using these resources. Australia has enormous potential with its people, with its resources and with its opportunities, and we need to rekindle these and get back to putting Australia first—no more interdependence, because that is simply dependence. We need to become independent, as we were. When we were independent, we thrived. When we restore our independence we will restore our economic resilience and we'll also restore our productive capacity. So we compliment the government on this initiative, but we need to go much, much further to restore the productive capacity and economic resilience of our country.
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (10:53): I thank everyone for their contribution on the Farm Household Support Amendment (Relief Measures) Bill (No. 1) 2020 and commend it to the Senate.
Question agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Third Reading
The PRESIDENT (10:53): No amendments to the bill have been circulated so, unless any senator requires that the bill be considered in Committee of the Whole, I will call the minister to move the third reading.
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (10:53): I move:
That this bill be now read a third time.
Question agreed to.
Bill read a third time.
Australian Education Amendment (Direct Measure of Income) Bill 2020
First Reading
Bill received from the House of Representatives.
Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:54): I move:
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
Question agreed to.
Bill read a first time.
Second Reading
Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (10:54): I move:
That this bill be now read a second time.
I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.
Leave granted.
The speech read as follows—
Today I'm introducing the Australian Education Amendment (Direct Measure of Income) Bill 2020. It supports the broader Australian government commitment to provide every child with a quality education, regardless of where they live and what school they attend, by providing funding that is fairly and transparently distributed, and allocated according to need.
The funding of non-government schools in Australia is a shared responsibility between the parents and guardians of the students attending those schools, the Australian government and the state and territory governments.
Through this bill, the Australian government is introducing a more accurate methodology to calculate the capacity of a non-government school community to contribute to the cost of schooling.
This more targeted and accurate direct measure of income will support the Australian government needs based funding model for Australian schools.
Under the government's Quality Schools Package, there will be more Commonwealth government money for disadvantaged students through loading payments, including those from remote and regional areas, those with a disability and Indigenous students.
For the first time, real needs based funding will be provided and will grow from $17.5 billion dollars in 2017 to $32.5 billion dollars in 2029.
Through this bill, the new methodology will use the best available data to estimate the capacity of parents and guardians to contribute to the cost of schooling, which will ensure more funding flows to the schools that need it the most.
The bill proposes changes to the capacity to contribute methodology and schools' transition to the uniform Commonwealth share of the schooling resource standard. The financial impact of these changes is an estimated additional $1.3 billion in Commonwealth recurrent funding over the budget and forward estimates from 2019-20 and 2022-23, and an estimated $3.4 billion increase in recurrent funding over ten years from 2019-20 to 2028-29. This will see the Commonwealth's investment in education increase to a total of over $314 billion dollars from 2018 to 2029.
The bill also includes measures to support financial certainty by allowing schools time to plan as the new arrangements are implemented.
Separate to this bill, but as part of our broader reforms to education funding, the government has also established a $1.2 billion Choice and Affordability Fund that will assist schools during the transition to the new direct measure of income contained in this bill as well as support parental choice and affordability of schools, assist schools in regional and remote areas and in drought affected areas, enhance student wellbeing and support initiatives and lift outcomes in underperforming schools.
The Australian government contributes funding to government and non-government schools through the Australian Education Act 2013.
As the Australian Education Act currently stands, recurrent school funding is calculated by reference to a base amount of funding for every primary and secondary student, along with six loadings that provide extra funding for disadvantaged students and schools. This is commonly referred to as the 'schooling resource standard'. For most non-government schools the base component of the schooling resource standard is discounted by a 'capacity to contribute percentage'.
The current capacity to contribute discount is calculated using an area based measure. Under this methodology, a school community's capacity to contribute is calculated by averaging certain indicators of the socioeconomic status (SES) for each Australian Bureau of Statistic (ABS) Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) in which the students at the school reside—that is, the SES score for a school is based on an averaging of characteristics of all people residing in a certain geographical area (SA1), not just families of students attending the school. This methodology uses data from the ABS 2011 Census of Population and Housing.
The new methodology included in this bill was the result of recommendations made by the National School Resourcing Board in its Review of the socio-economic status score methodology: final report June 2018.
As part of the review, the board consulted widely, it received 34 substantive responses to the issues paper, including a number of detailed proposals which informed the board's consideration and analysis. The board also received 261 submissions which were largely part of a coordinated standard response from individuals or school communities.
Board members undertook 38 face-to-face consultations in all states and territories with non-government education authorities, school leaders and communities, state and territory government agencies, researchers, policy analysts and other interested parties.
The Australian government agreed to all six recommendations made by the board and this bill gives effect to the relevant recommendations to implement the capacity to contribute function.
The review found that recent innovations mean that a better measure is now available to calculate a school community's capacity to contribute, based on a more robust and reliable set of data.
The new direct measure of income is a targeted, more accurate approach, ensuring funding flows to the schools that need it most. The bill gives effect to the changes required to the calculation of financial assistance for non-government schools and rates of transition to the nationally consistent Commonwealth share under the act. Over 2020 to 2022, schools will move to the new direct measure of income when it is most financially beneficial for them to do so. During 2020 and 2021, the capacity to contribute percentage of schools will be based on the best of one of three options including the current SES methodology, the SES methodology using more recent data and the new direct measure of income. This will allow schools time to plan and adjust to the new measure.
As a result of the changes proposed in the bill there is also the need for future amendments to the Australian Education Regulation to give effect to the new direct measure of income. The Australian Education Regulation outlines the financial accountability and other conditions that are required to enable funding to be provided under the Australian Education Act.
I will provide a summary of our proposed changes to the Australian Education Regulation to state and territory governments and the non-government school sector as part of our consultation on the implementation of the new measure. It will also assist with the consideration of this bill.
The amendments to the regulation will cover how the direct measure of income capacity to contribute scores are calculated. The amendments will also include how non-government schools transition to the nationally consistent Australian government share of the Schooling Resource Standard.
The Australian government will continue to consult with schools on the new direct measure of income and how it affects them. We will continue to provide information as soon as possible to help schools plan financially for their future.
In addition, the bill will amend the Australian Education Act to clarify the authority and appropriation to continue to support the making of GST inclusive payments of non-government schools funding. This will preserve the longstanding arrangements for the payment of GST-inclusive amounts.
In summary, the bill will:
amend terminology from 'SES score' to capacity to contribute or 'CTC score';
enable the regulation to prescribe a new method for calculating a non-government school's CTC score by reference to a direct measure of income of a school community;
enable the regulation to alter the way in which the Commonwealth share for a non-government school is calculated, and alter the period over which that transition occurs, in order to manage any adverse financial impacts arising from the change in capacity to contribute score methodology;
broaden the definition of a 'majority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander' school and enable the minister to make a determination that a school is likely to be a majority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school for the year to avoid any unintended application of the capacity to contribute methodology; and
amend the act to provide clear authority and appropriation to continue to make GST-inclusive payments, where necessary.
Government schools will continue to receive record levels of total Australian government funding, with an estimated $127.8 billion dollars of recurrent funding expected to flow to government schools from 2018 to 2029 providing strong growth in funding.
In fact, the government's spending is growing fastest for state schools at around 6.4 percent per student each year from 2018 to 2023, compared to per student growth of five percent for the non-government sector.
As a result of this bill, the school funding model will remain sector blind and Australian government funding for non-government schools will continue to transition to 80 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard. The government will continue to refine the model over time.
The Australian government is delivering needs based funding arrangements that ensure students with the same need in the same sector attract the same level of support so that every Australian child, no matter where they live, can have access to a world-class education.
I commend the bill.
Senator O'NEILL (New South Wales) (10:54): I rise to make a contribution to the short debate today about the Australian Education Amendment (Direct Measure of Income) Bill 2020. The changes proposed in this bill implement the recommendations of the independent National School Resourcing Board to move to a more accurate direct measure of income to calculate a school community's capacity to contribute to the funding of non-government schools. Labor believe that government funding for schools should always be guided first and foremost by need. When we were last in government we committed to hold a review of the SES funding model to find out if it was still the best measure for allocating funding. The move to a direct measure of parents' income should be a more accurate, robust and reliable way to determine parents' capacity to contribute to the cost of their child's education and it should allow funding to be targeted at more-needy non-government schools.
This bill, I'm sad to say, is another example of a missed opportunity for this government to deliver fair, genuine needs based funding to public schools. This legislation shows once again that the Liberal-National government has turned its back on every public school parent and child in Australia, by refusing to properly fund public schools. The government will spend $3.4 billion to deliver targeted needs based funding to private schools but it refuses to provide a single extra dollar for underfunded public schools. Some 2.5 million students go to public schools—two in three of all Australian students. The Prime Minister and his government continue to show that they think that the learning of those students who go to public schools—your sons and daughters, your children—somehow matters less than that of the daughters and sons of other Australians. Public schools educate 82 per cent of the poorest kids in Australia. They teach 84 per cent of Indigenous kids and 74 per cent of kids with disabilities too.
This Liberal-National government show that they actually believe that they should give the greatest resource to those who have the most and the least resource to those who have the least. The Liberal Party seem to think that it's fine to provide public schools with only 20 per cent of the schooling resource standard while it is committed to giving private schools 80 per cent. This government's model of school funding locks in disadvantage and it will stop the funding gap between public and private schools from ever closing. As the Australian Education Union stated in its submission to the Senate inquiry on this bill:
The government's 20% cap on commonwealth funding of public schools will ensure that a tiny minority will reach 100% of SRS by 2023, whereas … the Commonwealth Government's promise to deliver 80% of SRS to private schools by 2023 will mean that the vast majority of private schools in Australia will exceed 100% of SRS …
This is baking in difference and disadvantage in the most appalling way, which is coming to characterise this Liberal-National government.
The government's funding arrangements also include loopholes that allow states to underfund public schools by a further four per cent by artificially counting as part of recurrent expenditure the funding of items such as capital depreciation and school transport costs. For those who are listening or watching: that means that they count what it costs to send your child on a bus to school as part of the funding of your child's education. That is what this government has allowed to happen. The government's funding arrangements, despite their claims, are not needs based. The government have entrenched inequity between school systems, turning their backs on public school students and parents. This bill does nothing to address the underfunding of public schools. Instead, it commits an additional $3.4 billion to deliver targeted funding to private schools.
Australia is facing a long-term decline in our students' reading, mathematics and science skills. In 2018 Australia recorded its worst results in reading, maths and science since international testing began. In maths, 15-year-olds performed more than a year below those in 2000, a year lower in reading than those in 2000 and a year worse in science than those in 2006. By these measures, we are currently preparing a future workforce less equipped than it was 20 years ago.
This decline in school performance has worrying implications for long-term economic growth, with a one per cent change in literacy associated with a 2.5 per cent change in labour productivity. There are also major disparities within classrooms and schools, with the most advanced students in a year typically five to six years ahead of the least advanced students. Children who have not mastered the basics by the age of eight struggle to catch up for the rest of their schooling. But this Liberal-National government have no plan to reverse the shocking drop in student outcomes and they refuse to properly fund public schools.
I want to make a couple of short remarks to the context that we find our schools facing today. Teachers are incredible professionals. Making learning happen for every child in your classroom—every child who comes into your care—is not an easy thing to do. I stand here proudly as a teacher who was educated in this country and has taught in this country, and I speak to and for my colleagues in the teaching profession about the incredible anxiety and the sense of disrespect that they feel currently for their very important profession. Confusion reigns in the area of education because there is a failure of leadership.
In the coming months that lie ahead I want to give every encouragement to all of the teachers who have been doing their very best in the very complex situation in which they are very concerned about their own health and wellbeing and that of their families and students. I want the teachers of Australia to know that the parliament recognises your important contributions. For parents who are on the cusp of taking over the education of their own sons and daughters, I encourage you to continue your contact with the professionalism that's offered by teachers. They will do the very best they can to assist you while you make decisions about where it is best for your child to continue their education.
The government's decision in this bill to include amendments that provide authority to make the GST-inclusive payments to non-government schools that are prevented through scrutiny of this bill cut short the time that's available for the Senate inquiry and fast-tracked the legislation through the parliament. The reality is that, if the changes aren't passed promptly, thousands of schools doing the right thing stand to lose longstanding GST payments. Labor will not allow that to happen. However, attaching this time-sensitive amendment to a bill that proposes major changes to recurrent school funding, with such a limited opportunity for detailed scrutiny of the proposed changes, is an example of this government's failure to govern ethically, with care and with genuine leadership. This has compounded concerns, expressed by a number of submitters, that the government development of the direct-measure-of-income methodology has been rushed and has relied on far too limited a consultation.
A number of submissions suggest that a significant proportion of the related Choice and Affordability Fund will go towards assisting schools to transition as a result of the introduction of the DMI CTC methodology. Labor notes that transition funding should support schools to transition to their accurate funding level, not top up or sustain their existing funding in perpetuity. Labor calls on the government to clarify whether funding under the Choice and Affordability Fund will be allocated across all five priorities identified in the relevant guidelines. A number of schools in regional Australia have raised concerns that this bill unfairly disadvantages families at their particular schools. Their concerns have, thus far, fallen on deaf ears. Labor supports the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a department undertaking further investigation of ways to improve the quality of data and appropriateness of the methodology in these cases.
The bill, as currently drafted, allows the minister discretion to change a school's capacity-to-contribute score and, therefore, the amount of funding they receive, either by his or her own initiative or on application by the school. Where there are genuine issues with a school's capacity-to-contribute score matching the demographics of its community, this is appropriate. However, ministerial discretion should not provide a blank cheque to top up the funding of any school just because they request it—and, given this government's record on personal favours attached to funding, we should watch this very, very carefully.
The shadow minister for education has negotiated an agreement with the government to amend the regulation enabled by this bill to strengthen transparency around the appeal process and ministerial determinations on the CTC scores. The minister has agreed to amend the regulation to require that information on the outcome of appeals and own-initiative ministerial determinations is published on the Department of Education, Skills and Employment website within 30 days of a determination being made. The government will publish details of the school, the change to their CTC score, the year and period of determination, and the grounds for change. We thank the minister for his cooperation on this important improvement.
Notwithstanding concerns regarding the scrutiny and transparency of this bill, Labor accepts that the proposed arrangements will deliver a more robust, direct and accurate measure of a school community's capacity to contribute to the financial operation of the school. This will lead to the delivery of more targeted funding within the non-government school sector. Labor will, therefore, support this bill.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (11:07): I rise to speak to the Australian Education Amendment (Direct Measure of Income) Bill 2020. I want to be clear up-front: the Greens will be opposing this bill. Crises have a way of revealing the priorities of those in power, and what could be more revealing of the Morrison Liberal-National government's priorities than their decision to rush this $3.4 billion handout of public money to private schools through parliament during a limited sitting week? When we are here to debate measures to support people through a public health crisis, what do they want to do? They still want to sneak through this cash bonanza for private schools.
We face an unprecedented international public health crisis that demands absolute focus. Yet the government has found time to enshrine another decade of educational inequality into legislation while they think that no-one is looking. Surely the government has heard about the struggles of public schools to keep their staff and students safe from the coronavirus. Alarm bells are being rung around the country about inadequate facilities, shortages of soaps and cleaning supplies, and lack of support. The schools crying out for help are the public schools that have been systemically underfunded while this callous government is prepared to once again lavish private schools with public funds.
Today, we are witness to another ridiculous instance of the Liberal and Labor parties working together to please the private school lobby at the expense of the students and teachers in our public schools. This bill fails to take into account the actual needs of Australian students, schools and their communities. It will increase Commonwealth recurrent funding for non-government schools from $13.1 billion in 2020 to $19.1 billion in 2029, without a single cent for public education. It's nothing more than another shameful display of the bipartisan commitment to entrenching inequality between private and public schools in Australia. I want to be crystal clear that the Australian Greens support, unequivocally, the universal right of every child to access education, and that means that, with public money, the 2.5 million children in public schools have to come first.
Public schools teach the majority of Australian children, including the majority of those who come from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. More than 90 per cent of their dedicated teachers are forced to dip into their own pockets to supply basic classroom resources because successive governments have opted to give handouts to private schools instead of doing the right thing and funding public schools. It's certainly not public schools building orchestra pits, Olympic swimming pools or boathouses, like some of Australia's wealthiest private schools are. Even as the myth that private schools save public money has been dispelled, we still see them being favoured. Just last week, we saw research released that found that governments would have been in a better financial position had every new enrolment in 2011 gone to public schools. Those handouts, like this bill, should be scrapped. Every single special deal should be thrown on the scrap heap and every single public school should be funded to 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard.
The $3.4 billion contained in this bill is additional to the egregious $1.2 billion choice-and-affordability slush fund for private schools, which formed part of the coalition government's $4.6 billion special deal concocted to hush private schools ahead of the 2019 federal election. With the recent release of the guidelines for the slush fund, we now know for certain that private schools will have enormous freedom to spend the public's money on practically whatever they want, including investing it or stockpiling it to stave off their return to a fair funding rate. This bill locks in private schools' structural disadvantage in school funding all the way to 2029, with enough caveats to allow the government to go even further to cushion the landing for the few private schools that may see their funds reduced.
As the Australian Education Union wrote in their submission to the inquiry into this bill, 'The current situation with regard to the funding of school education is untenable. For decades it has been widely recognised that Australia’s school funding is among the most inequitable in the world.' It went on to say:
Recent years have seen the coalition government continually prioritise the appeasement of the independent and Catholic school lobbies over the maintenance of the provisions of the Australian Education Act 2013.
Last year, an ABC analysis highlighted the gross inequities in Australia's education funding system. It showed 85 per cent of private schools received more public funding than any similar public school, up from 58 per cent in 2009. The same analysis showed that the median funding gap has grown to a shocking $970 per student.
The Australian Council of State School Organisations noted in their submission to the inquiry that much of this bill is a special deal, and we feel it undermines the principle of fairness that we expect. Likewise, in their submission, Save Our Schools called the bill a special deal for private schools and one for which the Commonwealth has provided no justification, saying:
The additional $3.4 billion in funding for the switch to the direct income measure has all the hallmarks of another special deal for private schools ...
With this legislation, the government has once again passed up the opportunity to prevent 99 per cent of public schools from being underfunded by 2023. In addition to overfunding private schools at the expense of public schools, the Liberal government has restricted federal funding for public schools to 20 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard. This is an untenable situation for public school students, staff and families because this leaves them with no avenue for reaching 100 per cent of the SRS. While the bill does go some way to improving the accuracy of the capacity to contribute score through a direct measure of income, its failure to account for the income, the wealth and the assets of private schools in assessing a school's socioeconomic status leaves it fundamentally flawed.
The Australian Education Amendment (Direct Measure of Income) Bill 2020 will leave Australia with decades more of unfairness, because of special-deal politics rather than genuine needs based funding. Instead of focusing on lifting under-funded public schools to the national standard and on the infrastructure and the curriculum reform that can ensure accessible, quality education for all our children, the government is firmly in the business of placating the private schools lobby.
I want it known that the government and Labor did their level best to take out this trash bill, under cover of a crisis. The inquiry into this terrible legislation was rushed from the get-go, but the reporting date of the inquiry was then brought forward twice. I want to acknowledge the submitters to the inquiry, whose expertise and fierce advocacy for public schools wasn't given due consideration by government. Your efforts to deal with the extremely short submission period are extremely appreciated. Both the duration of this inquiry and the ridiculous submission period hampered the committee's ability, and this chamber's ability, to consider this important issue in detail—an unnecessarily restricted public scrutiny of this $3.4 billion handout of public money to private schools. I am proud that my Greens colleagues and I will vote in solidarity with public schools against this special deal for private schools.
Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (11:16): I thank senators who have spoken in relation to the Australian Education Amendment (Direct Measure of Income) Bill 2020. This bill introduces a new, more accurate methodology to calculate a non-government school community's capacity to financially contribute to the costs of schooling. The methodology encompassed in this bill resulted from recommendations made by the National School Resourcing Board in its review of the socioeconomic status score methodology. The final report was published in June 2018. I, as education minister at the time, was pleased to receive, release, and provide in-principle support for the adoption of the recommendations. I'm pleased to see that, with this legislation coming forward, those recommendations are now being adopted. The new methodology uses a more robust and reliable set of data to estimate the capacity of parents and guardians to contribute to the cost of schooling, which will ensure more funding flows to those schools that need it most and that funding for non-government schools is directed and shared in a way that better reflects the capacity of those families to contribute to the education of their children.
The bill also introduces changes to non-government schools' rate of transition to the nationally consistent Commonwealth share of the Schooling Resource Standard for non-government schools. This change will allow schools time to plan and adjust to the new measure. The bill also includes measures to support financial certainty by allowing schools time to plan as new arrangements are implemented.
The Australian government is committed to providing every child with a quality education, regardless of where they live or what school they attend. Contrary to some of the implications in contributions in the debate thus far, I remind the Senate that government schools will continue to receive record levels of total Australian government funding, with an estimated $127.8 billion of recurrent funding expected to flow to government schools from 2018 to 2029, providing very strong rates of growth in funding for those sectors. I can also say that, contrary to suggestions that somehow this legislation is being rushed through under cover of the crisis that we face, this bill was introduced into the House of Representatives way back on 26 February. At no time on 26 February did anybody foresee that we would be facing the circumstances that we face in this chamber at this time. Nonetheless, failure to pass this bill would create circumstances where the current forward methodologies in relation to capacity to contribute would continue for longer. So, in terms of equity, it is important that this bill does pass.
I note the recommendation from the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee that the Senate pass the bill, and their recognition that the measures in this bill will enable Commonwealth school funding to be distributed more accurately. I thank those who contributed to that inquiry.
As a result of the changes proposed in the bill, as have been referenced in debate, there are also amendments to the Australian Education Regulation. The government has provided a summary of the proposed changes to the regulation to state and territory governments and the non-government school sector as part of our consultation on the implementation of the new measure. The amendments to the regulation cover how the direct measure of income capacity-to-contribute scores are calculated and include how non-government schools will transition to the nationally consistent Australian government's share of the schooling resource standard. We acknowledge the constructive engagement with the opposition on maintaining transparency of decision-making under the regulation. I therefore table, for the Senate, two letters from the Minister for Education to his shadow ministerial counterpart in the opposition, where it has been agreed that, at the earliest practical opportunity following the passage of this bill, the government will include a clause in the regulation that requires the publication of minister-determined capacity-to-contribute scores.
The Australian government will continue to consult with schools on the new direct income measure and how it affects them. We'll continue to provide information as soon as possible to help schools plan financially for the future. It's with pleasure that I commend this bill to the Senate.
The PRESIDENT: The question is that the bill be read a second time. Those of that opinion say aye, to the contrary, no. The ayes have it.
Honourable senators: The noes have it.
The PRESIDENT: Before I call a division, I'm going to offer senators an opportunity, if they would like to avoid a division, to have the votes of certain senators recorded in the Journals and Hansard on a particular position. Given the circumstances and the general wish to avoid many people gathering, I'm happy to do that. If not, I'll call a division. Division required? Senator Siewert?
Senator Siewert: You will record the position that the Greens oppose it?
The PRESIDENT: I'm happy to have that recorded in Hansard and the Journals, pursuant to standing orders.
Senator Siewert: Apparently we do need to call a division.
A division having been called and the bells being rung —
Honourable senators interjecting—
The PRESIDENT: We'll stop the division at the moment, with the consent of the chamber. The option is that, under the standing orders, senators in lieu of a division can have the position of themselves—and, in this case, I would allow parties—to be recognised in the Hansard and the Journals of the Senate as adopting a particular position on the bill. It's a facility that allows one senator to have a vote recorded without there being a division if there's not a second voice. It will allow you, Senator Faruqi, on behalf of your party—you've got the deputy leader and the whip here—to record the position of yourself and your Greens Senate colleagues without there being a division recorded. As I understand it, other views have been expressed by parties around the chamber.
Senator Faruqi interjecting—
The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Faruqi. That is appreciated by all senators, particularly myself, the clerks and the tellers. So, if the Journals and Hansard could record Senator Faruqi and the Greens senators opposing the second reading of that bill, the ayes have it.
Question agreed to.
Bill read a second time.
Third Reading
The PRESIDENT (11:23): There have been no amendments circulated, so, there being no request for a committee stage, I call the minister to move the third reading.
Senator BIRMINGHAM (South Australia—Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (11:23): I move:
That this bill be now read a third time.
The PRESIDENT: The question is that the bill be read a third time. Those of that opinion say aye; those against say no. I think the ayes have it.
Honourable senators: The noes have it.
The PRESIDENT: Would you like it recorded on the same basis?
Honourable senators interjecting—
The PRESIDENT: On the same basis, as for the second reading, the position of the Greens is to be recorded in the Journals and the Hansard as opposing the third reading of the bill.
Question agreed to.
Bill read a third time.
Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Income Reporting and Other Measures) Bill 2020
Returned from the House of Representatives
Message received from the House of Representatives agreeing to the amendments made by the Senate to the bill.
COMMITTEES
National Capital and External Territories Committee
Membership
Message received from the House of Representatives notifying the Senate of the appointment of Dr Webster to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories.
BILLS
Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2019
Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 2) Bill 2019
Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Productivity Commission Response Part 2 and Other Measures) Bill 2019
National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment Bill 2019
Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment (Sport Integrity Australia) Bill 2019
Export Control Bill 2019
Export Control (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2019
Export Charges (Imposition—Customs) Amendment Bill 2019
Export Charges (Imposition—Excise) Amendment Bill 2019
Export Charges (Imposition—General) Amendment Bill 2019
Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Income Reporting and Other Measures) Bill 2020
Statute Update (Regulations References) Bill 2020
Student Identifiers Amendment (Higher Education) Bill 2019
Trade Support Loans Amendment (Improving Administration) Bill 2019
Treasury Laws Amendment (Recovering Unpaid Superannuation) Bill 2019
Assent
Messages from the Governor-General reported informing the Senate of assent to the bills.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (11:24): I move:
That the sitting of the Senate be suspended until the ringing of the bells.
Question agreed to.
Sitting suspended from 11:24 to 14:00
MINISTERIAL ARRANGEMENTS
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:00): I advise the Senate that Senator Payne will be absent from question time today, Monday 23 March 2020, for personal reasons. In Senator Payne's absence, Senator Birmingham will represent the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for International Development and the Pacific; Senator Ruston will represent the Minister for Women; and Senator Cash will represent the Attorney-General and the Minister for Industrial Relations.
QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Coronavirus
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (14:00): My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Cormann. In what is an unprecedented health and economic crisis, Australians need leadership, decisive and early action, and clear, consistent advice from government. What steps is the Prime Minister taking to improve the communication of measures related to the COVID-19 outbreak, including the rules on testing, advice to parents on school closures and the difference between essential and non-essential activities?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:01): I thank Senator Keneally for that question. Senator Keneally is right. This is an unprecedented health crisis, and it's an unprecedented health crisis with significant economic implications. Indeed, the effects of it are being felt by Australians all around our country as we speak. The Prime Minister has provided significant national leadership in relation to this. As you would be aware, the Prime Minister convenes, on a regular basis now, the national cabinet, made up of the Prime Minister and all premiers and chief ministers from around Australia, and they have made decisions on how best to respond to all of the relevant aspects in responding to this crisis.
From a health point of view, the mission is very simple: we want to slow the spread of this virus, to save lives. We want to slow the spread of this virus—acknowledging that we cannot stop it—because we want to ensure there is a more consistent and more manageable flow, to the extent that is possible, of patients into our health system, to ensure our most vulnerable Australians can be appropriately prioritised. I think the messages have been very, very clear. But, in the face of some apparent reluctance by a sufficient number of Australians to follow the advice and follow the requests in relation to social distancing and the like, the measures have become increasingly stringent. As you would be aware, premiers and chief ministers have agreed to implement, through state and territory laws, new stage 1 restrictions on social gatherings, to be reviewed on a monthly basis. Australians should expect that these measures will be in place for at least six months. As of 23 March 2020, pubs, registered and licensed clubs, excluding bottle shops— (Time expired)
The PRESIDENT: Senator Keneally, a supplementary question?
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (14:03): Last night the Prime Minister said that schools will be open today, in line with medical advice, and that parents can now keep their children home from school if they choose to do so. State and territory governments have contradicted the Prime Minister, and there are conflicting reports about whether schools are open or closed. Are schools around Australia open or closed?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:04): I completely reject the premise of the question, of there being any conflict between what the Prime Minister is saying and what state and territory premiers and chief ministers are saying. That is just completely and utterly false. The advice that is available to the federal government and, indeed, to all state and territory governments is that schools should remain open. Indeed, the safest place for children to be is at school. That is the safest place for them to be and it's also advisable from a public health point of view, and all the statements of premiers and territory chief ministers have been consistent with that.
Victoria was reaching the end of its term later this week. It has decided to bring that forward by a couple of days. It is yet to make announcements as to what will happen after the holiday period, based on advice. If you look at what all of the premiers have said, they've accepted that there's a consensus that schools should remain open. We have always accepted that ultimately parents will decide what is best for their children— (Time expired)
The PRESIDENT: Senator Keneally, a final supplementary question?
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (14:05): Workers are already being laid off and businesses are already closing, but the government is delaying support for households until late April and providing no guarantee that wage supports will flow directly to employees. Why won't the government provide assistance to those who need it and stimulus for the economy immediately?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:05): We're working as fast as we can. We're here today to pass the necessary legislation in order to provide that boost of income support to those Australians who need it. The passage of the legislation is a necessary prerequisite and we're doing it as fast as we can. Obviously, we are talking about making payments to millions and millions of Australians, potentially, and there are already 800,000 Australians or thereabouts who are receiving the Newstart allowance. We accept the costing for the increased income support measure for those who lose their jobs assumes that about a million Australians may well access that additional payment. There is a level of practical work involved in making sure the systems are able to process and administer these things, but we're working as fast as we can.
Coronavirus
Senator DEAN SMITH (Western Australia—Government Whip in the Senate) (14:06): My question is also to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Cormann. Can the minister inform the Senate how the Morrison government is acting decisively and responsibly to protect Australians from COVID-19?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:06): I thank Senator Dean Smith for that question. As I mentioned earlier, this is first and foremost a health crisis and the government is dealing with the health battle as our highest priority. Our health mission is to slow down the spread of the virus to save lives. We will not be able to stop the spread of the virus, but by slowing it down we will ensure that our health system has the best possible chance to appropriately prioritise treatment and support for our most vulnerable fellow Australians. Already 14,079 individuals, as of 1 pm today, have tested positive to COVID-19 and sadly there have been seven deaths.
That is why we have, through the national cabinet, put in place a series of stage 1 restrictions on social gatherings. The following facilities have been restricted from opening from today: pubs; registered and licenced clubs; hotels, excluding accommodation; gyms and indoor sporting venues; cinemas; entertainment venues; casinos; nightclubs; restaurants and cafes, which are restricted to takeaway and/or home delivery; religious gatherings at places of worship; and funerals in enclosed spaces and other than in very small groups where the one-person-per-four-square-metre rule applies.
These enhanced measures build on prior measures, including there being no non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people outside or more than 100 people inside. All non-essential indoor gatherings of fewer than 100 people must have no more than one person per four square metres. Where possible, keep 1½ metres between yourself and others. Avoid all non-essential travel. Restrictions on entering aged-care homes to protect older Australians have, of course, also been put in place.
Unfortunately, there will likely be more restrictions to come. This is a very difficult period. We're only at the beginning. This will get worse before it gets better, although it will get better. Federal cabinet will continue to act on the medical advice as this crisis unfolds. Everything we do will be aimed at protecting the health and livelihoods of the Australian people.
Senator DEAN SMITH (Western Australia—Government Whip in the Senate) (14:08): Can the minister inform the Senate what the Morrison government is doing to support Australian workers at this difficult time?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:08): Today, sadly, we have seen Australians lining up at Centrelink offices across our nation as this crisis deepens. We have put in place an unprecedented safety net to cushion Australians from this crisis. The government is temporarily expanding eligibility to income support payments and establishing a new, time-limited coronavirus supplement to be paid at a rate of $550 per fortnight. This will be paid to both existing and new recipients of the jobseeker payment, youth allowance, the parenting payment, the farm household allowance and the special benefit. The coronavirus supplement will be paid for the next six months. Eligible income support recipients will receive the full amount of the $550 coronavirus supplement on top of their payment each fortnight. In addition to the $750 stimulus payment announced on 12 March 2020, the government will provide a further $750 payment to social security and veterans' income support recipients and eligible concession card holders. The government will also allow individuals facing financial stress to access up to $10,000 of their super. (Time expired)
The PRESIDENT: Senator Smith, a final supplementary question?
Senator DEAN SMITH (Western Australia—Government Whip in the Senate) (14:10): Minister, how is the government supporting businesses to stay in business and keep as many Australian workers in jobs as possible?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:10): The government is providing up to $100,000 to eligible small and medium-sized businesses and not-for-profits, including charities. The minimum payment is $20,000. These payments will help businesses' and not-for-profits' cash flow so they can keep operating or go into hibernation while still paying their rent, electricity and other bills and retain staff. This measure will benefit around 690,000 businesses, employing around 7.8 million people, and around 30,000 not-for-profits, including charities. The government will establish the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme, which will support small and medium enterprises to get access to working capital to help them get through the impact of the coronavirus. Under the scheme, the government will guarantee 50 per cent of new loans issued by eligible lenders to SMEs. The government's support will enhance lenders' willingness and ability to provide credit to SMEs, with the scheme able to support $40 billion worth of lending to SMEs. The government is temporarily increasing the threshold at which creditors can— (Time expired)
Coronavirus
Senator WATT (Queensland) (14:11): My question is to the Minister for Families and Social Services, Senator Ruston. Today we are witnessing extraordinary scenes right across the country. There is an unprecedented number of Australians queuing outside Centrelink offices to get urgently needed assistance, and the myGov website has melted down due to unplanned demand. When asked on ABC Adelaide this morning whether a man who has lost his job but whose partner earns $70,000 a year would be eligible for assistance, the finance minister said: 'If he has lost his job, he will be eligible for the jobseeker payment and, also, he will get a significantly boosted jobseeker payment; we've effectively doubled it.' Did the finance minister provide the caller with an accurate answer?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:12): Thank you, Senator Watt, for your question. Rightly, you point out that these are unprecedented times and the level of demand that we are seeing on Centrelink—Services Australia—services is absolutely unprecedented. As an example: this morning, in a half-hour period, we experienced 25,000 calls; normally we would expect to receive somewhere around 2,000 calls. One of the things that I'm delighted you have given me the opportunity to say in this place is that people who are already on benefit don't need to contact Centrelink. They don't need to call, they don't need to go in, they don't need to go online. They will automatically receive their payments from Centrelink. For those who do have to interface with Centrelink for the first time, as they're not an existing client, they only need to contact Centrelink by phone or online and provide their details. They will only be required to have evidence of things like their 100-point check. They can do that over the phone, verbally, and will not be required in the first instance to provide that direct information. So it is very important that Australians who do require the services—
The PRESIDENT: Order. Senator Watt, on a point of order?
Senator Watt: On relevance: I know we've got limited time, but I'd like an answer to my question, which is whether the finance minister provided this caller with an accurate answer when he assured him that he would get the jobseeker payment.
The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Watt. Senator Cormann, on the point of order?
Senator Cormann: On the point of order and to assist the Senate: firstly, there was no caller, so you're not quite representing the facts. But what I would say is that I misheard the number that was mentioned to me and I made a mistake. If I can clarify that for you: I'm happy to say that, in relation to what is clearly a very complicated set of arrangements when it comes to welfare payments—and based on having misheard the number—I did not provide an accurate response. But it was not in response to a caller.
The PRESIDENT: Given the circumstances of this parliamentary sitting, I'll grant some discretion, as I always do, to party leaders. On the point of order, Senator Watt, that was the second part of your question. I think the minister can be directly relevant to refer to the first part of your question, which talked about the workload of Centrelink staff and the Centrelink call centre and the queues that you mentioned, and the minister can be directly relevant by also referring to the second part of your question. You have reminded the minister of part of your question, which Senator Cormann has addressed. I'll ask Senator Ruston if she wishes to continue.
Senator RUSTON: Thank you very much. In the legislation that is in the House of Representatives at the moment, which I assume will come to the Senate this afternoon, are a number of eligibility changes that will make it easier for Australians to access support from government if they find themselves without a job, by waiving the waiting period, the liquid assets waiting test and the assets test. We are not waiving the income test, simply because we are making sure that the policies that we are directing into this chamber for the agreement of this place are focused on those Australians who are currently the most vulnerable—those who have no income and whose families have no income. That is what the suite of measures that is going to be brought before this place will be delivering today.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Watt, a supplementary question?
Senator WATT (Queensland) (14:15): It is reported that 88,000 workers in the hospitality industry alone lost their jobs over the past few days. Given the urgency of this situation, with people losing their income and being forced to self-isolate right now, why is there a five-week delay for the coronavirus supplement and why won't people at least be back-paid?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:15): The legislation that is before us today is particularly technical, so you may not have got all the way through the detail. Quite clearly one of the things we are seeking to do today is to change the eligibility criteria as they apply to the jobseeker payment, and the other payments the coronavirus supplement will be applicable to, such that people are able to get broader access. As I said, we are waiving waiting periods, assets tests and the like so that, after the passage of this legislation and its royal assent, those 88,000 people you are referring to will be eligible for immediate payment; there is no longer a one-week waiting period, so they will be eligible for immediate payment. They will also be immediately eligible for the $750 bonus that was announced in the stimulus package a couple of weeks ago. So—
The PRESIDENT: Order. Senator Watt on a point of order.
Senator Watt: Again on relevance: the question was about the delay to the coronavirus supplement, not other forms of payments.
The PRESIDENT: With respect, Senator Watt: the minister was being directly relevant. I cannot instruct the minister how to answer. If the minister is talking about the supplement you referred to—I heard that she did refer to it, and I was listening carefully—I cannot instruct her how to answer the question.
Senator RUSTON: Obviously I'll look to furthering my answer on your next question.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Watt, a further supplementary question?
Senator WATT (Queensland) (14:17): I'll give this one a go: Minister, who is eligible for the coronavirus supplement? Can the minister confirm that students will not be eligible even if they lose their part-time job or have their hours drastically reduced? Who else will miss out on this supplement?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:17): The principal purpose of the coronavirus supplement is to provide assistance to those Australians whose principal reason for being unemployed is that they have lost the job. That means it applies to jobseeker payment and all of the payments that have been rolled into jobseeker payment from Newstart—including sickness benefit, which is one of the most topical ones of recent days. It also applies to youth allowance (other), which is young people who are currently working and may lose their job. It also applies to special benefit, farm household allowance and parenting payment both single and double.
As I said, the purpose of the package that was announced yesterday was clearly twofold: to address those people who have become unemployed and whose principal reason for being on a payment is that they have lost their job; and to make sure we are supporting business to remain in business and remain connected to those employees over the period of this coronavirus crisis so that they are ready to go back to work when it's over.
Coronavirus
Senator MOLAN (New South Wales) (14:18): My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health, Senator Cash. Can the minister please update the Senate on the Morrison government's response to the global challenge presented by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:19): I thank Senator Molan for the question. As of Sunday morning, Australia had experienced over 1,100 cases of the coronavirus and, sadly, seven people had lost their lives. Globally we have now seen over 253,000 cases, and 11,000 lives have been lost. Our priority as a government is to flatten the curve and reduce the number of cases and delay the onset of cases.
We have established the national cabinet which, on receipt of the expert medical advice, is continuing to coordinate a national response across state and federal governments, and across party lines, in order to ensure consistency and responsiveness to this threat and the challenges it presents. We've taken further steps to enforce social distancing measures, we've implemented further travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease, and we have 130 fever clinics up and running around the country.
We are now running one of the world's leading testing programs, with just over 120,000 tests conducted in Australia, one of the highest per capita rates of testing in the world. Encouragingly, of those tests, we are receiving around a 99 per cent negative rate. Less than one per cent of people tested for coronavirus are diagnosed with the disease. We're testing more widely than almost every other country, and the breadth and depth of our response has been unmatched anywhere else in the world, other than Korea and Singapore.
Our early actions have put us well ahead of much of the rest of the world. Our early bans on arrivals from China, the bans on Iran, and the early declaration of the coronavirus pandemic potential have afforded us a valuable advantage in protecting Australians.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Molan, a supplementary question?
Senator MOLAN (New South Wales) (14:21): What decisive and responsible steps is the Morrison government undertaking to ensure Australia has adequate access to the testing it needs to continue to manage the containment of the virus?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:21): As the Minister for Health has stated, we are managing a global supply shortage of different pieces of equipment. One of them is testing kits. We have had an additional 97,000 arrive in the past week. Of all the countries in the world, there are very few that have actually conducted more tests than Australia.
But, to be safe, we're also looking at alternative forms of testing, such as point of care. The first of those new point-of-care tests was approved provisionally by the Therapeutic Goods Administration last week. That will expand the range of testing kits available through general practitioners, fever clinics, emergency departments, and other mechanisms. Ultimately, we have to protect our elderly and we have to support them, and we have scaled up and conducted over 36,000 telehealth consultations.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Molan, a final supplementary question?
Senator MOLAN (New South Wales) (14:22): How should Australians respond to the increasing, scalable and sustainable measures that are being implemented to contain the virus?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:22): As the Prime Minister has said, this is a shared national mission. We need to work together to protect the elderly, protect the vulnerable and protect those with lung conditions. We can do this by making sure we're limiting the number of people who contract the virus and by taking important steps to delay the spread of the disease so our resources are available to treat those most in need.
Whilst social distancing and containment measures may seem extreme, it is crucial to follow them so that we can protect our neighbours, our friends, and our family. All of our advice is that this is likely to be for a six-month period. It is a challenge, but if we commit to following the medical advice, whilst continuing to do the small human things that we can—checking in on our neighbours, helping a friend with their shopping—we can succeed in minimising the impact.
Coronavirus
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (14:23): My question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate, representing the Prime Minister. Minister, does the government believe that no-one should get left behind during the pandemic? If so, what is the government's plan to immediately double the number of intensive care unit beds, ventilators and other necessary medical equipment, and further increase those supplies in line with the advice of medical experts, so that Australians can be confident that no-one will be left to die unnecessarily during the pandemic? Does the government have such a plan? If so, what is it?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:24): I thank Senator McKim for that question. We are absolutely focused on making sure that we protect the health of all Australians and all those who are in Australia. We have released a $2.4 billion health package to ensure our world-class health system is as well prepared as it can be, in the circumstances, and has the resources to fight COVID-19 and protect Australians, but this is a pretty challenging situation. That is why we are being so adamant that people need to comply with the restrictions that have been put in place by the national cabinet. That is why we're so adamant that every single Australian has a civic duty to do the right thing by their fellow Australians and by all here in Australia to help us slow down the spread of the virus. We're not able to stop the spread of this virus, but we have to slow it down so that we can ensure that our health system is in the best possible—least bad—position to deal with the pressures that are undoubtedly coming our way.
In relation to ventilators, Australians should be assured our health system is well placed to respond to this pandemic. We have a sufficient number of ventilators in our hospitals at the moment, and the states also have processes to convert existing equipment into ventilators and purchase new ventilators. We're also working to secure further supply and increase domestic production as the virus peaks. The Australian government is currently working with local manufacturers and medical professionals to understand capacity and support an increase in production of ventilators.
If we need to further boost the $2.4 billion additional allocation that we have already made, we will, of course, do so. This is an evolving situation. We're working with state and territory governments to ensure that we continue to review all of the data, information and advice in front of us to continue to make decisions to put us in the best possible position to respond.
The PRESIDENT: Senator McKim, a supplementary question?
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (14:26): Minister, students at TAFEs and universities who can no longer get casual work, as a result of the pandemic, as well as carers and people on the disability pension, will not be available for the $550-a-fortnight COVID-19 supplement. Will you extend the supplement to them so that they do not live beneath the poverty line and have to deal with the very real threats of rental eviction and having essential services cut off?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:26): Firstly, Australia has a residency based income support system, and meeting the residency requirement is a fundamental component of our safety net. Special benefit is available to specified temporary visa holders. The classes of temporary visa eligible for special benefit are specified in a legislative instrument and currently include temporary partner visas, temporary humanitarian visas and bridging visas for victims of human trafficking.
The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator McKim, on a point of order?
Senator McKim: Yes, relevance. I'm trying to assist the minister here: the question was not about visas and visa classes; it was actually about students at TAFE and university, carers and people on the disability pension.
The PRESIDENT: I take your point not as a point of order but as a reminder of the question to the minister.
Senator CORMANN: I confirm that the income support payment categories eligible to receive the coronavirus supplement are: jobseeker payment recipients, which includes all those on payments progressively transitioning to jobseeker payment; those currently receiving partner allowance, widow allowance, sickness allowance, wife pension, youth allowance, parenting payment—partnered and single—farm household allowance and special benefit, which is what I was talking about earlier.
The PRESIDENT: Senator McKim, a final supplementary question?
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (14:28): Minister, the government announced $715 million of support for airlines and, in the next breath, Qantas sacked 20,000 workers. What measures will the government take to ensure businesses that receive financial support will be obliged not to sack workers and not engage in share buybacks to artificially inflate the share price? Will the government take an equity stake in corporations that have assistance where appropriate?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:28): It's not our intention to take an equity stake. In relation to Qantas, it's a business which employed 30,000 Australians as we went into this crisis. You're quite right: they have had to make the difficult decision to stand down 20,000 employees in a context where, essentially, their international business and most of their domestic business has collapsed. We want Qantas to be a strong and viable airline, employing 30,000 Australians, on the other side of this crisis. If we forced Qantas to keep 20,000 additional people employed who did not have any work to do, that would cost a lot of money. At the end of it, we would not be certain that Qantas would still be a viable business that would be able to employ 30,000 Australians. We did provide fee relief to a number of airlines in this industry as part of helping to ensure that those businesses could stay in business. (Time expired)
Coronavirus
Senator KITCHING (Victoria) (14:29): My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck. Can the minister confirm how many COVID-19 tests have been conducted for (1) residential aged care residents and (2) for aged and home-care workers? Of these tests, how many have returned positive results?
Senator COLBECK (Tasmania—Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians and Minister for Youth and Sport) (14:30): I can't give you a specific number of how many aged-care workers have been tested or, for that matter, how many residents have been tested, but what I can say to you is that those who have needed a test have received a test. In the context of the number of residents who have tested positive in aged-care facilities across Australia, I can say that, as of today, there are 10 aged-care residents who have tested positive, and there are seven staff members who have tested positive in aged-care facilities across Australia. There are four aged-care facilities in New South Wales where there has been a positive test of either a staff member or a resident. There is one in Western Australia and there is one in South Australia.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Kitching, a supplementary question?
Senator KITCHING (Victoria) (14:31): I refer to concerns raised with the minister that residential aged-care and home-care workers do not have sufficient access to equipment to protect themselves and those for whom they care against the COVID-19 infection. Can the minister guarantee that all residential aged- and home-care workers will receive the required protection?
Senator COLBECK (Tasmania—Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians and Minister for Youth and Sport) (14:31): I thank Senator Kitching for the question. One of the things that this government has done and has been very proactive in doing is ensuring that we have access to appropriate quantities of PPE. We know that there is a global shortage of PPE, not least because Wuhan, where COVID-19 started, was one of the global centres for the production of PPE. But we've been very aggressive in looking to have PPE available. In every circumstance where there has been a requirement for additional PPE in an aged-care facility, that has been provided through the national stockpile. In particular, we are managing PPE for those who are providing home care, where some concerns have been raised publicly, but we are triaging— (Time expired)
The PRESIDENT: Senator Kitching, a final supplementary question?
Senator KITCHING (Victoria) (14:32): What is being done to manage potential workforce shortages and ensure that there will be no interruptions to these critical services and that all older Australians will be properly cared for? Additionally, to address any shortages, is the government taking steps to retrain people who have lost their jobs in other industries?
Senator COLBECK (Tasmania—Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians and Minister for Youth and Sport) (14:33): This is a very, very important question because ensuring that we have the workforce required to provide care in aged-care facilities around this country is important. We've taken a number of measures. We announced just last week that we're providing a retention supplement for aged-care workers across the sector of $800 after tax per quarter for two quarters for residential-care workers and up to $600 after tax per quarter for full-time home-care workers. Part-time workers will receive a pro rata amount of that. We've also extended capacity for those on student visas to work additional hours and, cooperatively with the states, we've put a significant amount of money into a surge workforce. (Time expired)
Coronavirus
Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (14:34): My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health. Has the minister gathered data to compare the two different virus-management approaches, those being mitigation, used in Italy, France, the USA and elsewhere, or suppression, practised successfully in Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore? In asking this question, I note that South Korea first let things get out of hand, like Italy, and then, through rigorous testing, specific isolation and treatment, the South Koreans quickly brought it under control, at minimal cost and with minimal disruption to their economy. Has the minister gathered data to compare the two different virus-management approaches—those being mitigation, which has failed, and suppression, which is proving to be so effective and successful?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:35): I thank Senator Roberts for his question. In relation to the gathering of data itself, I will take that on notice. But, in terms of the Australian government's approach, I will reconfirm what the Minister for Finance, the Leader of the Government in the Senate, has stated. This is an unprecedented challenge and it has required an unprecedented response. In terms of the Australian government's response, you'd be aware: Australia is well placed, with a world-class health system. We also have a health system and health emergency responses that are flexible, scalable and able to respond effectively to the evolving situation. Australia has been responding to rapid changes in the epidemiology of COVID-19 and has activated and is implementing the Australian Health Sector Emergency Response Plan for Novel Coronavirus, which, as you now know, is known as the COVID-19 Plan. Australia, because of the response that we have taken, is well placed to respond to ill travellers and those at risk of contracting infection, with border isolation, surveillance and contact tracing mechanisms already in place. You'll also be aware that a 24/7 national coronavirus health information line is available, on 1800020080. What this health line does is provide health and situation information on the COVID-19 outbreak.
Senator Roberts, I would also point out—this is very, very important: the Australian government is also aware of COVID-19 disinformation, misinformation and scams targeting Australians— (Time expired)
The PRESIDENT: Senator Roberts, a supplementary question?
Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (14:37): Minister, if the government adopted rigorous testing, combined with strict isolation for people with the virus and for vulnerable people, then most everyday Australians could return to work with minimal disruption to them or our economy. Has the minister modelled this, and will you consider changing Australia's mitigation strategy, that is failing disastrously in Italy and wherever it is used, and, instead, adopt a rigorous testing and suppression strategy—reportedly, highly successful in South Korea and elsewhere?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:37): Senator Roberts, to confront the threat of coronavirus, the Australian government is ensuring we know who has it and where they are. Australia actually, as the Minister for Health has said often, has one of the highest coronavirus testing rates in the world—I'll just repeat that: one of the highest coronavirus testing rates in the world—with over 135,000 tests completed so far. In terms of the outcome of those tests: for every 100 tests completed, 99 have returned a negative result. I'll say that again: for every 100 tests completed, 99 have returned a negative result. That is why it is important that testing is only undertaken where the patients meet the national guidelines for testing.
The PRESIDENT: Order, Senator Cash. Senator Roberts, a final supplementary question?
Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (14:39): Minister, on a second associated factor, hospital beds: in the 55 years from 1961 to 2015, the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people in Australia fell from 12 to 3.8, a decrease of two-thirds. In Italy, the number fell from nine to 3.5. In South Korea, though, it has risen from less than one to almost 12. In Japan it increased from nine to 13. What will be the impact of high immigration numbers on coronavirus's potential for overwhelming our hospital system?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:39): Again, Senator Roberts, the Australian government has put in place incredibly strict procedures at the border, and you will be aware that we have taken a number of decisions in relation to those who are now able to enter Australia. And, in fact, a number of the states, Queensland being the most recent, have also now put in place very, very strict procedures in relation to who is able to enter the particular state, and, if they do, the conditions for the self-isolation that they are now required to undertake. So, Senator Roberts, in answer to your question, the Australian government has taken a comprehensive response to the issues that you have raised.
Coronavirus
Senator ANTIC (South Australia) (14:40): My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck. What scalable and sustainable measures has the Morrison government put in place to ensure the aged-care sector is supported and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our senior Australians who require aged care?
Senator COLBECK (Tasmania—Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians and Minister for Youth and Sport) (14:40): Thank you, Senator Antic, for your question. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the significant work that the sector's done so far in preparing for this quite unprecedented situation. I've appreciated the direct input from too many stakeholders to name individually—through forums, webinars and many conversations. And the resilience of the sector is really showing through and will help get us through this terrible situation.
On Friday the government announced an additional $444.6 million for the aged-care sector to ensure the continuity of the aged-care workforce. The funding will be used to provide $234.9 million for a COVID-19 retention bonus to ensure the continuity of workforce for both residential and home care. It will provide $78.3 million in additional funding for residential care to support continuity of workforce supply; and $26.9 million to increase the residential and home-care viability supplements and the homeless supplement, including increased viability supplements for national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flexible aged-care program providers and multipurpose services. It will deliver $92.2 million in additional support to home-care providers and organisations which deliver the Commonwealth Home Support Program—including, importantly, for services such as Meals on Wheels—and to provide early access to those services, and an additional $12.3 million to support the My Aged Care call centre to cater for the anticipated increased demand for those services from older Australians. This is on top of the $2.4 billion in the health package we announced that includes funding for things like telehealth, home medicine service and respiratory clinics, as well as $101.2 million for surge workforce and infection control training for residential and—
The PRESIDENT: Order, Senator Colbeck! Senator Antic, a supplementary question.
Senator ANTIC (South Australia) (14:44): Can the minister please outline what the government is doing to support aged-care workers during this serious challenge?
Senator COLBECK (Tasmania—Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians and Minister for Youth and Sport) (14:43): I thank Senator Antic for his question. Our $444.6 million announcement on Friday shows our commitment to aged-care workers. As part of this announcement, full-time direct-care workers in residential care facilities will receive a payment of up to $800 after tax, per quarter, paid for two quarters. Full-time home-care workers will receive payments of up to $600 after tax, per quarter, paid for two quarters. Part-time direct-care workers will receive a pro rata payment for the amount of time that is worked. For example, if you work two days a week, you'll receive 40 per cent of the payment. Payments will be made via a worker's employer, with the first payment expected in June for the preceding quarter. The second payment will be made in September. We're also supporting specific infection control training right across the sector, and a total of 19,000 aged-care workers have undertaken infection control training so far.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Antic, a final supplementary question.
Senator ANTIC (South Australia) (14:44): What can the community do to support Australians during this time?
Senator COLBECK (Tasmania—Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians and Minister for Youth and Sport) (14:44): This is a very difficult time for people in aged care and their families, and one thing that Australians can do is limit their ingress to aged-care facilities. It's a really tough message to tell people to limit visiting their loved ones in aged-care facilities, but it's everybody's job to keep our senior Australians safe. The government has announced a number of measures. The following people will not be permitted entry into residential aged-care facilities: people who have returned from overseas in the last 14 days, people who have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the last 14 days, people with a fever or symptoms of acute respiratory infection—for example, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath—and, from 1 May, people who have not been vaccinated for influenza. Children under the age of 16 are also asked not to attend aged-care facilities.
Coronavirus
Senator AYRES (New South Wales) (14:45): My question is for the Minister representing the Minister for Home Affairs, Senator Cash. More than 2,700 people were allowed to disembark from the Ruby Princess at Sydney's Circular Quay, despite more than 150 cases of illness being logged on board. Almost 50 people from that ship have tested positive to coronavirus, including six people who subsequently travelled to Western Australia. How was this allowed to occur?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:46): The Australian government banned all cruise ship arrivals from 16 March for 30 days. This action reinforced those of the industry, which has already moved to scale back its activities. The government is committed to slowing the spread of the virus and will consider taking further action as a response in this space. The New South Wales government has addressed its response to the Ruby Princess. The Ruby Princess cruise originally left Sydney port on 8 March for a planned 13-night journey to New Zealand. This was cut short after the government announced bans on vessels. Because the vessel was already on the water at this time, in transit, it was granted an exemption to port in Australia. The decision to allow passengers to disembark was made by New South Wales authorities, who assessed them as low-risk. This meant passengers could go home but would need to self-isolate for 14 days. We're aware of media reports that, since disembarking, passengers have tested positive for COVID-19 and we understand that New South Wales health authorities are contact tracing passengers. As of 21 March the ship is at sea off the New South Wales coast near Sydney, with the crew in isolation on board the vessel.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Ayres, a supplementary question?
Senator AYRES (New South Wales) (14:47): This morning the Commissioner of the Australian Border Force said:
… I've asked my officers, when they're boarding a ship that's coming from international waters, to ask the master a simple question—has anyone on this vessel got flu-like symptoms? If the answer is yes, nobody will be getting off that vessel …
Is this the protocol the Chief Medical Officer recommended the Australian Border Force use on cruise ships? Why isn't Australia taking the temperature of all international passengers arriving at airports and cruise ship terminals?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:48): In relation to temperature screening, as part of our ongoing strategy of containment and minimising risk to the Australian community, as detailed in the COVID-19 plan, on advice from health experts we've implemented additional screening of passengers at Australian airports. This has included implementing enhanced health screening and temperature-testing arrangements for arrivals from high-risk countries and ill travellers, based on the advice of health experts. The screening is conducted by officers from the departments of health and agriculture—
The PRESIDENT: Senator Keneally, on a point of order?
Senator Keneally: A point of order on direct relevance: I've been hesitant to draw such points of order, given the nature of what we're discussing today, but Senator Ayres has asked a question, and, with only 18 seconds left, we're trying to determine if the protocol outlined this morning by the Australian Border Force commissioner is actually what was recommended by the Chief Medical Officer. If the minister could, in her remaining 18 seconds, provide that answer.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Keneally, you have reminded the minister of that part of the question. I do believe, when the minister is talking about the issue of temperature screening, she is being directly relevant. I can't direct her how to answer a question, but I have allowed you to remind her of that part of it.
Senator CASH: I can advise that screening arrangements are on high-risk countries on health advice. But in terms of temperature screening, because, Senate Ayres, you did actually raise temperature screening, as the Chief Medical Officer has said, because of the incubation period of COVID-19, many people who are— (Time expired)
The PRESIDENT: Senate Ayres, a final supplementary question?
Senator AYRES (New South Wales) (14:50): Minister, can you guarantee that this won't happen again?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:50): As you would be aware, Senator Ayres, the Australian government is putting in place procedures based on the advice coming from the Chief Medical Officer. In relation to what occurred with the Ruby Princess, I'll refer you to the answer that I gave in relation to your primary question.
Coronavirus
Senator McKENZIE (Victoria—Leader of the Nationals in the Senate) (14:50): My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, Senator Ruston. Can the minister outline how the Liberal and Nationals government is working to support the agriculture sector and its workforce to face the challenges posed by COVID-19? How is it keeping the supply chain moving?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:51): I thank Senator McKenzie for her question and her very obvious longstanding interest in all things rural and regional Australia. Agriculture and its downstream industries are absolutely an essential part of the Australian economy and they are an essential service. The government recognises the necessity of keeping these industries running efficiently and effectively but particularly in the time of crisis that we are now facing.
Agriculture obviously has linkages right through the supply chain, which has flow-on benefits for employment in other industries but particularly for employment in our rural and regional areas. The food and beverage manufacturing sector is one of the largest manufacturing sectors in Australia and not only plays a critical role in our economy but also plays an extraordinarily critical role in the ongoing food security for this country. We obviously understand that COVID-19 and potential associated travel restrictions may have an impact on the availability of both domestic and migrant labour to harvest horticultural commodities. That's why the government is in the process of preparing a number of options to minimise the impact on the supply chain—from labour right the way through to the transportation of our primary produce. We will keep working closely with farmers because we believe the farmers are best placed to inform us about what they need to ensure the solutions are actually going to be designed with the farmers in mind to protect our food chain for all Australians.
To that end, we convened the Food and Grocery Sector Group as part of the government's critical infrastructure network to ensure supermarkets and food producers have access to the information they need to ensure the supply chains remain flowing. We are also working with states and territories through the national coordination mechanism to make sure that we continue to coordinate critical agriculture and food supply chain issues during this time. I want to reassure all Australians that, despite the current outbreak of COVID-19, we have more than enough food to feed ourselves.
The PRESIDENT: Senator McKenzie, a supplementary question?
Senator McKENZIE (Victoria—Leader of the Nationals in the Senate) (14:53): What is the government doing to ensure export opportunities remain open for our primary producers?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:53): As Senator McKenzie would be well aware, Australia produces significantly more food than we actually consume in this country. In fact, last year, around 70 per cent of our agriculture was exported. To that end, we have plenty of food for Australians. But it is also very important that we keep farm businesses in business and give them the opportunity to continue to sell their goods into other markets where it is possible. This ensures that these businesses continue to turn a profit and continue to operate efficiently and, importantly, helps them to retain staff, which is so important to keep money flowing through local economies.
We will continue to closely monitor the impact of COVID-19 on our exporters, working together with our trading partners through the work of Senator Birmingham as the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. We understand travel restrictions have the potential to impact on new and existing marketplaces and we will be working diligently to make sure that we do everything that we can to mitigate that impact. (Time expired)
The PRESIDENT: Senator McKenzie, a final supplementary question?
Senator McKENZIE (Victoria—Leader of the Nationals in the Senate) (14:54): What scalable and sustainable measures are the government putting in place to continue to support agriculture through this challenging time?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:54): The government has a range of programs to support agriculture because we recognise that agriculture is one of the most fundamental essential services in Australia at this time. For instance, the farm household allowance, which gives farming families the assistance they need through these tough times just to get food on the table, received a boost this morning. I thank all of those opposite for supporting the final set of amendments to that particular bill to assist our farmers—who are doing it tough not just because of the coronavirus but also because of the drought they have been in for quite a sustained period of time—and those others that have been impacted by bushfire. We've also invested more into rural financial counselling services so farmers can access timely advice when they need it. We are also very conscious of the mental health of our farmers and our farming communities and we want to make sure, through our mental health measures, that we are supporting our farmers. So we have boosted that, as well as boosting concessional loans and taking generous taxation measures to support our farming communities.
Coronavirus
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator Cash. Can the minister inform the Senate how many Australians the Morrison government anticipates will meet the ABS definition of 'unemployed' as a result of COVID-19?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:56): I thank the senator for the question. The labour force figures came out last Thursday. It was pleasing to see that Australia currently has a record number of Australians in employment—now in excess of 13 million. We also have a record number of Australians in full-time employment. But the point I made at the press conference I gave was that the February figures do not represent the impact of COVID-19. As the Prime Minister has said, as the Treasurer has said and as the Minister for Finance has said, tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—of Australians are going to either be stood down or be out of work as a result of the impact of COVID-19.
That is why the government has put in place a process, which the Prime Minister stated when we announced our first stimulus package. It was squarely focused on keeping Australian businesses in business and keeping Australians in work. We recently announced a second package, which was squarely designed at cushioning the blow. The government is moving rapidly to provide assistance that supports businesses to survive this disruption and rebuild once the virus has passed. But, as I said, Australians are going to lose their jobs. We are very aware of that, in particular given what occurred this morning with the shutdowns in some of the states. We are doing everything that we can to keep businesses in business and Australians in jobs and to cushion the blow for those who find themselves unable to work.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Gallagher, a supplementary question?
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (14:58): Yes, thank you. When does the government expect unemployment resulting from COVID-19 to peak?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:58): Treasury is modelling a number of scenarios at this point in time. The impact on unemployment is not going to be known for some time because we do not yet know the impact COVID-19 is having on the economy. But, again, the government is very, very aware of the challenges that the labour market now faces as a result of COVID-19. That is why we have now announced in excess of $187 billion in support to get Australians, whether they're a business, an employee or an employer, to the other side of this crisis and then back into business and back to work.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Gallagher, a final supplementary question?
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (14:59): How will the government ensure vital skills and connections to the workforce are not lost for those who experience unemployment as a result of COVID-19?
Senator CASH (Western Australia—Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) (14:59): You raise a very, very good point. That is exactly what the Prime Minister talked about yesterday, particularly in relation to the impact on, for example, sole traders. There are many sole traders whose businesses are going to be significantly financially impacted because of COVID-19. I've been working very closely with Minister Ruston to ensure that they are able to get access to or are eligible for the COVID-19 supplement, but the key here is what we've done with mutual obligation. We are going to allow them to continue to work in their business, and by doing that they will actually discharge their mutual obligation. Connectivity with the workforce is one of the most important things that we can do not just as a government but certainly for businesses out there, because we want Australians to maintain any form of connectivity that they can so when we come out the other side of this crisis— (Time expired)
Senator Cormann: I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance and Vice-President of the Executive Council) (15:00): I move:
That the sitting of the Senate be suspended until the ringing of the bells.
Question agreed to.
Proceedings suspended from 15:01 to 18:24
BILLS
Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020
Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020
Assistance for Severely Affected Regions (Special Appropriation) (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020
Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020
Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020
Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill (No. 2) 2019-2020
Boosting Cash Flow for Employers (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020
First Reading
Bills received from the House of Representatives.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (18:44): I move:
That these bills may proceed without formalities, may be taken together and be now read a first time.
Question agreed to.
Bills read a first time.
Second Reading
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance and Vice-President of the Executive Council) (08:54): I move:
That these bills be now read a second time.
I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.
Leave granted.
The speeches read as follows—
CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RESPONSE PACKAGE OMNIBUS BILL 2020
The Bills I introduce today implement the Government's package of measures responding to the economic impacts of the Coronavirus which combined, total $189 billion across the forward estimates, representing 9.7 per cent of annual GDP.
The Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020, along with the other the Bills I am introducing today, provides critical support for the Australian economy and those in our community most affected by the global spread of the Coronavirus.
The measures contained in this package of Bills are designed to bolster domestic confidence and household consumption, reduce cash flow pressures for businesses and support investment to lift productivity and keep people in jobs.
The Package targets four key areas:
Households through two separate $750 payments to social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card holders, around half of whom are pensioners; and a new, time-limited Coronavirus supplement of $550 per fortnight to new and existing JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance jobseeker, Parenting Payment, Farm Household Allowance and Special Benefit recipients. For the period of the Coronavirus supplement there will be expanded access to these income support payments and faster claims processing;
Cash flow assistance to help small and medium sized business to stay in business, keep their employees and retain apprentices and trainees;
Investment support to 3.5 million eligible businesses employing 9.7 million Australians by lifting the asset write-off threshold to $150,000 until 30 June 2020 and providing a 15-month investment incentive by accelerating depreciation deductions; and
Support for regions and communities that have been disproportionately affected, including those heavily reliant on industries such as tourism, agriculture and education.
The measures in this package are temporary, targeted and proportionate to the challenge we face.
This is a decisive response to the economic challenges posed by the Coronavirus.
It will put Australia in the strongest possible position to secure our economy and return to strong and inclusive growth once the health challenge of the Coronavirus has been overcome.
Enhancing the Instant Asset Write Off
The Government will provide immediate additional support for business investment by enhancing the Instant Asset Write Off for small and medium-sized businesses.
The threshold for eligible assets will increase from $30,000 to $150,000, allowing businesses to immediately deduct purchases of eligible assets each costing less than $150,000. To be eligible, assets need to be first used or installed ready for use in the period between 12 March and 30 June 2020.
Access to the instant asset write-off will also be expanded during this period to include all businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million, up from $50 million. As a result, an additional 5,300 businesses which employ around 1.9 million Australians will be able to benefit from the instant asset write-off.
Backing business investment
We will provide support for business investment by allowing businesses with an annual aggregated turnover of less $500 million to access accelerated depreciation deductions.
Eligible businesses will be able to bring forward depreciation deductions of 50 per cent of the cost of certain assets that they have committed to purchase after 12 March 2020, if they are first used or installed by 30 June 2021. Around 3.5 million businesses which employ 9.7 million people are eligible to benefit from this measure.
Boosting cash flow for employers
The Government will support employers to manage cash flow challenges and help businesses and not-for-profits, including charities, retain their employees and keep operating by providing a cash flow boost payment. This measure will provide at least $20,000 and up to $100,000 back to eligible businesses and not-for-profits (including charities).
This will benefit around 690,000 businesses employing around 7.8 million people. Around 30,000 not-for-profits will also benefit.
Stimulus payments to households to support growth
We will provide two rounds of Economic Support Payments. In each round, the payment will be $750 for each eligible individual.
The first Economic Support Payment will be made to certain recipients of social security and veterans' payments, Farm Household Allowance and holders of certain concession cards eligible in respect of a day in the test period 12 March 2020 to 13 April 2020, to assist them in a time of economic uncertainty during the Coronavirus outbreak.
The second round of Economic Support Payments will be delivered to a sub-cohort of those payment groups who received the first Economic Support Payment. This second payment will not be paid to recipients of the Coronavirus Supplement on the test date. All other payment groups who were eligible for the first payment will be eligible for the second Economic Support Payment providing they would ordinarily be residing in Australia in respect of the test date of 10 July 2020.
Improving our capacity to respond to biosecurity emergencies
We are amending the Biosecurity Act 2015 to allow for the Director of Human Biosecurity to delegate any or all of their functions or powers concerning human biosecurity control orders to senior executive officers of the Department of Health who are also human biosecurity officers.
This will ensure some of the Commonwealth's key powers for responding to biosecurity threats, including the human biosecurity control order, can be implemented in an efficient manner should it become necessary to use them. It is vitally important that we have a range of qualified medical personnel able to conduct administrative processes such as reviewing control orders, to ensure they are being used in a way that is proportionate to the public health risk.
Waiving environment management charge and national park entry fees
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 2019 will be amended to temporarily waive the Environmental Management Charge for the next nine months. This charge mainly applies to tourism activities and this waiver is intended to relieve cost pressures on tourist program operators in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
A number of national park entry fees will also be waived administratively by the Director of National Parks.
Supporting apprentices and trainees
The Government will support jobs for apprentices and trainees through this period of economic challenge by providing $1.3 billion for up to 70,000 small business, including those using a group training organisation to support the retention of around 117,000 apprentices and trainees. This support, which will be in the form of a wage subsidy of 50 per cent for apprentices and trainees, will help ensure the continuing development of the skilled workforce that Australia's employers need.
Supporting the aviation industry
Australia's aviation industry has been among the first sectors affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. The sector is facing an unprecedented and sustained period of falling international and domestic aviation demand.
The Government will provide $715 million to support the aviation industry as it grapples with these challenges.
The Bill will refund aviation fuel excise and refund or waive charges levied by Airservices Australia on domestic airline operations.
The Bill also includes funding to reimburse domestic and regional aviation security charges. The provisions will apply to charges paid by domestic airlines since 1 February 2020 – providing an upfront benefit of $159 million to our airlines to provide immediate relief.
Supporting child care
The Government will amend the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 and A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 to allocate extra allowable absence days for child care in addition to the current 42 days. The Minister for Education will have the power to prescribe where a family does not need to provide evidence in relation to additional absences related Coronavirus.
The Government is also waiving the current obligation of child care services to enforce payment of gap fees for a particular event or circumstance and the period specified in a Minister's Rule. This will enable services to provide fee relief to families where exceptional circumstances require it for limited periods.
Giving retirees more control over their superannuation
The Bill also adjusts the superannuation minimum drawdown rates, reducing them by 50 per cent for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 income years. These rates prescribe the amount that an individual in the retirement phase must withdraw from an account-based pension or similar product, depending on their age.
This measure will help alleviate concerns of retirees regarding selling assets in a loss position, giving them greater control over their capital during a time of increased market volatility and assist with retirees' confidence in the economy.
Temporary Jobseeker payment and Coronavirus supplement
Additional temporary financial support will be provided to working‑age income support recipients through a Coronavirus Supplement of $550 per fortnight. This measure will provide streamlined access to income support and extended eligibility to income support payments for people whose income is significantly reduced by the economic impact of the Coronavirus. The Minister for Families and Social Services will have the power extend the Coronavirus Supplement in whole or in part to other categories of recipients of social services payments.
This measure will also create a new category of Crisis Payment where a person will qualify for payment if there is a national health emergency, such as the Coronavirus, and delay commencement of the Simplifying Income Reporting Act for up to a year to ensure Services Australia can focus on assisting people who require income support as a result of the Coronavirus.
Providing flexibility in the Corporations Act
Treasury Ministers will be given a time-limited instrument-making power in the Corporations Act to grant time-limited relief from regulatory requirements where these would interfere with the ability of companies to manage their business through the impacts of the Coronavirus. Each instrument would be effective for up to six months from when the instrument is created.
Assisting businesses to trade through the crisis
The Government will also provide a safety net for businesses to allow them to get through a temporary period of insolvency and recover when economic growth picks up.
To do this, we are amending the Corporations Act to temporarily increase the threshold for a creditor to initiate bankruptcy proceedings, an increase in the time period for debtors to respond to a bankruptcy notice and extending the period of protection a debtor receives after making a declaration or intention to present a debtor's petition. There will also be temporary relief for directors from any personal liability for trading while insolvent.
For owners or directors of a business that are currently struggling due to the Coronavirus, the Australian Taxation Office will tailor solutions for their circumstances including temporary reduction of payments or deferrals, or withholding enforcement actions including Director Penalty Notices and wind-ups. This will provide directors with additional confidence to continue to trade through this difficult period.
Allowing early release of superannuation
We are establishing a new temporary compassionate ground of early release of superannuation for individuals and sole traders impacted by the economic consequences of the Coronavirus. This will allow impacted individuals to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation tax-free in 2019-20, and up to a further $10,000 in 2020-21. Applications must be made within six months of Royal Assent of this legislation and will be able to be made online via the myGov portal.
Medicare Levy
This Bill amends the Medicare Levy Act 1986 and A New Tax System (Medicare Levy Surcharge — Fringe Benefits) Act 1999 to increase the Medicare levy low-income thresholds increase for singles, families and seniors and pensioners to ensure these remain in line with changes to in the consumer price index.
Charter of Budget Honesty
During this time of uncertainty it is extremely difficult to formulate reliable economic and fiscal estimates over the next few months. In line with the Government's decision to postpone the Budget until later this year, the next Intergenerational Report will now be released in mid-2021 to ensure there is adequate time to produce long term projections that are based on robust budget estimates.
The Government remains committed to producing an intergenerational report that assesses the long term sustainability of the Government's finances. The Charter will continue to require 5 year updates of the IGR from 2021.
Deferral of sunsetting
Over the coming months this Parliament will, quite rightly, be focused on responding to the needs of the Australian community. During the next six months a number of Acts passed by this Parliament and a large number of legislative instruments are scheduled to sunset. Where an Act or legislative instrument is scheduled to sunset on or before 15 October 2020, the Bill will allow the minister responsible for that Act or instrument to defer the sunset day by up to 6 months. This will ensure no gaps occur in our laws during this critical period.
Guarantee to lend
The Government understands the need to move quickly to provide support and relief to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are under incredible pressure and play such an integral role in the Australian economy. We are providing a guarantee for new short-term loans issued by Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) and non-ADI lenders to support SMEs to cover immediate cash flow needs in response to the economic crisis associated with the Coronavirus pandemic.
Importantly, the guarantee will apply to eligible loans made after the Government's announcement of this measure regardless of whether the loans were made before or after the commencement of the Bill. There is an overall cap of $20 billion on the appropriation for meeting liabilities under the guarantee. In the event of a loan default, under this measure, the Government will compensate the lender for an agreed proportion of the losses.
Supporting Australia's small and medium enterprises
The Commonwealth will be authorised to participate in forming, and acquiring shares in, or debentures of, the Australian Business Growth Fund, and appropriates $100 million for that purpose.
The Australian Business Growth Fund's purpose will be to offer growing, established companies patient equity capital and strategic support, to assist them to reach their growth potential. Business seeking support can be from across Australia and from a range of industries.
Established Australian businesses will be eligible for long-term equity capital investments between $5 million and $15 million, where they can demonstrate three years of revenue growth and profitability and a clear growth vision.
Supporting severely affected regions
This response package will appropriate a further $1 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to support those sectors, regions and communities that have been disproportionately affected by the economic impacts of the Coronavirus.
Further plans and measures to support recovery will be designed and delivered in partnership with the affected industries and communities through the funding allocated in this package.
Structured Finance Support
The Government is also establishing a $15 billion Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response) Fund and the Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response) Fund Special Account.
The Fund will ensure continued access to funding markets impacted by the economic effects of the Coronavirus pandemic and promote competition in consumer and business lending markets.
In particular, this will ensure that smaller lenders can maintain access to funding, by the Government making targeted investments in structured finance markets.
Appropriations
To fund this Package, the Government is appropriating the necessary funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Full details of the measures contained in the Package are set out in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Bills.
GUARANTEE OF LENDING TO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RESPONSE PACKAGE) BILL 2020
This Bill supports the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020 by providing a guarantee for new short-term loans issued by Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) and non-ADI lenders to support small and medium-sized enterprises to cover immediate cash flow needs in response to the national economic crisis associated with the Coronavirus pandemic.
Full details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum already tabled.
AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS GROWTH FUND (CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RESPONSE PACKAGE) BILL 2020
The Australian Business Growth Fund (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020 supports the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020 and introduces legislation that authorises the Commonwealth Government to participate in forming, and acquiring shares in or debentures of, the Australian Business Growth Fund and appropriates $100 million for that purpose.
Full details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum already tabled.
ASSISTANCE FOR SEVERELY AFFECTED REGIONS (SPECIAL APPROPRIATION) (CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RESPONSE PACKAGE) BILL 2020
The Assistance for Severely Affected Regions (Special Appropriation) (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020 supports the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020 and will appropriate $1 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to support those sectors, regions and communities that have been disproportionately affected by the economic impacts of the Coronavirus. This will include:
the waiver of fees and charges for tourism businesses that operate in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and three Commonwealth National Parks;
additional assistance to help businesses identify alternative export markets or supply chains; and
additional targeted measures to further promote tourism.
Further plans and measures to support recovery will be designed and delivered in partnership with the affected industries and communities through the funding allocated in this Bill.
Full details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum already tabled.
STRUCTURED FINANCE SUPPORT (CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RESPONSE PACKAGE) BILL 2020
This Bill supports the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020 by establishing the $15 billion Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response) Fund and the Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response) Fund Special Account.
Full details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum already tabled.
APPROPRIATION (CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RESPONSE PACKAGE) BILL (NO. 1) 2019-2020
Today, the Government introduces the Coronavirus Economic Response Appropriation Bills. These Bills are:
Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response) Bill (No. 1) 2019‑2020; and
Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response) Bill (No. 2) 2019‑2020.
Together, these Bills underpin the Government's Coronavirus Response expenditure decisions. These Bills ensure there is sufficient appropriation to implement decisions in 2019‑2020 that support the Government's response to the Coronavirus.
Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response) Bill (No. 1) 2019‑2020 seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of just over $1.6 billion. The Bill will provide the Department of Health with an additional $571.6 million, including $113.5 million to establish and operate dedicated respiratory clinics to assist with diagnosing and managing respiratory cases, including Coronavirus, influenza, and pneumonia. A further $48 million will be provided to support aged care providers experiencing a Coronavirus outbreak, providing workforce, financial support and consumer education. A further $119.0 million will be provided to support a range of measures to support a national communications program and a Triage Hotline.
Further, the Bill will provide $188.6 million to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, to provide support for small businesses to retain their apprentices and trainees by providing a wage subsidy of 50 per cent of the apprentice's or trainee's wage. This measure will support up to 70,000 businesses, employing around 117,000 apprentices and trainees.
The Bill also provides an additional Advance to the Finance Minister (AFM) provision of $800 million to provide the Government with the capacity to allocate additional appropriations for Coronavirus related responses that are not contemplated in the current package. While this new AFM provision is significant, it will be limited to Coronavirus response requirements only, including health and economic responses.
Details of the proposed expenditure are set out in Schedule 1 to the Bill. Further details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum already tabled.
APPROPRIATION (CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RESPONSE PACKAGE) BILL (NO. 2) 2019-2020
Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response) Bill (No. 2) 2019‑2020, along with Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response) Bill (No. 1) 2019‑2020, which was introduced earlier appropriate funds to support the Government's Coronavirus Economic Response.
This Bill seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of $744 million, primarily for the Department of Health.
This will provide $700 million for the purchase of additional personal protective equipment for the National Medical Stockpile, including surgical and P2 masks, surgical gowns, gloves and goggles. A further $40 million will be provided to purchase antibiotics and antivirals for the National Medical Stockpile.
The Bill also provides an additional Advance to the Finance Minister (AFM) provision of $1.2 billion to provide the Government with the capacity to allocate additional appropriations for Coronavirus related responses that are not contemplated in the current package. While this new AFM provision is significant, it will be limited to Coronavirus response requirements only, including health and economic responses.
In early March, the Finance Minister approved two advances under Appropriation Act (No 2) 2019-20, at a total of $300 million, for initial Coronavirus related responses. This latest AFM provision is a proportionate expansion of the size of the AFM facility that will be available through to the end of this financial year, to assist in the management of this significant challenge to public health and the economy.
Details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the Schedule 1 to the Bill. Further details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum already tabled.
BOOSTING CASH FLOW FOR EMPLOYERS (CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC RESPONSE PACKAGE) BILL 2020
This Bill provides legislative authority for the Tax Commissioner to make cash flow boost payments to eligible entities.
Full details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum already tabled.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (08:54): I say from the outset that Labor will be supporting this legislation. Now is not the time to stand in the way of this package of measures, because Australians need support now. Today in suburbs across Australia there have been queues forming outside Centrelink offices, with people anxiously, and some patiently, waiting to find out what support they might have access to. It is happening in Marrickville, Darlinghurst and Burwood in Sydney; Brunswick in Melbourne; Southport on the Gold Coast; Inala in the suburbs of Brisbane and right here in Canberra. Centrelink is even trending on Twitter. These are horrific scenes on a scale that our country has not seen before, and I pray they won't be seen again after this current crisis. The people in these Centrelink queues are people we all know. They are our family members, our friends, our neighbours. Whether they are barristers, bartenders, chefs or flight attendants they are all our fellow Australians. On footpaths, people who should be working in retail, running their small businesses or seeing clients are instead looking for a lifeline. There are reports that 88,000 people in hospitality alone have lost their jobs over the last few days and another 200,000 more could be lost in the next 12 weeks. That is some 280,000 people without a pay packet. That's the equivalent of the MCG filled almost three times.
Australia is the land of the fair go. We pride ourselves on being an equal and fair society. Sadly, the coronavirus is also a great equaliser. It does not discriminate. We are all equal in the face of this crisis and we are all in this together. And whether these people are just a handful of kilometres away or on the other side of the country in Western Australia, we are here in this chamber to pass a stimulus package to help them. It is called a stimulus package but it is designed to ensure the survival of our country and our community. It is not so much a stimulus as a basic support package for Australia. It is designed to keep Australian families going.
Our frontline health and public safety officers are currently doing the same. Nurses, doctors, anaesthetists, aged-care workers and disability workers are showing up to work to fight the coronavirus and protect some of the most vulnerable in our community from it. Australian Border Force officers are enforcing border measures. Our state and territory police forces are also playing an integral and ever-increasing role. We thank them for their dedication and sacrifice, for the fact they are risking their health and wellbeing for the wider Australian community.
As I told the chamber earlier, Labor has worked constructively with the government to address the coronavirus crisis. We will give the government credit when they deserve it and apply scrutiny when it is required. However, Labor is concerned that the government's latest response has not substantially addressed some of the gaps we identified in the original stimulus and it raises additional concerns, which we will work through with the government. Foremost amongst these concerns: there is no substantial support to protect jobs and no guarantee that businesses receiving support will keep workers on. We are also gravely concerned that the coronavirus supplement may not be available for some Australian families struggling to put food on the table, particularly given there has been no change to the income test.
I can advise the Senate that the leader of the Labor Party, Anthony Albanese, met earlier this afternoon with the Prime Minister to raise the concern regarding the income-free area for a couple or family to get access to the jobseeker payment and the coronavirus supplement. I thank the Prime Minister and the government for listening and taking those concerns on board, and I look forward with anticipation to a response this evening—potentially from the government—in the form of an amendment that may seek to address this. I understand the government are considering this at this time, and I thank them for their consideration.
In addition, we are concerned that there is a lack of urgency in this support. We are concerned that payments to households, including pensioners, will arrive too late. We are deeply concerned that cashflow assistance to businesses will arrive too late and will not help otherwise viable businesses most at risk of collapse. For others—for sole traders and the self-employed—the support is just not enough. Renters have no direct support, despite the Prime Minister flagging this as a serious issue last week. I should note that Labor welcomes the announcement by banks that they would grant reprieves for mortgage holders, but we are deeply concerned about renters. Students are also highly vulnerable. There is no coronavirus supplement for students, even if they lose their job or have their hours cut. I flag that the shadow minister Linda Burney has already raised this issue with the government. There are also no provisions for the 1.6 million temporary visa holders in Australia, soon to be trapped here with varying levels of health care and no access to income support.
One of Labor's most grave concerns is the threat posed to retirement incomes and the stability of the financial system by the expansion of the early release of superannuation. Drawing from superannuation should only be done as a measure of last resort. If people are at that point now as a result of coronavirus, it is a sign that the government must do more to help them. We should not be encouraging people to draw from their superannuation at the bottom of the market. In addition, charities, food banks and organisations that provide essential services to vulnerable Australians really need more substantial support. We cannot ignore the absence of a coordinated whole-of-economy plan and the lack of sufficient support and planning for essential and strategic industries—like the airline industry, the childcare sector and the arts.
Finally we now know that there is the potential for a third economic support package. I hope the government is working on this with a sense of urgency to ensure the gaps in the existing responses are dealt with. The government must address the traffic issues on the myGov website as a matter of urgency, as well as those issues being faced at Centrelink shopfronts. As my colleagues the shadow minister for government services, Bill Shorten, and the shadow minister for families and social services, Linda Burney, said earlier today, 'It has never been more important for the social security safety net to be strong in this country.' The fact that you have people congregating to access benefits poses a further health risk to Australia as well as to the public servants working for Services Australia.
For many of the hundreds of thousands of Australians who will be left without a job as a result of this crisis, this may be the first time they have ever had to access income support. For others—and I have been in this position—they might be accessing Newstart for a short period until they can find a job, begin paying taxes again and, in turn, are able to help their fellow Australians just like they have been helped. We must acknowledge today that many people in our country are having to rely on a safety net when they've never had to do so before.
This is not the fault of any person or company. This is because we are all confronted with a health and economic crisis like we have never seen before. It is exactly why our safety net exists: to catch you when you fall, even though you have fallen through no fault of your own. We are all feeling the impact of this crisis; we are all feeling the same concerns and worries; we are all pulling together. Australia survived the recession in the early 1990s and came out stronger on the other side with 29 years of uninterrupted economic growth. We weathered the global financial crisis and, thanks to strong leadership by federal and state governments at the time, fought off the strongest headwinds to avoid falling into recession.
There will be no quick fix, though, to this coronavirus crisis. This crisis is going to be one of the most—if not the single most—difficult since the Second World War. Whilst it is testing our resolve, I have faith in Australia and, more importantly, Australians. We have fought threats to our security, our sovereignty and our fiscal stability, and we now must fight a war on two fronts: a virus that is both attacking the health of Australians and undermining our way of life.
I do flag tonight that I understand that there have been amendments already circulated from the Greens, and I appreciate the concern that they're expressing through those amendments. We believe there is merit in many of the Greens' amendments. We have raised these concerns, about people who slip through the cracks, directly with the government. But we do believe there is no point holding up this package tonight by supporting amendments that will ultimately fail in the House because the government will not support them.
We also note that section 1210B of schedule 11 of the bill gives the minister the power to make almost all of these payments by legislative instrument, and we urge the government to act on this. Without changing the legislation, students, pensioners, people on disability support payments—in fact, anyone on a payment—can be given the $550 coronavirus supplement or a supplement of another amount. New Zealanders and other temporary visa holders can also be given access to payments—usually, by the special benefit—by legislative instrument. It does not require amendment tonight. The minister also has the powers to vary the amounts of money quarantined for people on income management under existing legislation. We have raised all these issues directly with the government, both through Shadow Minister Burney, as well as directly through the Leader of the Opposition, to the Prime Minister, and, as I flagged, I understand the government is working on some amendments we anticipate later tonight.
Finally, this is not a time for a 'she'll be right' attitude. There are no excuses anymore. The risks are too high. Australia cannot become an Italy, we cannot become a United States, when it comes to coronavirus. Even if we don't get sick or don't feel sick, we—our families, our children, our community members—could still be making multiple other people sick. We could be sending our neighbours to the hospital or putting our parents or grandparents into intensive care if we spread the coronavirus around.
We can't see this horrendous virus that is hurting us and our country. But we can see what it does to people, and we must do everything we can to stop the spread of it. Wash your hands. Use hand sanitiser. Keep 1.5 metres away from other people at all times. Stay at home, regardless of your age or how at risk you might be. This social distancing, though, does not need to mean social isolation. We can FaceTime our families regularly. We can have a drink with our friends over a Zoom video conference. We can start streaming the same Netflix series together at the same time with our mates, as if we're all watching it together. We can be kind to one another, especially to those workers who are ensuring our society can still operate, like the supermarket staff, or the public transport workers or other public servants. We can exercise, to keep our minds and spirits clear. We can find new routines, as our society finds a new, and hopefully temporary, way of life.
Whilst we may not be back in this chamber for some time, the government, the parliament and all of us as elected officials will continue to work for the people of Australia. We will survive this crisis and we will do that by working together. I move:
At the end of the motion, add:
", but the Senate calls on the Government to more quickly implement the measures it is proposing, noting that, under the current proposal:
(a) the Coronavirus supplement will not begin until 27 April 2020;
(b) expanded access to the Jobseeker Payment and Youth Allowance will not begin until 27 April 2020;
(c) most people won't receive the first payment to households until April 2020 or the second payment until July 2020;
(d) pensioners won't see a boost in their income due to the change in deeming rates until 1 May 2020; and
(e) employers won't receive a cash flow boost until 28 April 2020".
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (18:38): Our response to this pandemic will, quite literally, determine who lives and who dies. It will determine the social, economic, family and personal future of every single Australian. But it's not just the way we manage our response to this pandemic that we will be judged on, nor just the way we look after people during this crisis. We will be judged on how we rebuild our society and how we rebuild our economy when the time comes, and we will be judged on what we rebuild them into. What is clear is that business as usual—which too often means putting business first—just isn't going to cut it anymore.
COVID-19 has shown us that running down our public services, firing public servants and cutting scientific research all to give away tax cuts to big corporations and high-income earners has left us more exposed and worse prepared than we should have been. Today, for example, we are seeing lines around the corner at Centrelink offices around the country. Centrelink is completely ill equipped to manage this predictable influx, and that was no accident. Politicians driven by neoliberal ideology have changed Centrelink from an institution staffed by people trying to help other people into a swarm of robots hounding down people in many cases for debts they never owed. Neoliberal ideology in the years leading up to this pivotal moment has been about extracting budget savings from public services, rather than looking after people.
What this crisis has exposed is that government should always have a crucial role to play in our economy. We simply cannot go back to a cycle of unrestrained public greed and inequality—rampant inequality in the good times and socialising the losses in the tough times. Hopefully, this crisis sounds the death knell for neoliberalism and the rebirth, painful though it will certainly be, of a more caring economic and social framework.
These bills that we are debating have not been guided by neoliberal ideology. Why is that? Because the ideology of free markets is completely and provably unable to look after people. It completely and provably destroys nature. It does those things in the good times and the bad. We are all in this pickle together, so let's make sure our economic framework reflects that reality. We should leave no-one behind during this pandemic. We need to learn lessons and make sure that we never leave people behind once the pandemic is over. Let's not just go back to normal, because for far, far too many people 'normal' meant 'really, really difficult'.
The isolation, the deprivation and the alienation that we are seeing now as we close down our society and our economy did not begin during this crisis. Before the crisis, there were more than 100,000 Australians without a home. Before the crisis, too many Australians could not afford groceries or to pay their bills or to pay their rent. Before the crisis, people were working long hours in poorly paid and insecure jobs without fair reward and without basic workplace rights. So, when we come out the other side—and we will—we should not plan for things to go back to the way that they were. That means we need to make sure that the superrich and the big corporates pay their fair share and that we use the money we raise to look after each other and to properly fund our public services and public institutions.
It also means that we need to tackle the climate emergency with the same whole-of-society mobilisation and response that we are seeing today in this legislation. We have to try to emerge from coronavirus with an economy that matches the values of our society, not the other way around. That means well-paid, secure work, with strong protections for the tough times. It means clear plans for the essential work that needs to be done: building renewable energy, caring for people, rewilding and reforesting, farming and building the things we need here in Australia. It means a strong safety net for everyone, not pushing everyone on income support back below the poverty line once this is all over. The work on a fairer economy starts now, and it starts with the government's legislation, which we are currently debating. We will support these bills, and we wish the government all the best with keeping people in good health and out of poverty. But we do have very real concerns that the government's package does leave some people behind.
The government's response has not been fast enough, it's not been strong enough and it's not been fair enough. A lot of these payments don't kick in until this time next month. People who aren't getting shifts or who have lost their jobs need support now, not after they've been evicted or had their internet or electricity cut off. One in every three working parents in Australia have no paid leave. Think about the consequences of letting them fall through the cracks: they can't pay rent, have to keep paying childcare fees or lose their spot, face eviction and have no home of their own to care for their children. Students and carers who worked casual jobs for extra income will have their shifts taken away. Unlike others, who will be relying on income support, they won't be eligible for the $550-a-fortnight COVID-19 supplement. They will be left in poverty. Where is our plan for them?
We've heard last Thursday's plan for $30 billion of public money, pouring onto the balance sheets of the banks, for residential mortgage backed securities—the very products, I might add, that spawned the global financial crisis. But where is the plan for more intensive-care beds in Australia? Where is the pledge that beds and medical equipment locked up in the private health system will be available for everyone on the basis of need, not just for the wealthy? The Greens have moved amendments to deal with some of these concerns and other concerns that we have with the government's package, and we will continue to pursue these issues as we move through extraordinary times.
The biggest recipients of the government's package are the big banks. Two-thirds of the money is going straight onto banks' balance sheets. These are the same banks that came out of the GFC stronger than they went into it. Have we learnt nothing? The world's experience of so-called unconventional monetary policy, or quantitative easing, is that it's helped financial markets and speculators more than it's helped the real economy and productive activity. Government investment should be for the future. It should be for people. It should be to look after nature. It should be to respond to climate. It should be for infrastructure that creates jobs and sets us up for a clean future. It should not just be for short-term sugar hits or favours for suddenly-impoverished financial speculators. We need to use government bonds to put money in the pockets of people who need it right now.
The UK will pay, up-front, 80 per cent of a worker's wages if they are kept on the books. Denmark is doing the same, at 75 per cent of a worker's wage. We need the government to come back into this parliament and legislate to do something similar to keep people in work. When we all come out the other side, we need to get building and creating the jobs of the future. The high level of government intervention that has been necessary to keep us safe and secure during coronavirus is the same approach we need to keep us safe and secure from the climate crisis—the mobilisation of a workforce, all hands on deck, to do what needs to be done to keep us safe. Just as we need to build medical equipment like ventilators here in Australia, we need to manufacture and build a climate-resilient society as well.
The UN has estimated that the long-term losses from this pandemic will be $3 trillion to $4 trillion. That is huge, and it's possibly an underestimate. But the expected losses from staying on a four-degree trajectory of global warming, as we are on, are a minimum of $630 trillion over this century. That is why we need to create jobs and clean industries, which a Green New Deal would provide us. This is our chance to use the powers of government to not only keep us safe over the next few months but allow us to prosper when we come out of this pandemic and face the next great human challenge: bringing our emissions under control. We're all in this together. I do have confidence in humanity to navigate these challenges, because we don't have any other choice.
I want to end by thanking all of the people who work in our allied health system. The coming weeks and months are going to be so, so hard for you. Many of you will become infected, and, tragically, it is likely that quite a few of you will die because you will sacrifice yourself for the greater good and for the rest of us. Thank you for the sacrifices you have made, are making and will make in the months ahead. Thank you so much. Let us all be prepared to make the sacrifices that we need to make to try and keep safe not only our health workforce but every other Australian. Do the sensible things and follow the medical advice. If you don't need to leave home, just don't. I move the second reading amendment circulated in my name:
At the end of the motion, add:
", but the Senate is of the opinion that the Government must develop and promptly present its plan to at least double the number of intensive care units, ventilators and the necessary medical equipment immediately, and then further increase these supplies in line with the advice of medical experts so the Australian people can be confident that no one will be left to die unnecessarily from this pandemic".
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (18:51): Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak on this very important economic package tonight. Labor has been constructive from the outset and will continue to be constructive. We have offered to work with the government in a bipartisan fashion to ensure we do everything we can to protect the livelihoods of all Australians. This includes Labor being supportive of the government's first and second economic responses to COVID-19 which we've seen in the last week or so. However, there are aspects of the government's package that we do have concerns about.
We are concerned that there is a lack of urgency, we're concerned that there are gaps in support and we're concerned that the packages do not go far enough to protect jobs. However, we have made it clear that Labor will not stand in the way of the package of measures that is before us today because it is very clear that our economy and Australians need support now. We do know that there's potential for a third package, and I hope that the government is working on this with a sense of urgency to ensure that some of the gaps in the existing responses are dealt with. To meet the scale of the challenge that is before us, the government's response must be large enough, must be implemented quickly enough and must be targeted enough to protect and support the livelihoods of Australians and prevent more job losses, more business failures and a more serious economic downturn. These were the three tests that the Prime Minister set himself at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Australians need the government to do a better job getting this support out the door than they have done with the drought relief, the bushfire relief and the original stimulus. The Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020 and related bills seek to implement the two responses announced by the government to date—the initial $17.6 billion package, announced just over a week ago, and the $66 billion package announced over the weekend just gone.
The package contains a number of additional measures, including the delay to the Intergenerational report; the routine adjustment to the thresholds of the Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge; the ability for ministers to temporarily defer the sunsetting of legislation where the sunset date falls due during a period when the parliament may not be sitting; and the changes to the Australian Business Growth Fund which we have agreed with the government. There are also appropriation bills for this financial year that deal with the implementation of both the economic and the health responses to COVID-19. This includes $1.3 billion for health, as part of the response to COVID-19, including $113.5 million for the establishment and operation of dedicated respiratory clinics and $700 million for the purchasing of personal protective equipment for the National Medical Stockpile. It also includes $437 million for infrastructure relating to the airlines package announced by the government a few weeks ago. We'll support all of these measures.
Labor is concerned that the Morrison government's latest response has not substantially addressed some gaps we identified in the original stimulus and raises additional concerns, including no substantial support to protect jobs and no guarantee that businesses receiving support will keep workers on; the newly announced $550 coronavirus supplement may not be available for some Australian families struggling to put food on the table, particularly given there's been no change to the income test; the payments to households, including to pensioners, may arrive too late, with the second $750 payment not due to hit bank accounts until mid-July; cash flow assistance to business will arrive too late and will not help otherwise viable businesses most at risk of collapse; and the first boost in cash flow payment isn't set to arrive until the end of April, and a second payment won't occur until the end of July.
Other concerns include the lack of more substantial support for sole traders and the self-employed to help them stay in business; the absence of any direct support for renters, despite the Prime Minister flagging this as a serious issue last week; and no coronavirus supplement for students even if they lose their part-time job or have their hours cut. We note that the expansion of early release superannuation risks undermining retirement incomes and compromising financial system stability and should be considered only as a last resort, and that the $1 billion regional and community support fund, despite the bill that is before us today which seeks to legislate for the fund, still lacks significant detail, which is a worrying sign given this government's track record at these types of funds. Our concerns include the lack of more substantial support for charities, including food banks and organisations that provide essential services to vulnerable Australians; the absence of a coordinated whole-of-economy plan; and a lack of sufficient support and planning for essential and strategic industries including, but not limited to, the airline industry, the childcare sector and the arts. These are all concerns that Labor has raised publicly, consistently and, I think, in a way that urges the government to consider these and respond to them as part of this unfolding economic crisis.
COVID-19 and the economic crisis that surrounds it demand urgency, scale and coordination, but the Morrison government's initial and subsequent responses, we believe, have come too late, have been too slow and have too many gaps. Businesses are already closing, workers are already being laid off and many vulnerable Australians are at serious risk. The level of anxiety across the community is enormous. We've all been seeing the images of people in the shops, worried. And the only thing around this anxiety that many of them can control at the moment is shopping and making sure they have enough food and supplies for their family, because they feel out of control about everything else that is happening around them. And we are asking them to accept a huge amount of change to the way that we have lived our lives for so many years—for all of our years, really. So it's no surprise that people are anxious. As leaders, this government needs to respond to that anxiety. We're seeing the lines outside Centrelink and the websites crashing, and we're hearing the stories on the street as you walk around, with people saying: 'I've had to let all my casuals go. There was nothing I could do. I did it a month ago.' Many of the coffee shops in Canberra were telling me they let their casuals go a month ago. This is causing so much disruption and concern across the community that it's confronting for all of us who never thought we would witness this kind of dislocation and disruption in our lives.
With queues outside Centrelink offices and the myGov website crashing, we have to ensure that Centrelink services, both online and in person, are working now when Australians need them the most. I am not in any way reflecting on the capabilities of Centrelink staff or staff across the Australian Public Service more broadly, who have been exemplary in their response considering the number of job losses they've absorbed in the last six years. The work that they have been doing, including those from Foreign Affairs and Trade and the officials who went into Wuhan to help evacuate Australians—these are public servants who always get a pretty negative rap about cushy jobs, being well paid and not being at the front line. So many of our Public Service are at the front line, and those that aren't are supporting the ones that are. They're developing the policy, they're coordinating the response and they're advising the government what to do in this crisis. We should acknowledge that effort today. It has been enormous, off the back of the bushfires and then straight into this. Labor certainly wants to thank them and put that on the record. Centrelink need additional staff. There is no way they will be able to do this. Services Australia—I think there is a response from the government around that—need to make sure that staff are protected while they do their job and that they are also given much greater capacity to deliver the services that so many more Australians are going to need. This is important particularly for Australians that have never had to navigate this system before; navigating this system isn't part of the way they've lived. Centrelink needs to be significantly ramped up and urgently ramped up.
Our priority is to support jobs and help Australian workers, businesses and communities through this difficult time, and particularly ensure that vulnerable Australians are supported. We understand that people are anxious and they are looking for leadership and they are looking for consistency in the messages they are getting. I think they are looking for understanding, too, about how difficult this time is. I think, for the most part, people are genuinely trying to do the right thing. Where they aren't, of course, that needs to be dealt with. Labor will continue to be supportive, constructive and responsible, and will work with the government where we can, as we are doing to facilitate the passage of these packages today. We will keep working with the government to point out where there are gaps or where key groups have been left out. We will inject a sense of urgency where it is absent or lacking. On the point of urgency, I note the second reading amendment which has been moved by Senator Keneally, which goes to the points we have all made about how some of this support will not reach people for some weeks or months, and for many that is going to be a very long wait.
I'm also going to foreshadow a second reading amendment in my name that covers issues surrounding superannuation—in particular, the early access to super measure that is proposed in the package of bills. On superannuation, I want to point out that it was Labor, of course, that created a universal, world-class superannuation system, and we very much believe that every Australian deserves a dignified retirement. Labor notes that drawing down on super, as it's proposed, though the early access to superannuation measure, when the market is at historic lows will have negative implications for most Australians. We seriously believe it should be an option of last resort. I would note that in the other place we moved some amendments, around trying to improve this particular measure, which the government didn't agree to. We're not repeating those amendments here, in the interests of getting this package done, but we believe a second reading amendment is warranted. Labor also calls on the government to ensure that Australians have access to the right information and advice in times of financial hardship, and also that people who do access these early access provisions are being provided with the right advice. We're calling on proper consultation with all stakeholders to ensure the measure does not have significant negative impacts on the retirement outcomes of Australians.
We take our responsibilities here as legislators and leaders extremely seriously. In times like these, Australians are very rightly looking to those in authority for leadership and guidance, which is why Labor have taken the approach we have in recent times. It's why we have been supportive and attempted to act in a bipartisan and constructive manner. It's also why we have been pointing out the gaps where we see them. Our support for the legislation today does not in any way mean that we think everything is perfect, as I've outlined already. However, what Australians need right now is the support that is provided by this package, and that is why we support the legislation today.
I would also like to place on the record for those senators who aren't able to speak tonight, and our colleagues who aren't here, our thanks, admiration and gratitude to everyone working out there to help deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. I've already mentioned staff across the Public Service and in all our state and territory public services, many of which have had to regear to focus on this crisis, not least of which are the staff in our health system and the community service system who are having to respond to, I think, extremely distressing workplaces which are only going to get more difficult to work in in coming months. Whether it be our health professionals, aged-care workers, workers in supermarkets, or anyone else involved, you have our support and everlasting thanks for what you are doing.
Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (19:04): As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia I advise that One Nation will support the government's measures tackling COVID-19, coronavirus. We don't agree with them all, yet now is when the government that the people elected must be allowed to govern. I will raise serious questions about the government's approach to fulfilling its three core responsibilities: protecting life, protecting property and protecting freedom. All three are relevant tonight. We are well aware of the devastating effects and the human tragedy that this virus is leaving in its wake around the world. Now its attack is taking hold on Australia and on Australians. Many people have died, and, unfortunately, many more will die or be scarred.
The World Health Organization says that, of the people who contract the virus, 3.4 per cent will die, yet there are many factors, including transmission rate and whether or not a nation's healthcare system is overwhelmed. Experts tell us that everyone will eventually get coronavirus. Using these figures simplistically means 850,000 Australians would die. That's staggering, yet we must remain calm, though, because such broad figures cannot be applied so simply, and we can do much better when we are committed. Italy's early figures show a fatality rate much higher than this 3.4 per cent; South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore much lower, around one-tenth.
The first step is to protect people, to prevent deaths. That means stopping or reducing the transmission and that means, in part, stopping human interaction. This virus easily transmits itself from human to human. The second step is to prevent the overwhelming of our healthcare system, so that everyone can get effective treatment. The third step is to identify economic impacts and serious economic challenges, because, without human interactions, economies contract. The fourth step is to identify which industries, sectors and individuals will need assistance. The fifth step is to ask what the sources of financing and the areas for reducing people's expenses are. The final step is to consider how to restore our economy afterwards. That involves short-term and long-term factors to restore our nation's productive capacity and economic resilience.
Let's return to the first step. Some foreign governments acted swiftly to stop the virus. They immediately closed borders and sent people home to protect them and to help isolate and stop the virus. They proactively quarantined, including closing schools, while infection numbers were low. They took immediate action to help curb the spread of this killer. We may or may not know who shares this deadly virus with us—a friend, a relative who does not know they even have the virus themselves—yet the death rate isn't the only determining factor regarding how deadly a pandemic can be; it will be the impact on our families, our businesses, our economy and our way of life. Who knows what life will be like after this storm passes?
Minister, every day Australians are more and more concerned, and we rely on our governments to protect us, yet in Canberra yesterday we saw shoppers mingling normally, and the same in Brisbane restaurants. It is time for decisive action to protect our health, our children, our jobs and our country's future. The sooner we act to stop transmitting the virus and isolate it, the safer Australians will be and the fewer will die. The 1918 Spanish flu epidemic was the deadliest flu season we know, killing around 50 million people. The coronavirus, COVID-19, is no less a killer and is easier for humans to catch than the 1918 Spanish flu.
I base my facts, my data, on reports from Taiwan, South Korea, China and Singapore and from the Western countries that are currently floundering, like Italy, the UK, the USA and more. I have become very concerned that we need decisive action and that we need a stronger, broader, deeper response—now. The question is which is more important: people's lives or the economy? It is not appropriate to try a balancing act. The higher priority is to protect people's health, and I commend the government for acting, yet we have to be both dynamic and aggressive in attacking this enemy, and to base decisions on data.
From a strategic point of view our choice in combating this deadly virus is either mitigation or suppression, yet what does this mean? Mitigation involves voluntary isolation and trying to reduce the impact, like Italy, France, Spain and Britain and the USA, yet this has the potential that very soon we will see the overwhelming of our healthcare system and the destruction of the economy, needlessly costing Australian lives. Mitigation takes time, and experience overseas, as in Italy, says that it is killing more people. Suppression, though, is preferred and is the enforced isolation of the population, as in Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea. It involves aggressive testing and then managed treatment. Suppression could cut this horrendous mortality rate from five per cent in Italy to 0.6 per cent in South Korea. The harsh enforcement of suppression is against our democratic ideals and our friendly outdoors lifestyle. Yet doing it will save potentially hundreds of thousands of Australian lives—and this does not include the collateral damage, where people in need are not able to get into intensive care units.
We should not assume that there will be a hospital bed waiting for us if we get sick or injured. The data suggest that, using mitigation strategies, only one in 30 infected people will be able to get into an ICU bed in Australia. That means that intensive care units in our healthcare system will be completely overwhelmed. Patients will be lying in hospital corridors. Nurses and doctors will decide who survives and who dies—and that's a terrible, scary responsibility for professionals who care. Media reports from Italy say that people over 80 years of age are now not treated. Some victims of coronavirus—and there could likely be many—will need intensive care units, because COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and many people will need intubation. What is going to happen to those who would normally be referred to an ICU unit for other causes, like major trauma or severe burns, respiratory failure, organ transplant or car accidents? Sick or injured Australians may not find a bed that does not already have a coronavirus patient in it, and that means more deaths.
According to the experts and overseas data, suppression is best. But we're not doing it. After that, it's going to take an effective vaccine, which is up to a year away, and then herd immunity, which blocks out the virus when we become immune, from already having had COVID-19. The overseas data seems to show that, right now, we need a suppression strategy, until we develop a vaccine. Our government isn't there yet. And complacency kills.
Reportedly, in South Korea, comprehensive testing for body temperature is followed with testing high-temperature people for COVID-19. Those with the virus are isolated, as are those with weaker immunity. The majority of people stay at work and keep going. That means much less economic disruption to the economy.
Until the government takes stronger action, we're all going to need to practice social distancing, to help minimise the number of people who contract the virus. In simple terms, we all need to keep our distance from others; practice good hygiene, including regular hand-washing and surface-cleaning; eat well; rest; and be considerate of others. We will need to work together to limit exposure to one another, especially with older adults and people with underlying illnesses, who have the greatest risk of developing severe symptoms. Though we do need to take action to contain the spread and to protect our most vulnerable Australians, we all have to take responsibility for the health and welfare of ourselves and others. It is time to care and to be kind.
We have every reason to stay calm and make decisions based on data and facts. Minister, a matter of importance is that every day Australians are calling now for detailed and regular information and updates, and people want information when and where we need it—often. Australians deserve to know the data and the facts about what the government is doing and what is happening to us, here and overseas. Television and the internet may not be available or enough. The government must engage effectively to keep us all up to date with facts.
I especially want to express Australia's thanks and best wishes to all of our healthcare professionals, our heroes, for what they are doing and for what they are going to do in the tough months ahead. Some have talked about bringing health professionals out of retirement. This may be a good idea, provided the older professionals themselves are not in a group at high risk of getting this sinister virus. To all those who step up to the challenge, and to those who support our healthcare heroes: we thank you.
Who knows what Australia and, indeed, the world will look like after this menace is overcome. I just hope that the actions that our national and state governments are taking today will be quick and decisive and ensure that we are saving as many Australian lives as possible. The sooner we are through this event, the sooner we can all get back to normal.
One Nation has scrutinised the bill and, in the interests of speedy action and support for people across our country, will vote in favour. I do, though, want to address two measures we oppose strongly. The first is the business growth fund. Recently the crossbench came together to oppose this legislation. We raised many, many problems with how this terrible legislation would work in practice. We pointed out that there is already a patient capital industry in this country. This legislation will eliminate it. That will reduce competition for the major banks. That will increase returns for the banks. We pointed out that Australian taxpayers would now subsidise the local arm of foreign corporations, to the detriment of Australian owned businesses. We said that the government has no place trying to pick winners in the venture capital space, and no place eliminating competition for the banks. All these objections and more have been ignored. Now I find the bill has been included in the rescue package, so we can no longer oppose it. The Liberals, Nationals and Labor worked on this together. The Liberal-Labor duopoly will do whatever it takes to transfer wealth from everyday Australians to their mates in the banks, even at the cost of wiping out our entire venture capital industry. I thought this was a rescue package, not a 'wipe out the competition to the banks' package.
I do find one thing interesting. One of the suggestions by Senator Patrick was to turn this fund into an underwriting fund. That would allow the existing venture capital market to make loans the government underwrites. This is a much safer bet for the taxpayers: our risk ends as soon as the loan is made. Imagine my surprise when I opened the rescue package and saw the Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill. It is a $20 billion fund—not an underwriting fund but a guaranteed fund. The taxpayers will be guaranteed $20 billion worth of loans. My first thought was: doesn't this fund make a business growth fund moot? What has the venture capital industry done to bring the wrath of the banks down on them? The Liberal-Labor banking cheer squad have moved, from the banks to the taxpayers, the risk for $20 billion worth of small business loans. Yet risk is what the banks deal in. If the government is now picking up the banking sector risk, is the government becoming a bank? Let me take that a step further. It is One Nation policy to create a 'people's bank' to give the big four banks some real competition in the areas in which they are complete failures—honesty, integrity and accountability. A people's bank would be really handy right now. At least we would be propping up a bank we own.
The second area that causes us alarm is the $115 billion this government and the Reserve Bank are about to spend on securitised mortgages. At Senate estimates earlier this month, I asked the Reserve Bank if they had actually checked the $300 billion they are already holding in securitised mortgages. By 'checked' I meant picked a tranche at random, cracked it open and made sure the paperwork was in order, the properties were correctly valued and the mortgaging income and assets were correct. The Reserve Bank admitted to me that it has never opened any of these tranches. I know from the banking victims' cases that flood my office that mortgages are being altered after being issued. The scam is to make a mortgage look better so it can be securitised. This government must check these things before it buys them with taxpayer money.
Now let me turn to the one that is missing from this package, and that is simply the future. Can this government really only think a few months ahead? Where is the vision in this rescue package? Why are we not getting cracking today on nation-building schemes to create new productive capacity to power this nation to a future, to create fresh wealth for everyday Australians? Where is the Bradfield scheme? Where are the dams, the power stations, the ports and airports? Where are the railways to places that need them? We are selling off our farms, shrinking rural Australia, shedding jobs and sending the profits from this new corporate agriculture to the Cayman Islands.
Where are the government's measures to save rural Australia? Oh wait! The Liberal and Labor governments are the ones who have been killing rural Australia for 30 years! Where is the $1 billion for South Australia's south-east drainage project to turn the drains around and send 400 gigalitres of freshwater a year back into the Coorong? This will save a Ramsar listed wetland, with all the tourism and commerce that brings. It will save the Menindee Lakes wetland from being drained—again. It will free up hundreds of gigalitres of water for irrigation, to grow billions of dollars of food and fibre for the world and earn us exports.
Where is the government's response to the PFAS contamination? Yes, that will be expensive to fix. Yet it will inject billions into regions right across Australia as we move affected residents into like-for-like properties and remediate the environmental damage. What a perfect time to be doing that. What about restoring land-use rights to farmers who bought them? The Howard Liberal government and many state Labor government since have stolen without compensation. If not restored under our Constitution, farmers need to be compensated—restoration or compensation so our farmers can get on with the job. What about stopping the waste of billions on subsidies for expensive intermittent solar and wind power? Bring jobs back to Australia with affordable energy using our abundance of energy currently exported to our competitors for cheap energy.
The Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians told us today that a major global source of personal protective equipment for healthcare and aged-care workers is—wait for it—Wuhan, the virus epicentre. This virus has taught us about the stupidity and the cost of the globalist elites in the United Nations preaching 'interdependence'. This virus shows that interdependence is really dependency. We need to restore our productive capacity, our economic resilience and our economic independence. One Nation would build for our future and put people to work, not just put the entire nation onto unemployment benefits. We rely on our government to help protect our health, our economy, our jobs and our way of life. In all respects, we need decisive action and we need it now. People need reassurance, confidence, hope, support and care. (Time expired)
Senator AYRES (New South Wales) (19:19): As the leader of the Labor Party indicated in the House and as Labor speakers this evening have indicated, Labor will be supporting the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020 and related bills. We're supporting it because it is so urgent, but it doesn't mean that we don't have deep concerns about the framing of the legislation and the capacity of the legislation to do what it is supposed to do.
I want to make a couple of remarks this evening to foreshadow an amendment circulated in my name in relation to the employment aspects of the legislation. I want to be frank about some of those issues here this evening. I think we have a responsibility in this place to fight for every job in the Australian economy. We are here for one day together, probably, but nurses, doctors, schoolteachers, supermarket workers, aged-care workers and Centrelink workers will turn up day after day after day to do their jobs. It's appropriate that we're here for one day, but we should be honouring those workers and we should be making sure that we fight for every job in the Australian economy.
The risk of mass unemployment is here, and it's real. Generational unemployment is a social cancer. It eats away at families, it eliminates hope and aspiration for a better life and it corrodes social cohesion. I fear that those on the government side are a little bit too glib about the impact of unemployment and have run up the white flag, conceding that mass unemployment is inevitable. It is not. This government is paralysed by its own sterile ideology, its obsession with small government and trickle-down economics, so that they are dismissive of the power of government to act in the interests of everybody in a market economy. They are too sceptical about the capacity of the state and state action in a crisis. Mass unemployment is not inevitable. I notice that the Treasurer was on his feet conceding very large numbers in terms of the Australian economy today.
Other countries are acting decisively and urgently now to protect jobs and businesses to ensure that they maintain employment and productive capacity for the other side of the crisis. The British government of Boris Johnson—Senator McGrath's old boss—will subsidise firms who keep workers employed to the tune of 80 per cent of their wage bill in order to ensure that furloughed workers remain on the payroll. This plan will initially last for three months, and there is no cap. The Danish government is planning to spend 13 per cent of the nation's GDP subsidising private-sector workers to avoid mass lay-offs. The Danish plan is to essentially freeze the economy for the length of the outbreak so that it can be revitalised quickly when it is over. The New Zealand government is providing immediate wage subsidies of NZ$585 every week for every full-time worker, up to 12 weeks.
Australian governments are entirely capable of decisive action. Kevin Rudd and his government didn't accept the inevitability of mass unemployment either. All but Australia fell victim to corporate collapses and generational job losses in the GFC. Rudd acted with urgency, scale and ambition. Hundreds of thousands of Australians have good jobs today because Kevin Rudd and that government acted decisively then. Of course, it has been pilloried in a dishonest, partisan and corrosive campaign by those opposite ever since. They turned up and voted 34 times against the GFC stimulus package. Contrast that with how Labor comes to the parliament in this time of crisis: constructively, with a sense of urgency and in the national interest.
This package looks anaemic alongside the determination of other governments today and the Rudd government 10 years ago. This package is better at supporting people who lose a job than it is at keeping them in a job in the first place. The value of the withholding tax arrangements is only around 20 per cent for a worker on average weekly ordinary-time earnings. It is nowhere near enough, and business can cash it in and lay off workers. It is unconditional, and that is unacceptable. The package should seek to protect jobs now, not to temporarily soften the blow of unemployment. Firms that receive assistance should be required to maintain workers in their jobs. That's in the interests of the firms themselves, it is in the interests of workers and it is in the national interest. That's what the UK, New Zealand and European economies are doing, and they will be in much better shape after the economic crisis has passed.
Assistance to airlines and other major businesses must involve commitments to maintain capability and employment and an honest consideration of equity stakes rather than untied grants that can be sold again when profitability returns. That is in the interests of taxpayers. Two-thirds of the $189 billion announced by the government is for measures to support credit flows and business lending, even though there was an effort to claim the whole $189 billion as a stimulus. The actual injections of government spending across both stimulus packages amount to only three per cent of GDP, a much smaller figure than for comparable nations. The Morrison government has brought a fiscal knife to an economic gunfight.
The decision to make low-income workers raid their retirement savings rather than the government stepping in to support them stinks. Telling recently unemployed people to raid their own super at the bottom of the market instead of offering substantial wage subsidies is an abrogation of the responsibility of government. It will shift the burden of paying for this crisis onto those who can least afford it. I suspect that the government couldn't help itself. Forcing super funds to liquidate assets at the bottom of the market rather than what they should be doing in the interests of their members—that is, buying assets—is just vandalism.
The package is deeply flawed. It runs up the white flag on jobs, it lacks ambition and it is nowhere near the scale of the response that this crisis demands. The amendment in my name at least holds out the prospect of challenging the government to look up, assess the scale of the challenge, deliver job security for Australian workers and make sure that Australian firms have the workers and the capacity that they need to produce and compete on the other side of this grave economic and health crisis.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (19:27): I rise tonight to contribute to the debate on the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020. This bill marks an important step in pushing forward the supports for Australians during this unprecedented crisis and covers many areas. Some of the measures in this bill that I want to specifically address are related to a lot of the payments that will be made available for Australians in a number of areas. The once-off payment of $750 applies to people receiving FTB A and FTB B, the age pension, DSP, the wife pension, the carer payment, the bereavement allowance, the widow allowance, parenting payments, youth allowance, Austudy, Newstart, the sickness allowance, the special benefit and partner payments. The first payment applies to people who receive income support between 12 March 2020 and 13 April 2020 and will be made available on 31 March. This bill also covers—and I want to speak about this—the second payment that applies to people who receive income support but are ineligible for the coronavirus supplement. It occurs on 13 July.
The bill also provides for a coronavirus supplement of $550 per fortnight to new and existing recipients of the jobseeker payment and some people on youth allowance, the parenting payment, the farm household allowance and special benefit payments. The $550 supplement will be available for an initial six months and, as we know from the bill now, the minister is able to extend the supplement by legislative instrument for a period not exceeding three months. Income support recipients are also exempt from the assets test, the liquid assets waiting period, the ordinary waiting period, the newly arrived residents waiting period and the seasonal work preclusion period. I strongly, strongly welcome the streamlined application process that removes the requirement for employment separation certificates and the need for jobseekers to make an appointment with employment service providers before they can be paid.
As has been articulated by my colleague, the Greens support this bill, but we are worried that it doesn't go far enough given the magnitude of this crisis, as my colleagues and I are addressing in our contributions during this debate. I foreshadow now that I've got a second reading amendment which highlights our concerns about the people being left behind. We are facing an unprecedented crisis that will see hundreds of thousands of people lose their jobs. A social safety net must be equipped and ready to support everyone in need of help. I will just add here that we're having to do massive repairs to our social safety net because, over the years, so many great big holes have been slashed right through it.
First, I'd like to go specifically to the $550 supplements and say that, finally, the government has listened to the community and all those living in poverty on Newstart, crying out for an increase to Newstart, for years and years now. This substantial increase to Newstart shows just how serious this crisis is, and I welcome the increase. As someone who has been campaigning for an increase in Newstart, when I heard that it was going to be doubling, I've got to admit that a tear came to my eye—that people will now get access to a payment that at least keeps them out of poverty.
But it shouldn't have taken a crisis like this to show compassion for those surviving on Newstart. Of course, we need a long-term and permanent increase to Newstart. The supplements announced are time limited to six months, with the potential, if the crisis continues, to be renewed. But, after this crisis is over, the government cannot simply drop people that are still on jobseeker payments back to $40 a day. That would be unconscionable. We in this country need to make sure we put in place a permanent increase to Newstart, and I for one commit absolutely to continuing to campaign for that. A lot of people are now saying it is time for the nation to consider a universal basic income. It is times like these that highlight the absolute need for these sorts of protections, and I think that's going to be a live, ongoing debate.
I'm deeply disappointed that a number of key groups of people are missing out on the coronavirus supplement because, apparently, the government doesn't think these people will be hurt by the health crisis and economic downturn. Students will be some of the first to lose their jobs, as casual workers in the gig economy. I'm deeply concerned this is going to encourage students to drop out of their studies, hurting both their studies and the universities and TAFEs they are attending. And why should disabled people on DSP and carers on carer payment miss out on this payment, particularly disabled people who are out of work? Why should they be treated differently to those on the jobseeker payment? One of my colleagues received an email from a constituent over the weekend. This person is on DSP and is immunocompromised. They work part-time at a supermarket. They shouldn't be working during the coronavirus crisis, but they don't have a choice. People on DSP must get the coronavirus supplement to ensure that they are not being put at risk.
I'm also concerned about age pensioners, particularly those that are paying rent and getting Commonwealth rent assistance. We all know that's inadequate, and they will be particularly hurt during this crisis. We need to make sure that those who are on the age pension and renting, who are highly likely to be living in poverty, also have access to the supplement. That's why I'll be moving amendments to extend the supplement to those on youth allowance, Austudy, Abstudy, DSP and the carer payment and age pensioners receiving Commonwealth rent assistance.
This uncertainty over whether they should get it has to end now, not if the government decides, out of the goodness of its heart, to use the provisions in the bill to extend it to those payments. Uncertainty needs to be cleared up right now. We are in a time of great uncertainty, and any uncertainty over potential access to resources, if it can be addressed, needs to be addressed, which is why I'm moving the amendments that I'll be moving in the committee of the whole.
We also strongly support the two one-off economic support payments going out to a wide range of people that receive income support, like veterans and concession card holders. This will provide targeted assistance to those struggling through the crisis. However, I'm extremely disappointed—and, again, we'll be moving an amendment—that those that are holding the low-income healthcare cards, who by the very definition of the description of the card are on low incomes, will not be receiving those payments. It's illogical. It is also unfair that families who are raising children and receiving FTB part A won't receive any additional relief to support those children during this particular time, which is why I'm also moving an amendment to ensure that families with children get a payment for the children through the supplement.
I'm also deeply concerned that the supplement is being tied to the cashless debit card and that those that are trying to survive on the cashless debit card will have 100 per cent of the payment on the card. We think this is unfair and extends the punitive approach that government takes on the cashless debit card. People on the cashless debit card should be able to use the $750 payment in their normal bank account so they can take advantage of cheaper food at markets, if the markets are still there, or in other safe ways—to be able to buy second-hand goods, for example. But, importantly, if those that are surviving on the cashless debit card, with limited cash, aren't able to access the second-hand economy like they usually do, they will have more expenses.
The fact that the government still thinks it's okay to enforce mutual obligations is nonsensical. I have had a number of phone calls into my office about this. I've had lots of social media inquiries and comments as well. The government has improved the flexibility. But, for a start, it doesn't seem to be being applied by some job service providers. As of today, I've had people telling me that people are being required to fill in a form to see if they can get an exemption from turning up to job interviews at their job service provider and it'll be up to the job service provider to determine whether they should come in or not. People are still being required by their job service provider to come in for interviews. A lot of people, believe it or not, don't have access to the internet at home. They don't have smartphones and they don't have computers. They use them in libraries and other social places, where they will no longer be able to attend. So to just say, 'Go online,' does not pass muster. Mutual obligations should be suspended.
On top of that, providers are not going to be able to deal with the massive number of people that are going onto jobseeker allowance. Cut it now. You've already done the right thing, finally, in suspending CDP. Suspend mutual obligations for everybody and make sure the employment providers are able to act in a proactive, supportive way instead of a punitive way. Instead of having them take a compliance approach, get them supporting people to update their CVs, encourage them in more training and things like that, not through mutual obligations, where people are forced to turn up and put themselves and the workers in the job service providers at risk.
Services Australia, I'm pleased to see, have an additional 5,000 staff. I'll be asking questions about how they're to be onboarded and what they will be doing. But a serious question remains: is the government still pursuing robodebts and repayment of debts? I've had contact from someone as late as Friday who'd been contacted by Centrelink about repaying a debt. I want to know how many Centrelink staff are currently pursuing debts, including robodebts—illegal robodebts, by the way—when all those debts should be cancelled, and those staff should be looking after the Australians who are currently at risk from and need support through the crisis we are facing. We've already seen the meltdown of the myGov site that occurred today, misattributed to a cyberattack, when the fact is that the system couldn't deal with the 55,000 people who were trying to access it—and we saw the police called to a Centrelink office in Sydney, I'm told. Those staff should be working to make sure that these payments are delivered.
There are a number of communities that are specifically at risk when it comes to coronavirus. They are particularly vulnerable. I am very pleased to see the measures that have been put in place to make sure, for example, that coronavirus is kept out of remote First Nations communities. That is really, really imperative. But there are many things that still need to be done to support particular people—for example, meeting any extra costs for people with an NDIS plan, and making sure we are meeting the needs of disabled people who will have further costs beyond what some other people will have. It's also really important that we're looking after the mental health of Australians, both those who already have poor mental health and those who go into self-isolation. I hope that the government will seriously consider and support our amendments. I'm also pleased to see not-for-profits can access the stimulus package now; they were left out before. We will continue to monitor that situation.
Finally, I'd like to say to everybody, because we're all going to be staying at home more and we're not going to be seeing many of our loved ones: save up your hugs for when this crisis is past, and then we can hug our loved ones, our friends and our family.
Senator HANSON-YOUNG (South Australia) (19:42): I rise tonight to add my contribution to this extraordinary debate that we're having today in this place and the other place on what is an unprecedented package of bills for the parliament to pass, put forward by the government of the day to deal with what are clearly unprecedented times. We are in the midst of a health crisis, we're in the midst of the economic crisis and we're in the midst of a community and social crisis. But, as we go through this process, as we do everything we can to flatten that curve, to save lives and to deal with the economic ramifications, I fear that the community and social crisis is the one that's going to be with us the longest. It is that crisis that many of us in this place have already referenced today—how we help those who are most vulnerable; those who have lost their jobs, literally overnight; and the people on the front lines, working to keep all of us safe and healthy.
These are indeed unprecedented times, reflected in the extraordinary scenes we are seeing across the world. All you need to do is look at the images and reports coming out of Italy right now—not something we would wish on any community, on any group of people, on any country. Here in Australia, there are extraordinary events that are unfolding, like businesses closing and collapsing overnight; and schools closing in some areas, with more to close as the days and weeks go by. And, of course, there are the extraordinary, heartbreaking scenes that we saw today of thousands of people, Australians who have lost their jobs, whether it was overnight or in the last week or two, lining up around the block for Centrelink offices, right around the country. I must say that the footage of people lined up, desperate to get in to speak to Centrelink about what help they could get—how Centrelink could help pay their rent, put food on the table and support their families—is absolutely heartbreaking. There was footage from Bondi where police were called to tell people lined up outside the local Centrelink office to go away and come back tomorrow with maybe a hope that they'd get in the door. One woman outside that office reported that she had $10 to her name today, and the police told her to turn around and go home. I fear that these types of scenes, sadly, are going to be seen more and more as we deal with this unfolding crisis.
That, of course, is why the government has put forward this extraordinary package of legislation. It is a huge amount of money to be putting on the table. But even then, when we look around at what's going on and listen to the experts, we know more is going to be needed. People are anxious, they're scared, they're fearful and they're really confused. It's been really difficult for people to understand what is going to happen. What is expected of them? How can they help prepare themselves and their families? How do they answer those questions that their kids have about what is going on? Children are very good at asking those terrible questions that we as adults dare not utter: How many people are going to die? What's going to happen to grandma and grandpa? When do I get to go back to school? Why can't I have a birthday party with my friends? The questions that children ask us in times of crisis like this are the most illuminating.
As leaders from right across the community and the country here, gathered in this place, we have to steel ourselves to be prepared to be honest and truthful about what these consequences mean. Thousands of people will die. Some medical experts here in Australia are saying it could that 150,000 people may die from this. Hundreds of thousands of people are going to lose their jobs. The Treasurer himself today said that a million people are expected to become unemployed because of the coronavirus. Hundreds of thousands of people are already losing their jobs. What happens when we get sick? We have to be honest about this to the Australian people. Our hospitals are, at this point, going to become overcrowded and overloaded. It's up to us to be honest about that and say what it is that we're going to do to fix it, which is why the Greens today are calling for a doubling of those critical care beds in hospitals. We know they're going to be needed.
Politics has taken quite a battering over the last few years. Trust has been eroded. Trust in public institutions is as low as it's ever been. At a time like this, it's really difficult to ask people or to expect people to all of a sudden trust that we've got this in hand, that the government has a plan and can deliver it. We have to make sure we work bloody hard to rebuild that trust, and that means being honest, that means being clear, that means being able to give advice that is understandable—without contradiction.
Yes, we need to listen to those medical experts who are telling us we need to go hard and we need to go now. I want to thank all of those health professionals and medicos who right now are on the frontline and will be expected and needed to be on the frontline for weeks and months to come. As a community, and as a society, we are going to be indebted to you forevermore. The teachers who are dealing with the questions, anxiety and confusion of students across the country today, the childcare workers and the aged-care workers who know that their skills are critical at this moment—many of whom aren't paid enough, many of whom are not on good wages, many of whom are employed casually and if they get sick themselves are unsure how they are going to be able to pay the rent or the mortgage—for them we must step up and make sure no-one is left behind.
Businesses right across the country are closing their doors, standing down staff. From the biggest companies like Qantas—even the AFL today is standing down 80 per cent of their staff and the remaining 20 per cent are going to take a pay cut—to the smallest businesses that are the heartbeat of our nation's economy. And it's those people who within an instant of the announcements being rolled out by the government over the last two weeks lost business, had to stand down staff and had to close their doors. For those people this is a terrifying time. Many of those businesses will never recover. Whole families have invested in these operations. Their staff are like family to them. The casual workers and the gig economy workers have no idea what they're going to do now. And thankfully there is some support in this package to make sure people have access to Newstart and the coronavirus supplement. Once you fall out of that particular work field it's often very hard, in some sectors, to get back in. While we talk about hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people being unemployed for the next six months, that time, that uncertainty and that lack of employment is going to stretch for many, many of them for months and years to come.
We know that the industries that have been hit the hardest thus far include tourism. After all of the efforts and the heartache that the tourism industry faced, and those small family operators in towns right across the country—who battled the bushfires—today they are having a double whammy. Australia's tourism industry, and all of the businesses and small communities that rely on them, have been decimated all over again. They need their own support package. I'm sad to say that what we have been given by the government thus far is not enough. It is not enough for our tourism industries.
Hospitality, arts, entertainment—these industries two weeks ago had the rug pulled out from underneath them and instantly lost hundreds of millions, billions of dollars. Half a million people in the arts and entertainment industry have already lost their jobs over the last two weeks. Billions of dollars are going to be wiped out of our economy because we haven't been able to cushion the blow to our arts, creative and entertainment industries enough. Of course, in the midst of the bushfires, who was it that stepped up to give us hope, to raise money, to support their local community without asking for anything in return? It was our artists, our creatives, our entertainers. And when we finally get through this, who is going to be there to help us rebuild and heal? Our arts community is essential to helping us as a community rebuild, regather and redefine ourselves after these challenges. Our arts and entertainment sector desperately needs much more support than what's being put on the table. I implore the government: you have $20-odd billion left in your kitty over the next couple of months as a result of the supply measures. Please use it. The arts and entertainment industry needs its own package to survive.
The world is changing very, very quickly. We need to make sure we guarantee wages and guarantee jobs, which is why I'm foreshadowing a second reading amendment that does this. Passing this amount of money and not ensuring that people get to keep their jobs is crazy. In the UK, Boris Johnson of all people gets this. I implore the government to think very carefully about these amendments and to consider what can be done to guarantee people's jobs are kept when businesses are handed public money.
Finally, I just want to say that in the midst of all of this and the desire for truth, clarity and information, our public broadcasters are essential. The ABC has been doing a brilliant job of trying to keep the Australian people informed with facts and informed analysis, and trying to deal with those tricky questions that no-one seems to have an answer to. Thank heaven for Dr Swan being able to answer those questions that the government can't. I implore the minister today: reverse the cuts to the ABC and lift the indexation freeze so that every Australian knows what is actually going on.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (19:57): I rise to speak to the coronavirus economic response package stimulus bills. This is of course a time of great anxiety, fear and uncertainty for people. In times like this, we are bound together by our collective humanity and compassion for each other. While we have all seen reports of some people acting without care or consideration for others, it's important that we celebrate the too-rarely reported stories of community strength and solidarity in these times. Around the country, neighbours have banded together to support each other. Whether it's a grocery run, a home-cooked meal or a chat, every gesture is a reminder of the caring attitude that will get us through this crisis.
We are all anxious and dealing with the changes needed for our new, isolated way of life. I've had more than a few sleepless nights this month, as I'm sure many others here and around the country have had. I'm worried about my loved ones, family and friends, who are scattered all over the world—in Pakistan, the US and the UK. I do want to acknowledge the incredible stress that social distancing, separation and travel bans place on families. No amount of video calling could beat having my kids and my mum at home with me now. But, like so many other families, FaceTime and Skype will have to do while we get through these times.
These are trying times for all of us. They are particularly difficult times for the more than three million people in Australia without secure jobs. These are people in precarious work, on contracts and in casual employment. Many have already lost their jobs and their incomes. Many more face losing their jobs in the weeks and months to come. For them, it is a matter of survival. This crisis has brought into focus how capitalism has not built, and fundamentally cannot build, a just and decent life for all. The 'no holds barred' system of profit and wealth accumulation, at the expense of people and the planet, has made workers and all ordinary people vulnerable to the health and economic consequences of the coronavirus. The reality of capitalism's failure to care for people and communities is rendered so stark by this crisis that even the Liberals' stimulus package amounts to a tacit acknowledgement of the truth that economies stand on the backs of workers, not cashed up CEOs. It has exposed the horrific consequences of governments around the world rabidly endearing to the neoliberal dogma of privatisation and small government that has led to the erosion of services and health care, harming so many right now.
Our economy has worked for the benefit of big businesses and their profits for far too long. The test today is whether the package before us finally puts people, the planet and the community ahead of profits. Vulnerable and at-risk people must be at the centre of everything we do in these crucial months. Unfortunately, parts of the stimulus package before us serve to further prop up multibillion-dollar corporations, their overpaid executives and their bonuses. A stimulus without the necessary care for workers to retain their wages and jobs, without conditions that ensure that big corporations who make billions in profits don't beg for public money again and again, is no stimulus at all.
This crisis has provided the government with the right motive, and means, to make a serious commitment to public ownership of public services. This is our opportunity to renationalise, to bring essential services such as airlines back into public hands where they belong. The wealth gap in Australia has become a chasm between those who can afford to adapt to a crisis like COVID-19 and those who are left to bear the brunt. This is the time to correct these historic wrongs of the gross mistreatment of people and nature at the hands of the violent and unregulated neoliberal extractivism and consumerism that has left people destitute and unable to cope with emergencies.
A stimulus that does not have at its heart a green new deal for all does not come close to passing the humanity test. We do not get a shot at resetting the economy very often and we need to get it right. But to do that we'll have to learn from past mistakes. We know that big business bailouts didn't work in the GFC. Corporate responsibility is just a buzzword that pops up every now and then but holds no real meaning. If the government is serious about having a sustainable and just economy for all of us, the stimulus is our chance to do it. The choices this government makes can and should set us on course for a better future where the hallmark of our society is not greed or profit but recognition of our collective strengths.
The stimulus must be used to set up ourselves and our society for a future that is fair. It must be tied to conditions such as secure work and fair wages for all. We know the lengths to which the wealthy and powerful will go—and, frankly, the Venn diagram of these two groups is usually a circle—to get public subsidies and taxpayer funded bailouts. They have the ear of the government. But those in precarious work and casual employment, those already on the brink with no workers benefits, don't. These are the people the government needs to look out for now.
Let us never again think that the economy is built by big corporations. It is built on the back of workers, not executives. It is built on the hard work and dedication of our essential frontline workers—our nurses, doctors, teachers, educators, emergency responders and carers. As the Greens spokesperson for education, I want to particularly thank our schoolteachers and staff who are working incredibly hard right now under a lot of pressure. We support you in fighting for all the extra support and resources you need, including paid leave for all and work-from-home provisions for vulnerable workers in our schools. Society is being literally held together right now, as always, by jobs that are often wrongly considered unskilled—grocery store workers, cashiers, home food delivery drivers, cleaners and those working in the supply chains that we rely on. These jobs are more often than not kept casual and insecure, underpaid and undervalued. I want to acknowledge and thank each and every worker keeping the wheels turning right now. You are essential and you deserve to be recognised and paid as such. It's not right that these bills allow businesses and banks to decide where most of the money, ostensibly for workers, goes. In particular, there is no requirement for businesses who receive government support to keep employing staff. What we need is a jobs and wages guarantee. On this front, we are failing on international comparisons. The UK has guaranteed 80 per cent wages support, while Australia is providing an equivalent of only 15 per cent support.
Let us not forget that COVID-19 is a gendered crisis. Nurses, nurse aids, teachers, child carers and early childhood educators, aged-care workers and cleaners are mostly women. They are on the frontline of this public health crisis and carry a disproportionate risk of being exposed to the virus. Let's also not forget that not all homes are safe places. Quarantine or self-isolation at home will put women and children at risk. Women's advocates and domestic violence experts are warning us that domestic abuse increases during times of crisis, and I'm terribly worried that these warnings have not been heeded by this government that has long resisted adequate funding for the needed resources and refuges.
To leave one of us behind is to leave our humanity behind. Regrettably, the government's package leaves students, carers and those living with a disability well behind those it assists. The Greens will continue our fight, including with our proposed amendments today, to ensure that everybody is included. Health care is a human right. Housing is a human right. Secure work is a human right. The stimulus should ensure that people are not evicted from their homes, that people can get treatment and that a jobs and wages guarantee protects workers and prevents businesses from taking advantage of these funds during a time of crisis.
Students on youth allowance, Austudy and Abstudy are excluded from this package. They are already losing hours and work while their education is up in the air. They are as exposed to the horrors of this crisis as anyone and deserve the same boost in income support. I've been inundated with messages from students, many of whom have lost their jobs and feel they will be forced to abandon their studies to become eligible for the coronavirus supplement to make ends meet. Surely this perverse outcome is not what the government intends. The Greens support the students' calls and will be moving amendments to include students and those payments, as they should.
As well as including students, we need to ensure the raises to income support, including Newstart, are ongoing once the stimulus package expires. The emergency changes to the childcare subsidy and the additional childcare subsidy made this week are welcome, and I will be watching carefully to make sure that the sector that educates, cares for and supports so many children and families receives the support it needs to make it through this crisis.
On the note of child care, I want to reiterate my call for the activity test to be scrapped immediately and properly subsidised child care made available to more families, not fewer. As workplaces suspend operations and cut shifts, families become unable to meet the activity test and may lose access to subsidised child care. Those who currently are meeting the activity test through volunteering or education will also lose out in the wake of the virus as these opportunities are cancelled. We must not let this happen. Not one person should be forced onto the streets by this crisis. It's that simple. To make sure that this doesn't leave people without a roof over their heads, we need action right now, and that will require going much further than the measures before us today. We need an immediate ban on rental evictions; we need rental and mortgage holidays; and we need an increase to rent assistance and urgent funding for crisis housing and services.
In terms of this package that we are debating today, it actually authorises the government to invest $15 billion in debt securities. We know from the announcement last Thursday that this investment will be primarily in residential mortgage-backed securities. In other words, this is government insurance for the derivatives market, which will be particularly beneficial to non-bank lenders, including private equity and hedge funds that provide bank finance for mortgages. These so-called shadow banks are not regulated by APRA and don't have to meet the same capital holding requirements that conventional banks do. This $15 billion amounts to a bailout that will likely go towards some of the riskiest lenders, including subprime loans. This should not happen. I will be moving a second reading amendment to make it clear that, in respect of mortgages, the primary task for governments at this time should be to ensure that COVID-19 doesn't result in families losing their homes, by putting a temporary ban on mortgage foreclosures for homeowners.
What we have here in front of us is a crisis, but it is also an opportunity that we meet the needs of the crisis and go beyond that. We need to look beyond the next six months and commit to rebuilding our society so that no-one can be left behind. To do that we need a stimulus package much bigger and fairer than the one before us today. We need a package that looks to industries of the future. We need a package that kickstarts a manufacturing revolution. We need a package that delivers a green new deal, that values life-making, caring work and that puts people before profit in all that we do. I move:
At the end of the motion, add:
", but the Senate is of the opinion that the Government should:
(a) seek to ensure that the economic impacts of COVID-19 do not result in homeowners losing their homes or the major banks taking a larger share of the market; and
(b) introduce a temporary ban on mortgage foreclosures for homeowners;
(c) provide government insurance of mortgage repayments for homeowners who have a loan with a non-major bank; and
(d) ensure that, where governments cover mortgage repayments for homeowners, the amount covered by the Government be held as a debt against the property, and that this debt have priority over all other debts held against the property".
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (20:11): Firstly I thank those senators who have contributed to this debate. The measures contained in the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020 provide critical support for the Australian economy and for those in our community most affected by the global spread of the coronavirus. The measures include additional household income and business support that is designed to flow through to and strengthen the wider Australian economy.
Schedule 1 to the bill supports business investment by increasing the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000 and expanding access to businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million, up from $50 million. The enhanced instant asset write-off applies to assets first used or installed ready for use in the period from 12 March 2020 to 30 June 2020.
Schedule 2 to the bill supports business investment by enabling businesses with aggregated turnover below $500 million to bring forward deductions of 50 per cent of the cost of certain assets that they have committed to purchase after 12 March 2020 if they are first used or installed by 30 June 2021.
Schedule 3 to the bill will support employers to manage cash-flow challenges and help businesses and not-for-profits, including charities, retain their employees and keep operating by providing a cash-flow boost payment. The bill will provide at least $20,000 and up to $100,000 back to eligible businesses and not-for-profits, including charities. This will benefit around 690,000 businesses, employing around 7.8 million people, and around 30,000 not-for-profits will also benefit.
Schedule 4 to the bill provides for the payment of the first economic support payment of $750 to around 6.6 million social security and veterans income support recipients, farm household allowance recipients, family tax benefit recipients and holders of a pensioner concession card, Commonwealth seniors health card or Commonwealth gold card. This schedule also provides for the payment of a second economic support payment of $750 and to social security and veterans income support recipients, family tax benefit recipients and holders of a pensioner concession card, Commonwealth seniors health card or Commonwealth gold card who receive a qualifying payment or hold a qualifying concession card on 10 July 2020. The second payment will not be paid to a person who receives on 10 July 2020 the new coronavirus supplement established by this bill.
Schedule 5 to the bill amends the Biosecurity Act 2015 to ensure Australia continues to have a world-class biosecurity system which is flexible and responsive to public health threats such as those caused by the coronavirus.
Schedule 6 to the bill makes amendments to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 2019 to temporarily waive the environmental management charge. This forms part of the $1 billion allocation government has set aside to support those regions and communities that have been disproportionately affected by the economic impacts of the coronavirus.
Schedule 7 to the bill provides assistance for up to 70,000 small businesses, including those using a group training organisation to support the retention of around 117,000 apprentices and trainees. It also provides a $715 million relief package to help put Australia's aviation industry in the best possible position to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
Schedule 8 to the bill creates a temporary instrument-making power in the Corporations Act for the Treasurer to grant time-limited relief from regulatory requirements where these would interfere with the ability of companies to manage the business through the impacts of the coronavirus.
Schedule 9 to the bill provides flexibility for approved childcare providers and families who depend on the childcare subsidy to manage absences and to be able to continue to access care for their children.
Schedule 10 to the bill reduces the superannuation minimum drawdown rights for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 income years by 50 per cent. These rights prescribe the amount that an individual in the retirement phase must withdraw from an account based pension or similar product, depending on their age.
Schedule 11 to the bill provides temporary financial support through a COVID-19 supplement of $550 per fortnight to new and existing income support recipients receiving a working age payment. It will also provide streamlined access and extended eligibility to income support for an initial period of six months from 14 April 2020, but it may be extended. The schedule also creates a new category of crisis payment and delays commencement of the simplifying income reporting act for up to a year.
Schedule 12 to the bill provides a safety net for businesses to allow them to get through a temporary period of insolvency and recover when economic growth picks up.
Schedule 13 to the bill establishes a new temporary compassionate ground of early release of superannuation, allowing impacted individuals to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation tax free in 2019-20 and up to a further $10,000 in 2020-21.
Schedule 14 to the bill amends the Medicare Levy Act 1986 and the A New Tax System (Medicare Levy Surcharge—Fringe Benefits) Act 1999 to increase the Medicare levy low-income thresholds for singles, families, and seniors and pensioners in line with increases in the consumer price index.
Schedule 15 to the bill amends the Charter of Budget Honesty Act to delay the next Intergenerational reportfrom 2020 to mid-2021 to ensure there's adequate time to produce long-term projections that are based on robust budget estimates.
Schedule 16 to the bill will allow responsible ministers to defer sunsetting dates over the coming months when this parliament will, quite rightly, be focused on responding to the needs of the Australian community. During this time, a number of acts passed by this parliament and a large number of instruments are scheduled to sunset. When an act or legislative instrument is scheduled to sunset on or before 15 October 2020, the bill will allow the minister responsible for that act or instrument to defer the sunset day by up to six months. This will ensure no gaps occur in our laws during this critical period.
The government understand the need to move quickly to provide support and relief to small and medium-sized enterprises that are under incredible pressure and play such an integral role in the Australian economy. We are providing a guarantee for new short-term loans issued by authorised deposit-taking institutions and non-ADI lenders to support small and medium-sized enterprises to cover immediate cash flow needs in response to the economic crisis associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Importantly, the guarantee will apply to eligible loans made after the government's announcement of this measure regardless of whether the loans were made before or after the commencement of this bill. There is an overall cap of $20 billion on the appropriation for meeting liabilities under this guarantee. In the event of a loan default under this measure, the government will compensate the lender for an agreed proportion of the losses.
The Commonwealth will be authorised to participate in forming and acquiring shares in, or debentures of, the Australian Business Growth Fund and appropriates $100 million for that purpose. The Australian Business Growth Fund's purpose will be to offer growing, established companies patient equity capital and strategic support to assist them to reach their growth potential. Businesses seeking support can be from across Australia and from a range of industries. Established Australian businesses will be eligible for long-term equity capital investments of between $5 million and $15 million where they can demonstrate three years of revenue growth and profitability and a clear growth vision. This response package will appropriate a further $1 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to support those sectors, regions and communities that have been disproportionately affected by the economic impacts of the coronavirus. Further plans and measures to support recovery will be designed and delivered in partnership with the affected industries and communities through the funding allocated in this package.
The government is also establishing a $15 billion Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response) Fund and a Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response) Fund Special Account. The fund will ensure continued access to funding markets impacted by the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and promote competition in consumer and business lending markets. In particular, this will ensure that smaller lenders can maintain access to funding by the government, making targeted investments in structured finance markets. To fund this package, the government is appropriating the necessary funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. I should also advise the chamber that, after some further discussions between the government and the opposition, the government will be proposing some amendments to this legislation. May I pause here to say that the government has very much appreciated the positive and constructive engagement with the opposition and the spirit in which discussions on this and a number of other bills and measures have taken place in recent times, so thank you very much.
The government will amend social security law to allow the Minister for Families and Social Services to make changes to the relevant legislation via a legislative instrument. This power would allow the government to act with the utmost flexibility in the unprecedented circumstances we're experiencing in respect of the coronavirus outbreak. It will allow us to alter settings associated with payment rates, means-testing arrangements, eligibility criteria, waiting periods and residency requirements to respond in a measured and timely manner where appropriate. We are supercharging our safety net in order to assist Australians impacted by the coronavirus. This power would cease at the end of 2020. We intend to use this power immediately to make student payments—Abstudy, Austudy and youth allowance for students—and to make changes to the partner income test. The government recognises that, in these unprecedented times, some Australians will need to depend on government assistance in the short term to help them through. Providing additional financial support through social security is just one of the many ways that the Australian government, with the support of the Australian parliament, is helping to support individuals, communities and the economy during these testing times. This builds on the broader economic response package to coronavirus. I commend these bills to the Senate.
The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Cormann. I'm going to deal with the second reading amendments in the order—two have been moved, and then I'll move to the ones that haven't yet been moved but have been circulated. The first second reading amendment is on page 8919, moved by Senator Keneally. The question is that that second reading amendment be agreed to.
Question agreed to.
The PRESIDENT: I'll come now to the second amendment, which Senator Faruqi moved at the conclusion of her speech. It's the one on page 8913. I'm going to take it that, if any of these are contradictory, I'll have that pointed out to me, but I'll put them on the basis that they're not. The question is that the second reading amendment moved by Senator Faruqi on page 8913 be agreed to. Those of that opinion say aye. To the contrary, no. The noes have it.
Senator Siewert: The ayes have it, but we would just like to record that the Greens supported it.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Siewert, the noes have it, but you would like it recorded, as we did earlier today, in the Hansard and the Journals that the Australian Greens supported that particular amendment?
Senator Siewert: Yes, please.
The PRESIDENT: So recorded.
Question negatived.
The PRESIDENT: I'll now come to the other amendments that have yet to be moved in the order in which the speaker has addressed the chamber. Senator McKim, could I ask you to formally move your amendment on page 8922?
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (20:24): You may. I move:
At the end of the motion, add:
", but the Senate is of the opinion that the Government must develop and promptly present its plan to at least double the number of intensive care units, ventilators and the necessary medical equipment immediately, and then further increase these supplies in line with the advice of medical experts so the Australian people can be confident that no one will be left to die unnecessarily from this pandemic".
The PRESIDENT: The question is that that second reading amendment be agreed to.
Question agreed to.
Senator URQUHART (Tasmania—Opposition Whip in the Senate) (20:24): On behalf of Senator Ayres, I move the second reading amendment on sheet 8925:
At the end of the motion, add:
", but the Senate:
(a) notes that there is no conditionality on assistance measures to business to keep workers employed; and
(b) calls on the Government to implement measures to provide sufficient incentive for employers to keep employees in work.".
The PRESIDENT: The question is that second reading amendment moved by Senator Urquhart on behalf of Senator Ayres on page 8925 be agreed to.
Question agreed to.
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (20:25): I move the second reading amendment on sheet 8920:
At the end of the motion, add: ", but the Senate:
(a) is of the opinion that:
(i) every Australian deserves a dignified retirement,
(ii) Australians are proud of our world-class superannuation system,
(iii) drawing down on superannuation when the market is at historic lows will have negative implications for most Australians, and should only be an option of last resort, and
(iv) the administrative arrangements specified in Schedule 13 of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020 will not ensure that Australians in genuine hardship receive prompt payment from their superannuation fund; and
(b) calls on the Government to:
(i) ensure that ordinary Australians have access to the right information and advice in times of hardship by increasing funding for financial counselling and the Centrelink Financial Information Service,
(ii) closely monitor the financial advice industry to ensure that early release claimants are not provided with inaccurate advice,
(iii) table a letter from the Chair of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, certifying that the implementation of Schedule 13 will have no systemic impacts on the superannuation system, and
(iv) consult with industry, unions, and representatives of other political parties before the implementation of the measures in Schedule 13, noting the potentially significant, negative impact on the retirement outcomes of ordinary Australians".
The PRESIDENT: The question is that that amendment moved by Senator Gallagher on page 8920 be agreed to.
Question agreed to.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:25): I move the Greens' second reading amendment on page 8923:
At the end of the motion, add:
", but the Senate is of the opinion that:
(a) this package does not adequately support large sections of the population who will be left behind and disproportionately affected by this health crisis and the ensuing social lockdown and economic shutdown, and the Senate calls on the government to immediately amend its package to ensure proper support is provided to at least the following groups:
(i) the 37 per cent of the Australian workforce, casual and gig economy employees with no paid leave,
(ii) students, carers, Disability Support Pension recipients, and age pensioners who receive Commonwealth Rent Assistance, none of whom will be eligible for the$550 a fortnight COVID-19 supplement and will be trapped beneath the poverty line and who face the very real threat of rental eviction,
(iii) First Nations peoples who are at severe risk of harm from COVID-19,
(iv) those facing domestic and family violence who are at serious risk during a period of prolonged isolation and who do not have adequately funded services to support them, and
(v) non-Australians who call Australia home, including asylum seekers on temporary protection visas, people who hold temporary work or skilled visas, international students, people who hold working holiday visas, New Zealand citizens on non-protected Special Category Visas, and new permanent residents, who do not all have access to income support and in many cases cannot return home;
(b) it is critical to protect people from homelessness by placing a moratorium on evictions and the Senate calls on the Government to urgently make this happen;
(c) to enable people to work from home and to maintain social connection the Government must ensure that no one is cut off from internet services including the NBN;
(d) the government must provide much needed extra financial support to those industries hardest hit, including tourism, hospitality, and the arts and entertainment sector;
(e) to provide for workers who have no paid leave at all, the Government must pass the Greens' Fair Work Amendment (COVID-19) Bill 2020;
(f) the Government must ensure that it reverses funding cuts and lifts the freeze on indexation imposed on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation so that it can deliver timely, accurate and reliable advice to the public during this period;
(g) the Government must immediately suspend mutual obligation requirements to protect the health and safety of all people on income support payments and employment service providers;
(h) the Government must permanently increase the Jobseeker Payment, Youth Allowance, AUSTUDY and ABSTUDY after the crisis is over to ensure people on income support payments are not dropped below the poverty line;
(i) the Government must immediately cancel all robodebts and look to repay debts to robodebt victims once the crisis is over; and
(j) the Government must consider what other forms of support should be provided to promote social cohesion and reduce the potential for discrimination against already vulnerable individuals and communities in these challenging times.
The PRESIDENT: The question is that the second reading amendment moved by Senator Siewert on page 8923 be agreed to.
Question negatived.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Siewert, you would like it recorded in the Journals and Hansard that the Australian Greens supported that particular motion?
Senator Siewert: Yes, please.
The PRESIDENT: So recorded.
Senator HANSON-YOUNG (South Australia) (20:26): I move the second reading amendment as circulated on sheet 8924:
At the end of the motion, add:
", but the Senate:
(a) is of the opinion that the Government must ensure financial support provided to business under these bills come with conditions attached, including:
(i) a jobs guarantee, so that as many people as possible remain employed during the crisis,
(ii) a wages guarantee, so that money goes to workers who need it and to keep businesses running, not to executive pay, and
(iii) where appropriate, a Government stake in big, essential businesses such as Qantas; and
(b) calls on the Government to ensure that, if the Minister for Finance allocates additional amounts under the powers referred to as the Advance to the Finance Minister, the Auditor-General must complete a review into any expenditure no later than twelve months after the date of the final expenditure".
The PRESIDENT: The question is that second reading amendment moved by Senator Hanson-Young on page 8924 be agreed to.
Question negatived.
Senator Hanson-Young: Obviously we're not calling a division. We'd like it recorded—
The PRESIDENT: So: recorded in the Journals and the Hansard that the Australian Greens supported that amendment on page 8924 moved by Senator Hanson-Young. The question is now that the second reading, as amended, be agreed to.
Question agreed to.
Bills read a second time.
In Committee
Bill—by leave—taken together and as a whole.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR ( Senator Faruqi ) (20:28): As a number of requests for amendments have been circulated, I advise that senators proposing requests must circulate a statement of reasons for framing them as requests, together with a statement by the Clerk on whether the amendments would be regarded as requests under the precedence of the Senate. Is it the wish of the committee that the statements accompanying the circulated requests be incorporated in Hansard immediately after the requests to which they relate? There being no objection, it is so ordered. The question is that the bill be agreed to without amendments or requests.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:29): We have a series of questions which I would like to ask fairly quickly. I don't intend to hold up the chamber, but I'm wondering if we could address those and then move to deal with the amendments? Okay. Thank you. I presume the government will be circulating some amendments. Can I ask when?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (20:29): Yes, we will. That should be imminent—in the next few minutes. I explained what the amendments would do in my summing-up speech. I'm happy to go through that again. The key is that the amendments will provide an expanded regulation-making power to the minister to address the issues that we indicated we would address. Specifically, we are in a position to flag very clearly that the minister intends to use this power imminently to make student payments—for Abstudy, Austudy and youth allowance (student)—and to make changes to the partner income test to make sure that they are captured by the coronavirus supplement arrangements.
There are some other things that these amendments will enable us to do. Essentially, they will increase the flexibility for us to deal with a whole range of things—from payment rates to means-testing arrangements, eligibility criteria, waiting periods and residency requirements—to respond to things in a flexible, measured and timely manner. The amendments themselves don't make the change; they give us the power to make the change.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:31): I thank the minister for that response. There are some specific issues in both the existing provisions in the bill and the new ones that you're going to circulate through the amendment. At the moment, the supplement is $550. I understand that the minister has the capacity to vary that after six months. That's already there. Can the rate of that supplement payment be varied before the six months is up?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (20:31): Yes, it could be, which is consistent with one of our principles, as we are approaching this, to make this thing scalable.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:31): If the government was of a mind to, for example, at least bring the disability support pension up to the same rate that jobseekers will now receive, could that be done?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (20:32): That could be done. But I've got to say that that is not our intention as I stand here today, the reason being that we have focused on targeting the income support very specifically on those who've been impacted by a significant change in circumstance. We can have an argument about the level of income support across different income categories, but one cannot argue that there has been a dramatic change in circumstance in the level of income before and after the coronavirus hit in relation to, for example, disability support pensions. What we have done is made a decision for a second $750 payment that goes to all those that are not eligible for the coronavirus supplement.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:33): Minister, I've had contact with—and I'm sure many of my colleagues across the chamber have had contact with—disabled people that are on DSP who believe and very strongly argue that they will have additional costs because of their disability. I put that on the record, and we'll be coming back to the government about that, but I'm asking specifically about people on the disability support pension who work, who lose their jobs. I gave an example in my second reading contribution where somebody is in a circumstance where they're continuing to work when they probably shouldn't be, because they're worried about the economic impact of having to stop work. This supplement is not going to be available to them. If they're a parent, they're on DSP and they have to give up their job because of the health threat—because they've got disabilities—how can they make up that additional money that they're losing?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (20:34): Anyone who is on DSP will get access to the two $750 payments. At this stage there is no other plan.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:34): Thank you for making that clear. We will obviously continue to advocate on this particular issue. Will new income support recipients living in cashless debit card trial areas be put on the cashless debit card?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:35): Yes, Senator Siewert.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:35): Has the government done an estimate of the number of people that will now lose their jobs and go onto the jobseeker payment that will be going onto the cashless debit card?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:35): No, I don't have that figure before me.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:35): Could I ask that that be taken on notice, please. In addition, has there been any consideration given to, and can the government tells us, how much longer people will have to wait to get access to jobseeker payment if they are having to go on the Indue card?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:36): I might seek further clarification on the question you have just asked me; I'm not sure I understand what you are requesting.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:36): There is extra administration for someone to go on the cashless debit card. They have to get the Indue card. To be clear, 80 per cent of someone's jobseeker allowance is now going to be quarantined if they lose their job in a CDC trial area. I'm asking how long it will be before someone actually gets access to the payment because they have to get processed through the CDC process and the Indue process.
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:36): Thank you, Senator Siewert; I now understand what you are asking. We have applied an absolute maximum amount of resources across the entire social security system so that we can supercharge the speed with which we are able to process payments across the entire range of either changes or existing payments that have been increased so that people are able to get access to this money as quickly as possible. In terms of giving an exact time, I'll have to take that on notice.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:37): Thank you, Minister. You have given a commitment to, in some instances, five days. I find it hard to believe that you can get your income support payment, jobseeker payment and Indue card in that length of time. Could you also take on notice, please, what length of time you calculate it will take.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (20:38): As I said in my speech earlier, my office has been inundated with messages from students, many of whom are already below the poverty line. They are really concerned about not being included in the coronavirus supplement. Last night the Prime Minister said that they were included; youth allowance was included in the coronavirus supplement. I can't find it there at the moment. I know my colleagues here and in the other place have been asking questions today about this, but haven't got clarity on this. So could you clarify if students on youth allowance, Abstudy and Austudy are included in the coronavirus supplement?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (20:38): I have addressed that on a number of occasions now. Firstly, the Prime Minister was right. Youth allowance (other), as it's called, has been part of the coronavirus supplement payment arrangements from the outset. But, as we have indicated, the government has decided to move an amendment, which I will move now, given I'm on my feet. I move government amendment (1) on sheet ZA510:
(1) Schedule 11, Part 1, page 66 (after line 9), at the end of the Part, add:
40A Modifications of qualifications and payments under the social security law
(1) For any provision of the social security law relating to the qualification of persons for a social security payment, or to the rate of a social security payment, the Minister may by, legislative instrument, determine:
(a) for a provision that relates to the qualification of persons for a social security payment:
(i) that the provision is varied as specified in the determination; or
(ii) that the provision does not apply; or
(iii) that the provision does not apply and that another provision specified in the determination applies instead; or
(b) for a provision that relates to the rate of a social security payment:
(i) that the provision is varied as specified in the determination; or
(ii) that the provision does not apply and that a rate of payment specified in the determination applies instead.
(2) The Minister must be satisfied that the determination is in response to circumstances relating to the coronavirus known as COVID-19.
(3) A determination under this item has effect accordingly.
(4) In this item:
social security law has the same meaning as in the Social Security Act 1991 .
social security payment has the same meaning as in the Social Security Act 1991 .
That amendment gives the Minister for Families and Social Services the regulation-making power to alter settings associated with payment rates, means-testing arrangements, eligibility criteria, waiting periods and residency requirements to respond to the evolving situation in a scalable, measured and timely manner. What the government and the minister have made clear is that we intend to use this power immediately on passage of this legislation, and after royal assent has been received, to make student payments—Abstudy, Austudy and youth allowance (student)—eligible for the coronavirus supplement on the same basis as the other jobseeker payment. Sorry, I thought I'd made that clear before.
The CHAIR: It is moved, but it hasn't yet been circulated. Senator Siewert, I think you were seeking the call.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:40): The point I was just going to make is that we haven't seen it yet, so it's hard to debate it. But I understand that Senator Faruqi has some other questions.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (20:40): I have some questions about permanent employees who are stood down. The government's fact sheet 'Income support for individuals' states that expanded access to income support will include access for permanent employees who are stood down. Minister, what are the criteria for workers who are stood down to be able to access the jobseeker payment?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:41): Subject to the passage of this suite of bills, the access criteria will be largely dependent on the income test. If the individual meets the income test and can demonstrate that they have had a loss of income that takes them below that threshold, they will be eligible for the payment. We will be waiving a number of things and that will expand the eligibility. That includes: the one-week waiting period; the liquid assets waiting period, which relates to the $5,500 cash limit; and also the assets test, which is focused on sole traders and small businesses so that they are able to retain the assets of their business in the hope that, once they get through this crisis, they will be able to return to their businesses.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (20:42): Do workers who are stood down have to use up all of their leave entitlements before being eligible, including annual leave and long service leave?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:42): We would be expecting people who have access to leave entitlements to use those leave entitlements or sick leave before they seek support from the taxpayer at this point in time.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (20:42): Earlier you highlighted the eligibility criteria for workers who are stood down. Will these be provided through regulation?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:43): I have been advised that I will be making an instrument. So they are subordinate legislation.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (20:43): Has that instrument been drafted yet?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:43): It's currently being drafted.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (20:43): Will the meaning of 'stood down' under the regulations have the same meaning as usually applies under workplace law?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:43): I'm happy to take some legal advice in relation to the specific legal meaning of what you are referring to. But what I would say is that the purpose of these regulations is to make sure that anybody who was in employment who has lost their employment or had a substantial diminution in the money they are earning will be able to get access to welfare support payments, including the coronavirus supplement, so that they are able to make ends meet between now and when this crisis is over in the hope that they will be able to return to their existing employment. Apart from the income test that will still apply, there are really very few other requirements that we will expect an employee who has lost their job to meet in order for them to be eligible to receive payment over the next six-month period.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (20:44): Minister, I have just one last question. When will the regulations be public? When do you expect them to be finalised and made public?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:44): Obviously, Senator Faruqi, imminently—because we need to make sure that these regulations come into effect as soon as possible so that we can give people who find themselves in this difficult position access to payment as soon as possible.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (20:45): Minister, will the amendment that has been circulated in your name include a sunset provision?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (20:45): The sunset for the arrangement will be in the regulations.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (20:45): Minister Cormann, I flag that the opposition would prefer—in fact, requests—that the sunset provision be put in the legislation. Are you prepared to accept an amendment that would seek to do that?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (20:46): Our policy intent is very clear. We're obviously now drafting this reasonably quickly. I'm happy to take this back for a moment, to address that and have a proper sunset clause.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (20:46): On that last point, Minister Cormann, I believe that, in your speech, you indicated that the sunset provision would be the end of 2020. I flag that we would be supportive of that if it can be included in the legislation.
The CHAIR: It's my intention to postpone the amendment moved by Senator Cormann until we get the amendments as spoken about in the Senate.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:47): Is the government still processing Centrelink debts, including robodebts?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:47): Senator, I'm going to take that on notice to give you an exact answer, but I can tell you that over the last few days every resource that has been available within Centrelink and all external resources that we have been able to access have been moved into the processing of the new payments that are coming online. So, whilst I'm not going to absolutely say no, I think the answer is no, but I will confirm that for you, because over the coming months our only focus is going to be making sure that we apply every resource that is at our disposal to process new applications as quickly as we can.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:48): I ask because, as recently as Friday, somebody got phone calls about when they were going to start repaying their debts, hence my question.
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:48): Senator Siewert, to you and everybody else in the chamber and anybody listening, if people find themselves in the situation that you just outlined, can you please bring it to our attention because that certainly is not our intention for the application of resources over the coming weeks.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:48): Thank you for that clarification, Minister. I certainly will be taking you up on that if I hear of any more. In terms, then, of reviewing robodebts for income averaging, is that ongoing or has that been suspended as well?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:48): Once again, I'm going to take that on notice, because I'm actually not sure. There have been so many changes because of the rapid escalation of need as a result of the virus, for other purposes, that I couldn't actually answer that question. But I'll certainly take it on notice.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (20:49): While we are waiting for the amendment to come back, I might take this opportunity just to clarify to the Minister for Families and Social Services that the provisions that are moved in this amendment would permit you, through legislative instrument, to apply or vary the rules around temporary visa holders and their access to income support. Is that correct?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:49): Yes, I could do that, but I already have the power to do that as it is—for temporary visa holders in relation to the special benefit. As opposed to that, the changes that are enabled by the amendment would actually allow changes for temporary visa holders outside of the scope of the existing measures that are contained in the special benefit.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (20:50): Just to clarify, then—and I thank the minister for that answer—the special benefit, as I understand it, applies to people with a residency requirement of two or four years. So what this amendment would do is allow people who have not been here for that period of time to perhaps, if you make a regulation, to access income support? Is that one of the ways this is varied?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:50): In the primary legislation, the capacity exists to enable a waiving or a suspension of the new arrival waiting period for those people that are residents and on the pathway to becoming Australian citizens that are currently undertaking their waiting period so they are able to get access to the jobseeker payment, and everything that goes with it, in the same way as any other jobseeker. That exists in the primary legislation. This regulation will enable changes to be made outside of that. So that actually is contained in the primary legislation already.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (20:51): Maybe I wasn't clear. So people who are not currently eligible at all for the special benefit could potentially be eligible under the changes that you are moving tonight. That is what I should have said more clearly.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (20:52): Can I just clarify another use of that particular provision, and that is: can it be used to vary Commonwealth Rent Assistance?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (20:52): Yes, it could.
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (20:52): I want to follow up with, probably, Minister Cormann on the matter that Senator Keneally was just asking about, which is the large number of people in Australia who are on temporary visas. It's about 1.6 million people, as I understand it. Could you first confirm, Minister, that there is the capacity under the amendments that you have just tabled for support to be provided to people who are in Australia and on temporary protection visas and for various reasons are not able to leave the country or who actually live in the country but do not have access to income supports. So, firstly, does that capacity exist under this amendment? Secondly, is it the government's policy intent to provide those people, many of whom are seeking asylum, many of whom are New Zealanders living in Australia and many of whom are new permanent residents and various other working holiday visa holders, a level of income support?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (20:53): As I indicated in the chamber earlier today, our income support system is residency based. The government is indeed introducing a coronavirus supplement of $550 per fortnight where the eligibility is driven by a residency-in-Australia requirement. Access to jobseeker payment and youth allowance, however, is available to people residing in Australia who are Australian citizens and permanent residents, assuming all other eligibility criteria are met. It will not be available to people in Australia on temporary visas, other than some people in limited circumstances on special category visas.
Australia's social security system is a non-contributory, residents based system. It is primarily designed to support Australian citizens and permanent residents. In order to enhance access to these payments for permanent residents we are temporarily waiving the newly arrived residents waiting period in order to assist permanent residents to get access to jobseeker payments. Generally residency requirements still apply, and most temporary visa holders do not qualify for jobseeker payments and other forms of income support.
In relation to temporary visa holders, special benefit is available to specified temporary visa holders. Classes of temporary visa holders eligible for special benefit are specified in the legislative instrument and currently include temporary partner visas, temporary humanitarian visas and bridging visas for victims of human trafficking.
The Minister for Families and Social Services has the ability to declare new visa types to be eligible for special benefits, so that is not a function of this amendment; that is a power that the minister already has. Visa types such as temporary resident, other employment and temporary resident skilled employment will be included by the minister in the near future. Special benefit is paid at the same rate as jobseeker payment—previously Newstart allowance—for those aged 22 years and older or youth allowance for those aged under 22 years. To qualify for special benefit people must be in financial hardship and unable to earn a sufficient livelihood for themselves and any dependents. Claims must meet a hardship test based on their liquid assets. Those who're expected to only need payment for less than 13 weeks must have liquid assets of less than two weeks worth of payment, $565.70 for a single person with no children aged 22 years or older. To access the special benefit, in addition to meeting the hardship test, they must have experienced a substantial change in circumstances. Special benefit has a stronger income test than other payments. Any income or income support—for example, free accommodation—is deducted dollar for dollar. Other payments have a tapered income test.
The short answer is that we are not proposing to extend those arrangements to visa holders beyond newly arrived residents with permanent residency still serving their newly arrived residents waiting period and those who are temporary resident, other employment and temporary resident skilled employment visa holders. They are the ones that will be covered by this supplement beyond youth allowance, jobseeker payments, recipients of parenting payment, recipients of partner and single farm household allowance, and special benefit recipients.
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (20:57): I do thank the minister for that clarification. Minister, the simple fact remains that your government cut many thousands of people seeking asylum off the Status Resolution Support Services program, which left them with no income support at all from government. What I'm hearing from you this evening is that you have no intention of providing income support for those people. They're losing their jobs too. What are they supposed to do? They are going to lose their homes. Do you expect them to be thrown out on the street? It's beyond belief, having cut them off the SRSS a few years ago and effectively forcing them into work—whatever they could get. Are they now to be left with no income at all and face homelessness and destitution, as well as their families and their children? It's cruel and callous, and quite frankly it beggars belief.
Senator HANSON-YOUNG (South Australia) (20:59): I want to take this opportunity, while we're still asking questions, to put this on the record and ask a question of the minister. My Tasmanian colleague and Greens federal small business portfolio holder Senator Peter Whish-Wilson is obviously not here this evening. We already explained that a number of our senators were not able to come to participate in this extraordinary session. He and his team have been working round the clock to make sure that they are listening to the needs and desires of small businesses, including many microbusinesses like sole traders. Sole traders include many farmers, stay-at-home entrepreneurs—whether they be in the arts and creative space or in various health fields—tourism operators and musicians. Much like in my home state of South Australia, these people are the backbone of the small business community in our smaller states and smaller economies.
I want to ask the minister exactly what they are going to do to make sure that these people have everything they need to not have to fold their business. As you would know, in many of these small towns, being already on such a tight margin is hard enough. If these businesses fold, the cascading effect throughout regional areas and towns is going to be huge. The question to the minister is: why won't you do what Boris Johnson is doing, making sure there is a proper jobs and wages guarantee that underpins people's salaries and allows these small and microbusinesses to keep people employed in such a way that the money is still flowing through those local communities? I know that Senator Whish-Wilson, if he were here tonight, would be asking some very direct questions of you. I hope that we can have some short answers this evening.
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (21:01): On Sunday there was an extensive package that we are legislating for today.
Senator Hanson-Young interjecting—
Senator RUSTON: I'll take your interjection, because sole traders were helped in that package significantly. In fact, they were helped on both sides of the package. One part of the package was focused on those people who either have lost their jobs or have had a substantial reduction in their income. That's where we have given sole traders access to jobseeker payment without the mutual obligations that would normally require them to give up their businesses. The sole trader has immediately got access to welfare payments, including the coronavirus supplement, and at the same time can continue working in their sole trading or their small business. That will be considered as part of their mutual obligation, because we want those people to stay in their businesses. We want them to stay there, and we want those businesses to continue to be in place when we get to the other side of the coronavirus crisis.
On the other side, on making sure that businesses can continue to be in business and continue to employ people, Senator Cash put a raft of small business initiatives in place for small and medium sized businesses with a turnover of under $50 million. They included a range of things, including grants of up to $100,000 for businesses based on payroll, with a minimum amount of $20,000 available to a business. This is payable on their payroll and their pay-as-you-go returns for April, if we are talking about businesses that make their returns quarterly. In addition, a range of different regulatory relief is available to these small businesses. There are a number of broader initiatives that have been contained in the package. Senator Hanson-Young, it may be useful to suggest to your colleague Senator Whish-Wilson that there is a lot of information on the government website about the specific details of benefits that are being made available to small businesses, sole traders and employees to get them through this particular period.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (21:04): When it comes to various groups of temporary visa holders, can the minister advise if the following groups will be eligible for the coronavirus supplement or the jobseeker payment or the special benefit or something else?
Let me try it this way: working holiday-makers in the Seasonal Worker Program and the Pacific Labour Scheme—will those temporary visa holders be eligible for the coronavirus supplement, jobseeker payment, special benefit or something else? If it's something else, do you have something else in mind?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (21:05): The provisions that are in the regulation that is before us provide broad powers so that we can monitor the situation as it moves forward. As we sit here today, I think most of the visa categories that you have outlined are not priority visa categories for us to be providing a welfare safety net for. However, in a technical sense the regulation that is before you provides the power to do so if circumstances change in the future.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (21:05): Noting that after 30 March it will be very difficult if not impossible for temporary visa holders to leave the country, many of them will be without income because their jobs in hospitality and other areas will be lost. They will be forced to either seek work or keep seeking work. They will lack the capacity to self-isolate, if they are so directed, unless they can access some form of support. I encourage the government to consider what steps it's going to take after 30 March for those people who will essentially be trapped within Australian borders, unable to leave the country.
My other question, similar to the one I have just asked, is: can the minister advise if temporary protection visa holders and safe haven enterprise visa holders will be eligible for the coronavirus supplement, the jobseeker payment, the special benefit or some other kind of support?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (21:06): The answer is exactly the same as the answer to the previous question. The capacity exists, because we're seeking to build flexibility going forward so that we can continue to monitor the situation. I am not making any announcements tonight about what's in and what's out in relation to temporary visa holders, but we have given you the advice about the changes that we are intending to make immediately. Senator Cormann outlined that when he spoke to his amendment in the first place. I reiterate: the capacity exists, through this regulation, for us to be quick and flexible in making changes if the situation changes such that we should choose to do so.
Senator KENEALLY (New South Wales—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (21:07): I thank the minister for that answer. It does provide some clarity. I would like to encourage the government to remember that the status resolution support services payment, which is available to temporary protection visa holder and safe haven enterprise visa holders, was cut by the government. Many people were cut off that payment and told to go out and work. It was already a precarious situation for those people to get jobs because they had a temporary visa and were living in precarious circumstances. It is now even more difficult for them to maintain employment. I am aware, from asylum seeker services in both New South Wales and Victoria, that many of these people are living below the poverty line, noting that the SRSS payment was below Newstart levels—below $40 a day—so these were people already living on the extreme margins of poverty, many of them already forced into homelessness and having to live off the charity of non-government organisations.
So I encourage the government to use the power that, I anticipate, the Senate is about to provide to those opposite to consider how it can best support them from a public health perspective, because it is in the interests of all Australians that people living in the country, citizens or not, are able to access health testing, coronavirus testing and income support so they can self-isolate or continue to live at home, as we are directing them to do, if they are unable to work. I encourage the government to remember that it is in the interests of all Australians. A virus does not discriminate; it does not check your visa status before it infects you. If people are trapped here in this country, after 30 March in particular, it is in the interests of every single one of us in this country that every single one of us, citizen or not, has access to health care and income support if we are required to self-isolate.
The CHAIR (21:09): I advise the Senate that we are just waiting for Senator Cormann's amended amendment.
Senator Cormann interjecting—
The CHAIR: They haven't moved them.
Senator Cormann interjecting—
The CHAIR: Sure, I'm just advising senators that, when that one is circulated, we will go back to it.
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (21:10): I will shortly move the amendment in my name, but I just want to tie up the matter that Senator Keneally and I have been exploring. I find it extraordinary that this is appears to be the first that this has come to the government's attention. Has Home Affairs not been involved in the drafting of the government's response to coronavirus? Seriously, there are people here who will be destitute, who will be unable to self-isolate, because your government completely cut them off the SRSS and basically threw them out on the streets at the mercy of the whims of fate to rely on organisations in the non-government sector and in the charitable sector for their very survival. I urge the government to come to grips with a looming humanitarian and health disaster. I want to be very clear: that is what we are facing here, and I urge Minister Ruston, Minister Cormann and Minister Dutton—if he is at work or whoever is doing his job at the moment—to come to grips with this issue.
While we are on visas I also want to bring to the government's attention the fact that we at any time in Australia have a significant number of temporary visa holders, some of whom are in the categories that Senator Keneally and I have been raising in the debate in the last half an hour, whose visas will soon expire. There needs to be a mechanism that provides for the extension of the expiry dates of temporary protection visas that would expire during the period of the coronavirus crisis. This is not rocket science; this is actually government 101. I'm appalled and disappointed that these matters have not been addressed by government and apparently are yet to even be considered by government.
There are the two issues. One is income support for people who are on temporary protection visas. Two is that a number of people whose temporary protection visas will expire during the coronavirus crisis and who, through no fault of their own, won't able to leave the country, need to have their visas extended, otherwise you know what is going to happen? You're going to chuck them all into immigration detention, which you so much love for people who have overstayed visas in this country. By the way, while you are at it, you can free low-risk people who have spent more than one week in immigration detention, because, if the coronavirus gets into immigration detention centres—and already at least one guard of an onshore immigration detention facility in Australia has tested positive to COVID-19—it will spread like wildfire, people will die and their blood will be on your hands.
My colleagues and I have spoken in our second reading—I'm sorry, Chair, if I could just ask for guidance: did you wish to go to Senator Cormann's amendment now?
The CHAIR: No, it still hasn't been circulated.
Senator Keneally interjecting—
The CHAIR: We'll do yours.
Senator McKIM: I move:
(1) Clause 5, page 3 (after line 19), after subclause (3), insert:
(3A) The legislative rules must require that the terms of any loan subject to a guarantee granted to a financial institution under subsection (1) include a requirement that a SME entity to which a loan is to be made not make any employee of the SME redundant for the duration of any guarantee granted to the financial institution under that subsection.
This goes to the point that the Australian Greens have consistently been making today: whether it relates to big corporates or to SMEs, the government should be getting some quid pro quo here rather than just handing over cash willy-nilly with no guarantees in regard to employment. Qantas were given a significant share of the $715 million that was given to airlines, and within days they had sacked 20,000 people. We keep privatising the obscene profits and socialising the significant losses. We need to make sure that doesn't continue.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (21:16): The government will not be supporting this amendment. This amendment will make recipients of all health care cards eligible for the two economic support payments. Low-income health care cards are not traditionally eligible for one-off payments, and the government has maintained its approach in this instance. In order to facilitate the timely delivery of the supplement—
The CHAIR: Senator Cormann, we are dealing with 8196 revised.
Senator CORMANN: As I was saying, we are not supporting this amendment. In order to facilitate the timely delivery of the supplement, the economic support payments are targeted towards those on primary income support payments, DVA payment recipients and holders of health care cards who have received one-off payments in the past.
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (21:17): I think this is the amendment around linking retention of employees with business assistance. Labor won't be supporting this amendment. We have consistently raised concerns about the design of some measures in the stimulus package, such as the cash-flow boost not being linked specifically with the retention of employees. We have made it very clear that we have concerns around that. While we appreciate the intent of this amendment, there could be unintended effects. We already know that small businesses are reluctant to take on more debt, particularly in uncertain times. We saw that with the loans offered in response to the bushfires. This proposed requirement, whilst also being hard to enforce, could heighten the reluctance of struggling businesses to take on more debt, choose to end the business completely or retrench any remaining staff completely, which would be an even more diabolical situation.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (21:17): We are opposing this. The purpose of this guarantee is to help businesses survive. We need to have flexibility in any approach to ensure that we are not ruling companies out as a result of legislative criteria. By being prescriptive, we may actually make it harder for companies that should get access to the money and they might miss out. The banks will have skin in the game by sharing the risk; and, as they assess the loans, they will be looking to support companies to be able to get through the impact of the virus. Given how fast the circumstances are changing, we need to ensure there is flexibility in the legislative instrument that may need to be amended to deal with those circumstances. Ultimately every business will need to be looked at on an individual basis and that is why we are getting the banks and non-bank lenders to decide on this as they know their customers better than the government.
The CHAIR: The question is that Greens amendment (1) on sheet 8916 revised be agreed to. I believe the noes have it. Senator McKim.
Senator McKim: The noes have it, Chair. In lieu of a division, could I just ask that the position of the Australian Greens be recorded in Hansard.
The CHAIR: Yes, we can record your support for this amendment despite it being rejected.
Question negatived.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (21:19): I seek leave to replace the amendment that I've previously moved with the revised sheet ZA510 that's been circulated in the chamber.
An honourable senator interjecting—
Senator CORMANN: I might just—
The CHAIR: Minister, I believe it has been circulated. Indeed, I have a copy.
An honourable senator: You have a copy?
The CHAIR: Yes.
Senator CORMANN: I thought it had been circulated. I've spoken on a number of occasions now about the purpose of this amendment in giving the minister the flexibility and the regulation-making power to deal with the various items that are listed in the amendment that deal with payment rates, means-testing arrangements, eligibility criteria, waiting periods and residency requirements to respond in a scalable, measured and timely manner. This power will cease at the end of 2020. You will be able to see paragraphs (5) and (6) which provide that an instrument made under this item has no operation after 31 December 2020 and the power that it provides to the minister is repealed on 31 December 2020. I move:
(1) Schedule 11, Part 1, page 66 (after line 9), at the end of the Part, add:
40A Modifications of qualifications and payments under the social security law
(1) For any provision of the social security law relating to the qualification of persons for a social security payment, or to the rate of a social security payment, the Minister may by, legislative instrument, determine:
(a) for a provision that relates to the qualification of persons for a social security payment:
(i) that the provision is varied as specified in the determination; or
(ii) that the provision does not apply; or
(iii) that the provision does not apply and that another provision specified in the determination applies instead; or
(b) for a provision that relates to the rate of a social security payment:
(i) that the provision is varied as specified in the determination; or
(ii) that the provision does not apply and that a rate of payment specified in the determination applies instead.
(2) The Minister must be satisfied that the determination is in response to circumstances relating to the coronavirus known as COVID-19.
(3) A determination under this item has effect accordingly.
(4) In this item:
social security law has the same meaning as in the Social Security Act 1991.
social security payment has the same meaning as in the Social Security Act 1991.
(5) An instrument made under this item has no operation after 31 December 2020.
(6) This item is repealed on 31 December 2020.
The CHAIR: I just draw to the attention of the committee that we are dealing with the amended amendment ZA510, which has got 9.06 pm at the bottom of the document.
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (21:21): I thank the Leader of the Government in the Senate for responding to the concerns about the original amendment. This is an important amendment, and we acknowledge that it gives unprecedentedly broad powers to the minister to change arrangements for a whole range of social security payments. It is unprecedented, but we think that flexibility is going to be required and it goes to a number of the issues we've raised about gaps and potential gaps and increasing pressure for some of those people to be eligible for certain payments over the next few months, but also those who might not have been included in the first and second of the stimulus packages. We did believe that this needed an expiry date because of the significant powers that are being delegated from legislation to regulation at the executive's own discretion, so that has been rolled in.
Essentially this responds to concerns that Labor has been raising. The concerns were raised directly by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Albanese, with the Prime Minister and the Treasurer today. We don't want to delay the passage of this legislation. We've made that clear. We want to support the government where we can. We think there are gaps. We think there are issues that will be coming to everyone's electorate office and every senator's office about people who might not be getting the help they need, and this will give the government the power and ability to respond to that without the parliament sitting. It is unprecedented. Broad powers like these would never, in any normal situation, be given to the executive, but this is a very unusual world that we are living in now, and we acknowledge that the government will have to respond and will have to respond at different times and in different ways over the next few months.
We thank the government for working with us and listening to our very genuine suggestions that this matter needed to be dealt with. It is outlined in the amendment, and I seek other senators' support for this, noting that it expires on 31 December. We genuinely hope this amendment gives the government the power to do good for people who are going to be suffering significant hardship over the next few months as this crisis unfolds. Perhaps we can't even predict the position that some will be in at the moment, and that's why the Senate and the parliament will give this power to the minister to be used wisely, carefully and in response to the desperation and anxiety that many in the community are feeling about their own personal circumstances and those of their families over the next few months.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:24): I want to ask a few questions about the operation of this as opposed to the operation of the other provisions in the bill which, Minister—through you, Chair—give you the capacity, after the six months, to roll over the stimulus package and to also apply the supplement to other payment types. My understanding of those clauses is that they give the minister the capacity to do it at three-month intervals. Is that correct? I understand that hasn't got a sunset clause.
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (21:25): The entire clause sunsets on 31 December, so there is no further capacity for me to make regulation under this regulation past that.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:25): Sorry, I'm talking about the existing bill. There's not a sunset clause on those particular clauses, is there?
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (21:25): The provisions within the substantial legislation that make changes to the act, as opposed to these regulations that we're talking about, are for a period of six months. Because they are related to provisions directly as a result of the impact of coronavirus, my capacity to extend only relates to as long and in so much as the continuing requirement is as a result of the impact of coronavirus. I can't make any further determinations if the crisis is over.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:26): That's what I was trying to clarify. That is as long as it is determined that the crisis is in operation. Heaven forbid that it goes past this date. The point I'm making is that, while I agree with the need to curtail or sunset this for the reasons that have just been articulated, I'm concerned. We've just had a very positive move in terms of being told that students on youth allowance, for example, will get the supplement through this mechanism. My deep concern is that, if we are in a situation where there is a need for the other supplement payments to continue, anybody granted payments under this provision will then automatically drop off those payments. That is my concern. So I'm seeking some assurance that, if we accept the sunset clause, the government will then act to address that particular issue. I'm looking at the worst case scenario, I know, but the government has looked at the worst case scenario by enabling the minister to make these rolling payments in the event that the crisis isn't over.
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (21:28): In relation to the primary legislation that we're dealing with today, I am required to come back to this place in order for me to go past the six months of the provisions that are contained within it. Sorry, it's three months at a time by instrument. I can come back three months at a time by instrument. This sunsets on 31 December. We would imagine that between now and 31 December this place would require to make a further determination if we decided that we needed to extend these provisions past 31 December 2020. As you say, it is something that is too horrid to think about. However, this place would need to make a determination to enable me to go past 31 December with the provisions contained in these regulations.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:29): I understand that, and I will be quiet in a minute. I do understand that. The problem is that we have to come back for this particular provision but not the other provisions, because they're delegated instruments. So what I'm seeking is an assurance that, in the worst-case scenario, if the other payments are continuing, the government will act to make sure that students aren't dropped off when nobody else is dropped off. Again, I'm looking at the worst-case scenarios here. You've clearly done that with the provisions that you've put in place, which is good. It's not a criticism. It's good. But I want to make sure that young people are also protected through the mechanisms that you're setting in place through this particular provision.
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (21:30): I completely understand the issue and the point you're trying to make here, but I absolutely assure you that the Prime Minister has been very, very clear with the Australian public, as he has with all of us here, that we as a government are absolutely committed to do what it takes to get every Australian from here to the other side, whenever and wherever that may be. If there is a circumstance where we are required to have things in place past 30 December 2020, we would come back to this place, in whatever format that had to take, and seek the agreement of this place to continue the provisions that are contained in this regulation. Because of the nature of the way the regulation is written, we chose to sunset it on 30 December to give us the three months past the end of the six-month period, which is the second of the rolling three-month periods that we have in the primary legislation. But I assure you, I assure this place and I assure anybody that's listening that the government will be supporting Australians in every way it possibly can to get them from here to the other side of this crisis.
The CHAIR: The question is that the motion as moved by Minister Cormann, ZA501, as amended and republished at 9.06 pm, be agreed to.
Question agreed to.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:31): by leave—I move Greens amendments (1) to (8) on sheet 8911 together:
(1) Schedule 4, item 1, page 17 (before line 10), before the definition of first 2020 economic support payment , insert:
families 2020 economic support payment means a payment to which an individual is entitled under Division 2A of Part 9.
(2) Schedule 4, item 2, page 19 (after line 20), after Division 2, insert:
Division 2A — Families 2020 economic support payment
115A When is an individual entitled to a families 2020 economic support payment?
An individual is entitled to a families 2020 economic support payment if subsection 117(2) and subsection 117(3), (4) or (5) applies to the individual on a day in the period:
(a) starting on 12 March 2020; and
(b) ending on 13 April 2020.
115B What is the amount of the payment?
The amount of an individual's families 2020 economic support payment under this Division is $750 per FTB child.
(3) Schedule 4, item 2, page 19 (line 22) after " for ", insert " first and second ".
(4) Schedule 4, item 2, page 20 (after line 23), after section 116, insert:
117 Eligibility for families 2020 economic support payment
(1) This section applies for the purposes of section 115A.
(2) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, this subsection applies to an individual on a day if, in relation to that day, the person receives a social security benefit.
(3) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, this subsection applies to an individual on a day if:
(a) in relation to that day, a determination under section 16 of the Family Assistance Administration Act is in force in respect of the individual as a claimant; and
(b) the rate of family tax benefit payable under the determination in relation to that day consists of or includes a Part A rate greater than nil.
(4) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, this subsection applies to an individual on a day if:
(a) in relation to that day, a determination under section 17 of the Family Assistance Administration Act is in force in respect of the individual as a claimant; and
(b) the rate of family tax benefit payable under the determination in relation to that day consists of or includes a Part A rate greater than nil; and
(c) the determination is made as a result of a claim made in:
(i) the income year in which that day occurs; or
(ii) either of the next 2 income years.
(5) Subject to subsection (6) of this section, this subsection applies to an individual on a day if:
(a) in relation to that day, a determination under section 18 of the Family Assistance Administration Act is in force in respect of the individual as a claimant; and
(b) the rate of family tax benefit payable under the determination in relation to that day consists of or includes a Part A rate greater than nil; and
(c) the determination is made as a result of a claim made in:
(i) the income year in which that day occurs; or
(ii) a later income year.
Residence requirement
(6) Subsection (2), (3), (4) or (5) does not apply to an individual on a day if the individual does not reside in Australia on that day.
(5) Schedule 4, item 3, page 21 (after line 22), after section 65JB, insert:
65JC Payment of families 2020 economic support payment
(1) If an individual is entitled to a families 2020 economic support payment, the Secretary must, subject to subsection (2), pay the payment to the individual in a single lump sum:
(a) on the date that the Secretary considers the earliest date on which it is reasonably practicable for the payment to be paid; and
(b) in such manner as the Secretary considers appropriate.
Note: The individual does not have to make a claim for the payment.
(2) The Secretary must not pay the payment on or after 1 July 2022 if the individual is entitled to the payment because subsection 117(3) or (5) of the Family Assistance Act applies to the individual on a day.
[additional payment to FTB Part A families]
(6) Schedule 4, item 6, page 22 (lines 2 to 5), omit subsection 72(1), substitute:
(1) This section applies in relation to an individual who has been paid a 2020 economic support payment because the following subsections of the Family Assistance Act applied to the individual on a day:
(a) subsection 116(2), (3) or (4);
(b) subsection 117(2) and subsection 117(3), (4) or (5).
[additional payment to FTB Part A families]
(7) Schedule 4, item 12, page 23 (line 8), after "payment,", insert "families,".
[additional payment to FTB Part A families]
(8) Schedule 4, item 22, page 25 (lines 7 and 8), omit the item, substitute:
Omit "or ETR payment", substitute ", ETR payment, families 2020 economic support payment, first 2020 economic support payment or second 2020 economic support payment".
Statement pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendments (2) and (4)
Amendments (2) and (4) are framed as requests because they would amend Schedule 4 of the bill in a way that would increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 233 of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999.
The effect of the amendments would be to create an additional economic support payment for families who meet certain eligibility criteria. As such, the amendments would expand the 2020 economic support payment and would therefore increase the amount of expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 233 of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999.
Amendments (1), (3), (5) to (7) and (8)
Amendments (1), (3), (5) to (7) and (8) are consequential on amendments (2) and (4).
Statement by the Clerk of the Senate pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendments (2) and (4)
If the effect of the amendments is to increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 233 of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 then it is in accordance with the precedents of the Senate that the amendment be moved as a request.
Amendments (1), (3), (5) to (7) and (8)
These amendments are consequential on the request. It is the practice of the Senate that amendments that are consequential on an amendment framed as a request may also be framed as requests.
These relate to—and I touched on this in my second reading contribution—an additional $750 for families that have children, because it's absolutely inevitable that families with children need extra support for those children during this time of crisis. I've articulated that during my second reading speech. I know that people want to deal with this expeditiously, so, other than urging the government and the opposition to look at the impact this crisis is having on families and to make sure that they are supported, as the minister said, to get to the other side of this crisis, I'll leave my comments at that.
Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (21:33): As the Prime Minister has clearly outlined, the safety net provisions announced on Sunday were to make sure that we continue to support all Australians. Every Australian who is eligible to receive the first $750 under the stimulus will be eligible to receive this second $750 stimulus whilst of course at the same time continuing to get access to the family tax benefit that they currently are able to access.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR ( Senator Griff ): The question is that the request for amendments be agreed to.
Senator Siewert: Can I ask that the Greens' support for those amendments be recorded?
The TEMPORARY CHAIR: Yes, that will be recorded.
Question negatived.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:34): by leave—I move Australian Greens amendments (1) to (4) on sheet 8910 together:
(1) Schedule 4, item 26, page 26 (line 6), omit "or (4)", substitute ", (4) or (4A)".
[extend eligibility to health care card holders]
(2) Schedule 4, item 26, page 27 (line 6), omit "or (4)", substitute ", (4) or (4A)".
[extend eligibility to health care card holders]
(3) Schedule 4, item 26, page 29 (after line 4), after subsection 308(4), insert:
Qualified for low income health care card
(4A) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, this subsection applies to a person on a day if the person is qualified for a health care card on that day under section 1061ZO.
[extend eligibility to health care card holders]
(4) Schedule 4, item 26, page 29 (line 6), omit "or (4)", substitute ", (4) or (4A)".
Statement pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendment (3)
Amendment (3) is framed as a request because it would amend Schedule 4 of the bill in a way that would increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 242 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 .
The effect of the amendment would be to extend the economic support payment to persons qualified for a health care card under section 1061ZO of the Social Security Act 1991 . As such, the amendments would expand eligibility for the economic support payment and would therefore increase the amount of expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 242 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 .
Amendments (1), (2) and (4)
Amendments (1), (2), and (4) are consequential on amendment (3).
Statement by the Clerk of the Senate pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendment (3)
If the effect of the amendment is to increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 242 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 then it is in accordance with the precedents of the Senate that the amendment be moved as a request.
Amendments (1), (2) and (4)
These amendments are consequential on the request. It is the practice of the Senate that amendments that are consequential on an amendment framed as a request may also be framed as requests.
This is about giving people that are on the low-income healthcare card access to the $750 payment. I have a question for the minister, and that is: why were low-income healthcare cardholders left out of the bonus of $750? Given it's a low-income healthcare card and, by its very nature, it's for people who are on low incomes, why were they left out when people holding seniors healthcare cards were included?
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (21:36): I made the point before that we'll be opposing these amendments. Recipients of this payment have not traditionally been included in these types of supplement arrangements and we are not proposing to do it now.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:36): You yourselves and many speakers today have articulated how these are unprecedented times. Quite frankly, I don't care if they didn't get it before. They probably should have got it before. They certainly should get it now. Quite frankly, it's unprecedented that you would double the jobseeker payment—not that I'm opposing that. As you know, I'm strongly supportive of it. But, for heaven's sake, these are people of low income. They should be supported. They should get access to those additional resources. If anybody needs it, it's those on low incomes.
Question negatived.
Senator HANSON-YOUNG (South Australia) (21:37): I move Australian Greens amendment (1) on sheet 8914:
(1) Schedule 7, page 48 (after line 9), at the end of the Schedule, add:
Part 3 — Conditions on assistance to aviation sector
Financial Framework (Supplementary Powers) Act 1997
3 At the end of section 2A
Add:
This Act also imposes conditions on the provision of financial assistance to Australian airlines to assist with the impact of the coronavirus known as COVID-19.
4 After Part 2
Insert:
Part 2A — Providing financial assistance to Australian airlines during the COVID-19 crisis
42 Application of this Part
This Part applies if:
(a) the Commonwealth proposes to make, vary or administer (whether under a power provided for by this Act or otherwise):
(i) an arrangement under which relevant money or other CRF money is, or may become, payable by the Commonwealth to an Australian airline; or
(ii) a grant of financial assistance to an Australian airline; and
(b) the arrangement or grant is for the purposes of assisting the Australian airline with the impact of the coronavirus known as COVID-19.
43 Terms and conditions for financial assistance to Australian airlines
(1) The terms and conditions on which an arrangement or grant of financial assistance referred to in section 42 is made or granted must:
(a) be set out in a written agreement between the Commonwealth and the recipient; and
(b) include the terms and conditions in subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this section.
Equity stake
(2) The provision of the financial assistance by the Commonwealth is subject to the Australian airline giving to the Commonwealth an equity stake in the Australian airline.
(3) The following apply in relation to the equity stake referred to in subsection (2):
(a) the equity stake must be proportional to the amount of financial assistance provided by the Commonwealth;
(b) the equity stake must be given by the issue to the Commonwealth of shares in the Australian airline;
(c) the shares must be priced at no higher than the most recent share price transacted on the Australian Stock Exchange or another relevant market (however the shares may be priced lower than that price by agreement between the Minister and the Australian airline).
Board representation
(4) The provision of the financial assistance by the Commonwealth is subject to the Australian airline providing for the following representation on the Board of the Australian airline:
(a) one member of the Board representing the workers of the Australian airline;
(b) at least one member of the Board representing the Commonwealth, with additional members of the Board as appropriate to reflect the proportion of the Commonwealth's equity stake in the Australian airline.
Retention of existing workers
(5) The provision of the financial assistance by the Commonwealth is subject to the Australian airline retaining until at least 30 June 2021 all workers employed by the Australian airline at the start of 2020.
44 Definitions
In this Part:
Australian airline means:
(a) an Australian international airline; or
(b) Qantas; or
(c) an air transport enterprise offering or operating an air service solely within Australian territory.
Australian international airline means an international airline (other than Qantas) that may be permitted to carry passengers or freight, or both passengers and freight, under a bilateral arrangement as an airline designated by Australia to operate a scheduled international air service.
international airline means an air transport enterprise offering or operating an international air service.
Qantas means Qantas Airways Limited, as the company exists from time to time (even if its name is later changed).
These amendments relate to support for the aviation industry and Australian airlines during the coronavirus crisis. We know that the government's already been in significant conversations and discussions with airlines. These amendments ensure appropriate protections for workers and taxpayers in any airline bailout. We think it is absolutely essential that, if the Australian people and taxpayers are going to participate in these types of bailouts, they get something in return. We need to make sure, as these amendments insist, that they require any bailout to take place via an equity stake rather than just handing over the cash to these big corporations. It beggars belief that we'd just do this and not take the opportunity to ensure that the Australian people are indeed represented at the table. We need to make sure workers keep their jobs and that protections for their jobs are ongoing, at the very least in the medium term, when the whole point of this type of extraordinary support from government is to ensure that the people working for these corporations actually get looked after and get to keep their jobs.
We have heard referenced many times in this place and the other place today the extraordinary situation where, after being given significant support from the government, Qantas stood down 20,000 staff members in one day. We know that the industry has effectively been grounded. We get that. But we need to make sure that, if we're going to be putting up big loads of cash for these corporations, the workers themselves are the ones that these benefits flow to.
I was listening to a report in the evening following that decision by Qantas that numerous households around the country had just lost both incomes because there were couples—living together, sharing household costs and bills, and who have families—who were both employed by Qantas. Both, on the same day, lost their jobs. This is the type of protection, for people like those families and others, that we need to insist on if we're going to stump up this large amount of money. What this amendment does is gives protection for workers but also ensures that the Australian people are represented. We would like to see a requirement that board seats are put aside for the Australian taxpayer, represented by the government, and for workers. It is the very least that can happen at an extraordinary time like this, and I urge the opposition to support this amendment.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (21:41): The government is going to oppose this amendment. The Commonwealth has provided initial support to our airline industry through relief on a range of taxes and government charges, estimated to be up to $715 million. The government will consider further support for our aviation sector through an unprecedented period of disruption to international and domestic air travel. The proposed amendments would require the Commonwealth to take an equity stake in an airline as a condition for providing any future financial support. The Commonwealth will consider any further support according to the sound principles we have already set out, but the proposed amendments would unnecessarily constrain the government's ability to tailor any future support according to the needs of the sector and the interests of the nation.
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (21:41): Labor won't be supporting this amendment. While we agree that further support will be needed for the aviation sector, this should be part of the next fully costed economic support package. This would ensure full understanding of the impacts on the sector and allow for consultation with companies, unions, staff and other stakeholders.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR: The question is that the amendment be agreed to. Those of that opinion say aye. Those against, say no. I believe the noes have it.
Senator Hanson-Young: We request that it's recorded in the Hansard and in the Journals that it was the Australian Greens who supported this amendment.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR: So ordered.
Question negatived.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:42): I move Greens' amendment 1 and 2 on sheet 8904, which opposes items 34 and 35 of schedule 4:
(1) Schedule 4, item 34, page 33 (line 29) to page 34 (line 16), to be opposed .
[exclude payment from income management]
(2) Schedule 4, item 35, page 34 (lines 17 to 31), to be opposed .
[exclude payment from cashless debit card]
This relates to the fact that the government wants to put the $750 through income management, so it excludes the payment from that and also excludes the same payments from the cashless debit card. In other words, it makes sure that this money isn't put on the cashless debit card, because we don't think that is appropriate, and also, the community, judging by the response that people have had, don't think it's a good idea.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR: Senator Siewert, do you seek leave to move them together?
Senator SIEWERT: Yes, although the grey doesn't say I had to seek leave there, but I will.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (21:43): The government will be opposing this amendment. The coronavirus supplement should be subject to the same income management or cashless debit card arrangements as the person's base payment. This is consistent with government policy.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR: The question is that items 34 and 35 of schedule 4 stand as printed. Those of that opinion say aye. Those against, say no. I believe the ayes have it.
Senator Siewert: The noes have it.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR: Senator Siewert, you would like it to be recorded in the Hansard and the Journals that the Australian Greens supported that amendment?
Senator Siewert: Yes, please.
Question agreed to.
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:44): I'd now like to move Greens' request 1, which is sheet 8915:
(1) Schedule 11, page 55 (after line 23), after item 6, insert:
6A At the end of Division 4 of Part 2.2
Add:
56 COVID-19 supplement
(1) If a person is receiving:
(a) an age pension; and
(b) rent assistance;
the rate of the person's age pension is increased by the amount of the COVID-19 supplement. The increase begins on 27 April 2020.
(2) In this section:
rent assistance means an amount paid or payable under this Act to help cover the cost of rent.
Cessation of supplement
(3) This section ceases to apply at the end of:
(a) the period (the initial period ) of 6 months beginning on the day on which this section commences, unless paragraph (b) applies; or
(b) if a period is extended under subsection (4)—the extended period.
(4) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, extend the initial period (or that period as extended one or more times under this subsection) by a period not exceeding 3 months. The Minister must be satisfied that the extension is in response to circumstances relating to the coronavirus known as COVID-19.
Amount of supplement
(5) For the period beginning on 27 April 2020 and ending at the end of the initial period, the amount of the COVID-19 supplement per fortnight is:
(a) $550, unless paragraph (b) applies; or
(b) if an amount is determined under subsection (6)—that amount.
(6) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine an amount for the purposes of paragraph (5) (b).
(7) For any extension period, the amount of the COVID-19 supplement is to be worked out in accordance with a determination under subsection (8).
(8) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make a determination for the purposes of subsection (7).
(9) Without limiting subsection (8), the determination may provide that the amount of COVID-19 supplement per fortnight is nil for specified persons.
6B At the end of Division 5 of Part 2.3
Add:
121 COVID-19 supplement
(1) If a person is receiving a disability support pension, the rate of the person's disability support pension is increased by the amount of the COVID-19 supplement. The increase begins on 27 April 2020.
Cessation of supplement
(2) This section ceases to apply at the end of:
(a) the period (the initial period ) of 6 months beginning on the day on which this section commences, unless paragraph (b) applies; or
(b) if a period is extended under subsection (3)—the extended period.
(3) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, extend the initial period (or that period as extended one or more times under this subsection) by a period not exceeding 3 months. The Minister must be satisfied that the extension is in response to circumstances relating to the coronavirus known as COVID-19.
Amount of supplement
(4) For the period beginning on 27 April 2020 and ending at the end of the initial period, the amount of the COVID-19 supplement per fortnight is:
(a) $550, unless paragraph (b) applies; or
(b) if an amount is determined under subsection (5)—that amount.
(5) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine an amount for the purposes of paragraph (4) (b).
(6) For any extension period, the amount of the COVID-19 supplement is to be worked out in accordance with a determination under subsection (7).
(7) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make a determination for the purposes of subsection (6).
(8) Without limiting subsection (7), the determination may provide that the amount of COVID-19 supplement per fortnight is nil for specified persons.
6C At the end of Division 4 of Part 2.5
Add:
211 COVID-19 supplement
(1) If a person is receiving carer payment, the rate of the person's carer payment is increased by the amount of the COVID-19 supplement. The increase begins on 27 April 2020.
Cessation of supplement
(2) This section ceases to apply at the end of:
(a) the period (the initial period ) of 6 months beginning on the day on which this section commences, unless paragraph (b) applies; or
(b) if a period is extended under subsection (3)—the extended period.
(3) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, extend the initial period (or that period as extended one or more times under this subsection) by a period not exceeding 3 months. The Minister must be satisfied that the extension is in response to circumstances relating to the coronavirus known as COVID-19.
Amount of supplement
(4) For the period beginning on 27 April 2020 and ending at the end of the initial period, the amount of the COVID-19 supplement per fortnight is:
(a) $550, unless paragraph (b) applies; or
(b) if an amount is determined under subsection (5)—that amount.
(5) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine an amount for the purposes of paragraph (4) (b).
(6) For any extension period, the amount of the COVID-19 supplement is to be worked out in accordance with a determination under subsection (7).
(7) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, make a determination for the purposes of subsection (6).
(8) Without limiting subsection (7), the determination may provide that the amount of COVID-19 supplement per fortnight is nil for specified persons.
[extending eligibility for COVID-19 supplement]
Statement pursuant to the order of
the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendment (1)
Amendment (1) is framed as a request because it amends Schedule 11 to the bill in a way that would increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 242 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 .
The effect of the amendment would be to extend the COVID-19 supplement to persons receiving the disability support pension and carer payment, and persons who receive both the age pension and Commonwealth rent assistance.
The amendment would therefore increase the amount of expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 242 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 .
Statement by the Clerk of the Senate pursuant
to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendment (1)
If the effect of the amendment is to increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 242 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 then it is in accordance with the precedents of the Senate that the amendment be moved as a request.
This relates to people on the disability support pension and the carer payment, but also those on the age pension if they receive Commonwealth rent assistance. This is because, as I highlighted in my second reading contribution, we think these groups of people deserve to get the $550 supplement. We disagree with the government. We think there will be extra costs for these particular groups of people because disabled people will face increased costs in accessing services and basic household goods. Because many of them are very vulnerable to this particular virus, they will need very good personal protection equipment in order to remain healthy. Those that are on carer payments will also be at increased risk and they will also have increased costs.
We know that a lot of older Australians and people on the age pension are living in poverty. And that group living in poverty is very strongly dominated by those that don't own their own home and are paying rent. Let's face it, that particular group of people need to be particularly careful about self-isolating because they are extremely vulnerable to coronavirus. We know that from what's happening globally. That's why we think it's important that these particular groups of people should also get access to the supplement. There are provisions in the bill to enable the minister to make the supplement available to other payments—and we have discussed that. Again, as I highlighted in my second reading contribution, we want to end the uncertainty for people to make sure that they get access to the payment as soon as possible.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (21:47): The government will be opposing this amendment. This amendment is unnecessary. The legislation already allows for the government to include additional cohorts of people on income support payments through a legislative instrument if and when required. People receiving other payments are provided income support for other reasons. At this point, the government is focused on providing additional support to jobseekers. The coronavirus supplement is designed to cushion the impact of any downturn in the economy on workers and people looking for work, people on jobseeker payment and youth allowance (other) for the purpose of looking for work. We understand the labour market will likely face, or will be facing, significant challenges over coming months.
In order to assist current income support recipients, people on other payments will be eligible for the first and second economic support payment—$750 each time. We have the ability, under the legislation we're putting to the parliament, to make additional payments eligible for the coronavirus supplement. We will keep a close eye on economic conditions and what is occurring in Australia and make appropriate, prudent and measured decisions to respond to circumstances as they continue to evolve.
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (21:48): While we were discussing in here the government's response to people on temporary visas, in terms of the expiry of their visas and in terms of providing income support for many people on temporary visas, the government ministers in here were stalling away and not giving any commitments. I'll just announce on behalf of the government that in real time, only moments ago, they dropped a story to one of the government's favourite 'dropees' at The Australian, Simon Benson, who understands that the Morrison government is 'working on a plan that includes a form of support payment for potentially hundreds of thousands of temporary migrants who stand to lose their jobs in industries such as tourism and hospitality'. The lead of that story also mentions visa extensions being offered to nonresidents. It's such a shame that, rather than the Prime Minister communicating with the Senate and with his ministers in the Senate, the PM's office was off dropping the story to their favourite recipient in The Australian.
This is a good thing that the government are doing here. It's something we are very glad they are doing, and we're very glad that we've been pressuring the government to do it. It is a shame that it's not in this current package. Because it's been dropped to The Australian rather than messaged into the Senate, we obviously have no capacity to ask detailed questions about it, because we simply have no detail about what the package is. It's almost like the Prime Minister's press secretary was listening to the debate in the Senate and went: 'Whoopsie! We left about 1.5 million people out of our coronavirus response. We'll just get on to The Australian really quickly, drop it to Simon Benson and see if we can get ourselves out of trouble.'
But I do want to make a very serious point here to Minister Cormann. In response to one of my previous questions on this issue, he mentioned that the government's focus was on Australians and Australian residents. Well, Minister, a lot of people are about to become effective Australian residents because they simply can't get out of the country, through no fault of their own. As Senator Keneally quite rightly pointed out, this is a public health issue as well as an issue of equity, fairness and humanity. No matter whether someone is ordinarily resident in Australia or ordinarily resident overseas with a temporary visa in Australia, they could still contract coronavirus just as easily as anybody else. If you want to run a comprehensive, holistic public health response to coronavirus, you need to have a financial package supporting everybody in the country so that they can self-isolate. I can't put it any more clearly than that. Your normal tricks are not going to fly here. You're in an emergency. We're all in an emergency together. That includes people in this country on temporary visas.
The story in The Australian appears to reference only people who are on temporary visas and who have lost their jobs as a result of the shutdowns around the coronavirus response. If those are the parameters of the package, it won't go far enough. Everyone who is in Australia right now should be regarded as a resident of this country for the purposes of the coronavirus response, and everybody in that category needs income support so they can have a house or a home in which they can self-isolate should they be required to.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (21:53): Let me just again confirm for Senator McKim that the position of the government is that eligibility for the coronavirus supplement is based on the following income support payment categories: jobseeker payment, and all payments progressively transitioning to jobseeker payment—partner allowance, widow allowance, sickness allowance and wife pension; youth allowance; parenting payment, partnered and single; farm household allowance; and special benefit. There are about another million visa holders that we have added—and I've said previously, earlier today. Access to jobseeker payment and youth allowance is available to people residing in Australia who are Australian citizens and permanent residents. It will not be available to people in Australia on temporary visas, other than some people in limited circumstances on special category visas. Australia's social security system is a non-contributory, residence based system. It is designed to support primarily Australian citizens and permanent residents. In relation to those on a permanent residency visa, for those who are still serving a newly arrived resident's waiting period, as I've indicated to the chamber before, the government has decided to waive the newly arrived resident's waiting period temporarily, in order to assist permanent residents to get access to the jobseeker payment. Generally, residency requirements will still apply, and most temporary visa holders do not qualify for jobseeker payment and other forms of income support. However, special benefit is available to specified temporary visa holders, as I've also previously advised the chamber. The classes of temporary visa holders eligible for special benefit are specified in a legislative instrument and currently include: temporary partner visas, temporary humanitarian visas, and bridging visas for victims of human trafficking. The Minister for Families and Social Services has the ability to declare new visa types to be eligible for special benefit—visa types such as temporary resident, other employment, and temporary resident, skilled employment, which will be included by the minister in the near future. We are not proposing to expand the eligibility for the coronavirus supplement to visa holders beyond that.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR: The question is that the request for an amendment be agreed to.
Question negatived.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR: Senator Siewert, you would like it recorded?
Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (21:56): Yes, please. For the benefit of the chamber, could I also indicate that I won't be moving the Greens' amendments on sheet 8906 or 8909, because we're taking the government at their word: that they will be using the amendment that we passed not long ago to make sure that students—Abstudy or Austudy—do get access to the supplement.
Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (21:56): by leave—I move Greens' amendments (1) to (4) on sheet 8907 and amendment (1) on sheet 8908 together:
(1) Clause 4, page 3 (line 21), omit "State or Territory", substitute "State, Territory or local government authority".
[payments to local government]
(2) Heading to subclause 5(1), page 3 (line 24), omit "States and Territories", substitute "States, Territories and local government authorities".
[payments to local government]
(3) Clause 5, page 3 (lines 25 to 30), omit "State or Territory" (wherever occurring), substitute "State, Territory or local government authority".
[payments to local government]
(4) Clause 5, page 4 (line 10), after "State, Territory", insert ", local government authority".
[payments to local government]
(1) Page 4 (after line 20), after clause 5, insert:
5A Transparency of payments
(1) Within 14 days after an agreement is entered into for the purposes of section 5, the Minister must:
(a) publish on the internet the full text of the agreement; or
(b) if the Minister is of the opinion that it is not in the public interest for the agreement to be published, the Minister must write to the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Public Accounts and Audit outlining the reasons why he or she is of that opinion in relation to the specific agreement.
(2) Within 14 days after each 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October, the Minister must publish on the internet:
(a) a list of all agreements entered into for the purposes of section 5 in the preceding quarter; and
(b) a statement outlining the total amount of payments made under the appropriation in this Act in the preceding quarter.
(3) Each list published pursuant to paragraph 5A(2) (a) must, for each listed agreement, include:
(a) the name of the recipient of the payment;
(b) the amount of the payment;
(c) the date or dates on which the payment was made or is to be made; and
(d) details of the nature of the agreement.
Note: Details of the nature of the agreement for the purposes of paragraph 5A(3) (d) may include whether the agreement relates to a grant, a loan, an investment, or some other arrangement.
(4) Each statement published pursuant to paragraph 5A(2) (b) must include:
(a) the total amount of payments made to recipients in each State and Territory; and
(b) the total amount of payments made to:
(i) State and Territory governments;
(ii) constitutional corporations; and
(iii) other persons.
(5) Before making an agreement for the purposes of section 5, the Minister must:
(a) conduct an open and transparent process in relation to the proposed payment; or
(b) if the Minister is of the opinion that it is not feasible to conduct an open and transparent process due to the urgent nature of the payment, the Minister must write to the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Public Accounts and Audit outlining the reasons why it was not in the public interest that an open and transparent process be used.
Note: An example of an open and transparent process for the purposes of paragraph 5A(5) (a) is an open tender assessed against published criteria.
(6) Where applicable, payments made under the appropriation in this Act must comply with the Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines.
(7) In this section:
Commonwealth Grants Rules and Guidelines means the legislative instrument made by the Finance Minister under section 105C of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 .
These amendments really relate to the Assistance for Severely Affected Regions (Special Appropriation) (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, and amendments (1) to (4) on sheet 8907 explicitly add local government as a potential recipient of funds. This amendment adds the inclusion of supporting communities through financial assistance to local governments and their projects as a purpose of the bill.
As we know, many local government areas and their communities, especially in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, are still suffering from the massive impacts of the bushfires, and it will take a long time for them to recover from that alone. So the Greens want to add local government as recipients of these funds, so community projects can continue to be funded in the time of this crisis—community projects such as maternal and child health care, youth services and support for local art and cultural activities, amongst the many other wonderful community projects that local communities and councils run.
Amendment (1) on sheet 8908 inserts requirements for transparent reporting about how money is spent and an open process in allocating support funding. I understand that this funding is around $1 billion, so we really do need some transparency on that. This amendment will insert requirements to publish details of the contracts that are signed, with the full text of all agreements to be published within two weeks of finalising. It will also require the publication of a quarterly list of all agreements, including the recipient, the amount, the date of the payments and the nature of the agreement. This amendment will also require publication of a quarterly statement of the amounts expended under the bill, including the amounts paid to particular jurisdictions and types of recipients. The amendment requires that, where appropriate—and that's because the Greens recognise the urgent nature of some expenditure—the minister must use an open process to allocate funds: for example, an open tender. The minister must write every quarter to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, outlining instances in which an open tender was not used and the reason it was not in the public interest. While we understand the urgency and the reason for this funding, we also think that appropriate transparency and accountability is still a valid process for any amount of public funds that are expended.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (21:59): The government will be opposing this amendment. The federal government will only provide direct payments from the severely affected regions fund to states and territories, where local governments are best placed to administer a program. The Commonwealth will arrange for the funds to be administered to the local government entity via the states and territories using well-established mechanisms.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR ( Senator Griff ): The question is that the amendment be agreed to. I believe the noes have it. Senator Faruqi, would you like the usual?
Senator Faruqi: Yes, thank you.
The TEMPORARY CHAIR: So recorded.
Question negatived.
Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020, as amended, agreed to; Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, Australian Business Growth Fund (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, Assistance for Severely Affected Regions (Special Appropriation) (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020, Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill (No. 2) 2019-2020, Boosting Cash Flow for Employers (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020 agreed to without amendments.
Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020 reported with amendments; Guarantee of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, Australian Business Growth Fund (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, Assistance for Severely Affected Regions (Special Appropriation) (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, Structured Finance Support (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020, Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill (No. 1) 2019-2020, Appropriation (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill (No. 2) 2019-2020, Boosting Cash Flow for Employers (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020 reported without amendments; report adopted.
Third Reading
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (22:01): I move:
That the bills be now read a third time.
Question agreed to.
Bills read a third time.
Supply Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021
Supply Bill (No. 2) 2020-2021
Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021
First Reading
Bills received from the House of Representatives.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (22:02): I move:
That these bills may proceed without formalities, may be taken together and be now read a first time.
Question agreed to.
Bills read a first time.
Second Reading
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (22:03): I move:
That these bills be now read a second time.
I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.
Leave granted.
The speeches read as follows—
Supply Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021, together with Supply Bill (No. 2) 2020-2021 and Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021, seeks appropriations to facilitate the continuation of normal government business.
These bills are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of government services and the continuation of vital programs in an environment of global economic uncertainty resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. This economic uncertainty impacts the forecasts on which the federal budget depends. Consequently, the government has decided to reschedule this year's federal budget to 6 October 2020. This will also ensure that the 2020-21 budget can set out the path to economic recovery.
This delay of the budget does not, however, stand in the way of timely and comprehensive responses to the present health and economic challenges. This week the government has brought forward a wide-reaching package of legislation, including the expenditure, tax relief and streamlined regulatory measures, to support its coronavirus economic response.
Supply Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021 provides for appropriations for a proposed expenditure on the ordinary annual services of the government for the first seven months of 2021. This is slightly longer than the customary five-month contingency that has been provided in some recent supply bills. In the present uncertain circumstances, it is important that supply arrangements include enough contingency and ensure adequate time for parliamentary scrutiny of appropriation bills.
The bill seeks approval for appropriations from the consolidated revenue fund of just over $76.3 billion. The appropriations proposed in this bill are broadly based on seven-twelfths of the estimated 2020-21 annual appropriations. The 2020-21 estimates are largely the 2019-2020 base adjusted for economic and program specific parameters and the effect of decisions announced as part of MYEFO or included in the 2019-20 additional estimates appropriations bills, plus of course the COVID-19 related measures.
The bill must be passed in this session to ensure funding is available to all entities from 1 July 2020, thereby ensuring the continuity of program and service delivery. The seven-twelfths allocation are adjusted where necessary for programs or agencies that are expected to face additional pressures in the first seven months of the financial year.
I want to emphasise that this bill seeks provision only to fund government expenditure on an interim basis until the 2020-21 budget appropriation bills have passed. Therefore, no new measures for the 2020-21 budget are included in this bill. The bill also provides an advance to the finance minister, a provision of $16 billion, to provide the government with the capacity to allocate additional appropriations for urgent and unforeseen expenditure. This ensures sufficient appropriations are available to meet unforeseen costs, which may include responding to the need for increased medical services and to the need to provide capacity for further economic stimulus, should that be required, and supporting the ongoing business of government. In light of the size of this, it is proposed to institute additional transparency measures on its use. This will include a regular media release which reports and reconciles the use of the AFM provision. Details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedule to the bill, the EM and the various portfolio statements.
Supply Bill (No. 2), along with Supply Bill (No. 1) and the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1), seeks appropriations to facilitate the continuation of normal government business. Supply Bill (No. 2) 2020-2021 provides for appropriations that are not for the ordinary annual services of governments, such as for capital works and services, and for payments to states, territories and local governments for the first seven months of 2020-21. The bill seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of just under $6.7 billion. The appropriations proposed in this bill are broadly based on seven-twelfths of the estimated 2020-21 annual appropriations. The 2020-21 estimates are largely on the 2019-20 base adjusted for economic and program specific parameters and the effect of decisions in MYEFO or included in the additional estimates appropriation bills, plus the COVID-19 related measures. The seven-twelfths allocations are adjusted where necessary, where organisations are expected to face additional pressures in the first seven months of the year—for example, further capital funding for the national medical stockpile. The supply bills also take into account terminating programs.
The bill also establishes the debt limits for 2020-21 for general purpose financial assistance payments and national partnership payments. The debit limits in the bill reflect a full year of the estimated 2020-21 limits so that agreements with other governments can be established with certainty for the full year. Again, the bill must be passed in this session to ensure funding is available to all entities from 1 July 2020, ensuring the continuity of program and service delivery.
As with Supply Bill (No. 1), this bill seeks provision only to fund government expenditure on an interim basis until budget appropriation bills have been passed. Therefore, no new measures, I emphasise, for the 2020 budget are included in this bill either. The bill also provides an advance to the finance minister, a provision of $24 billion, to provide the government with the capacity to allocate additional appropriations for urgent and unforeseen expenditure. This ensures sufficient appropriations are available to meet unforeseen costs, which may include responding to the need for additional and more costly medical equipment driven by international competition and to the need to provide capacity for further economic stimulus, should that be required, and to support the ongoing business of government. In light of the size of the AFM, it is proposed to institute additional transparency measures on its use. This, again, will include a regular media release which reports and reconciles the use of the provision. Again, details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedule to the bill, the EM and the various portfolio statements.
Finally, the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021 provides appropriations for the first seven months of 2020-21 for the operations of the Department of the Senate, the Department of the House of Representatives, the Department of Parliamentary Services and the Parliamentary Budget Office. This bill seeks approval for appropriations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of just over $150 million. The appropriations proposed in this bill are broadly based on seven-twelfths of the estimated 2020-21 annual appropriations, which are largely the 2019-20 base adjusted for economic and program specific parameters. The bill must be passed in this session to ensure funding is available to these departments from 1 July 2020, thereby ensuring the continuity of our parliament's operations.
As with the other supply bills, I want to emphasise that this bill seeks provision only to appropriate money to fund government expenditure on an interim basis until budget appropriations bills have been passed. Again, no measures for the 2020 budget are included in this bill. This arrangement, importantly, allows for Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill No. 1 2020-21 or a similar bill to be passed when parliament resumes sitting, if necessary. Again, details of the proposed expenditure are set out in the schedule to the bill, the EM and the various 2019-20 statements. I therefore commend the bills to the House.
Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (22:03): Labor will support the supply bills that have been introduced in the parliament as part of the COVID-19 response. These bills broadly provide for seven months of funding in the 2020-21 financial year to allow for the continued operation of government, including the parliament. Our support will ensure essential functions of government are able to operate through this period of uncertainty. There are some exceptions to the seven-month rule, which include full-year funding for the National Disability Insurance Agency; full-year department funding for Services Australia, the ATO and the Department of Health to ensure service delivery is maintained; and full-year appropriations for the coronavirus economic and health response measures. Supply Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021 will appropriate $76.4 billion, Supply Bill (No. 2) 2020-2021 will appropriate $6.7 billion and the Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2020-2021 will appropriate $150.5 million.
Like all supply and appropriation bills, these bills contain advance to the finance minister provisions. The advance to the finance minister allows the finance minister to authorise an amount of expenditure without the usual appropriation mechanisms for urgent and unforeseen circumstances or where there has been an error in an appropriation bill. These provisions are usually for a reasonable but modest amount. For example, in the 2019-20 appropriation bills passed in this place last year, bill 1 had a provision of $295 million and bill 2 had $380 million for a total of $675 million.
The supply bills that are before us right now are proposing an Advance to the Minister for Finance provision that totals $40 million. This is an unprecedented amount. However, given the unprecedented nature of the times we are in, we deem the provisions to be appropriate. After all, just over a week after the announcement of a $17.6 billion stimulus package, we had nearly a quadrupling of the amount with the $66 billion package that followed. We are aware of discussions around a third economic response package being considered, and I don't think anyone is in a position to understand how much that package might need to be. That's why we consider this larger provision to be appropriate.
But Labor support for this has been conditional, and, as part of our agreement to these bills and the advance to the finance minister provisions contained in them, we have sought and received the agreement of the government for a number of transparency and oversight provisions which we deem to be quite reasonable for the situation we find ourselves in. After negotiations with the Minister for Finance and, through him, with the government—and I acknowledge and appreciate the spirit and engagement on this—the government will issue a media release after every use of the Advance to the Minister for Finance on the Friday, I think, of the week that the advance was used and seek concurrence from the opposition for a proposed use of the advance to the finance minister of any sum greater than $1 billion.
Labor believes these transparency and oversight initiatives related to the advance to the finance minister will enhance scrutiny of this facility, which is appropriate, given the large amount of funding that we're talking about. As I indicated, Labor will support these bills. It's important that we have the level of certainty that essential operations of government can continue while the COVID-19 situation is dealt with.
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (22:06): I won't hold up the chamber unnecessarily. I just place on the record that, as the Leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, has said regularly and as we have said in this chamber today, we will take a constructive role in the response to what many members have described as an unprecedented situation and we will be supporting this legislation so that the machinery of government can continue in the event that, as in fact has happened, the budget is postponed and in the event that this parliament is not able to resume under its previously agreed sitting arrangements. So we'll be supporting these bills.
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (22:07): Thank you very much. I probably should quit while I'm ahead—when I've got consensus across the chamber, which is unique! Let me just place on the record my great appreciation in particular for the way Senator Gallagher as the shadow minister for finance has worked with me through those issues.
We are living in unbelievable times. I don't think that any of us would have expected to be dealing with legislation of this nature and with an Advance to the Minister of Finance of this size. These bills are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of government services and the continuation of vital programs in an environment of global economic uncertainty resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. This economic uncertainty impacts the forecasts on which the federal budget depends. Consequently, we have decided to reschedule this year's federal budget for 6 October 2020, which will ensure that the 2020-21 budget can set out the path to economic recovery. However, this delay to the budget does mean that we won't be able to pass appropriation bills for 2020-21 before the end of the financial year—and of course, as a number of senators have observed, there is a high degree of uncertainty about the timing of when we will next be able to meet, which is why we have discussed with the opposition—and we appreciate the support of the entire chamber, including Senator McKim—the proposal to increase the Advance to the Minister for Finance to $40 billion.
This is designed to give us the fiscal capacity to respond to urgent and currently unforeseeable requirements in circumstances when there is uncertainty about when the parliament will next be able to meet. It ensures we have sufficient appropriations available to meet unforeseen costs, which may include responding to the need for additional, more costly medical equipment and supplies, given the high international demand and the upward pressure on prices. It gives us the capacity to provide further support to our economy and to Australians, if and as required, and support the ongoing operations of our government, but also to, if required, make additional payments to state and territory governments to support, for example, their provision of healthcare services to Australians.
In light of the significant increase in the advance to the finance minister, the government has agreed to the additional transparency measures that Senator Gallagher mentioned. I will issue a media release each Friday where one or more determinations have been made in that week to allocate funding from that advance and I will also write to the shadow finance minister to seek her concurrence, of behalf of the opposition, prior to drawing any funding from an advance to the finance minister for any given proposed expenditure greater than $1 billion. With those few words, I commend these bills to the Senate.
Question agreed to.
Bills read a second time.
Third Reading
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (22:11): I move:
That these bills be now read a third time.
Question agreed to.
Bills read a third time.
COMMITTEES
Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
Membership
Message received from the House of Representatives notifying the Senate of the appointment of Mr Conroy, in place of Ms Thwaites, to the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit.
BUSINESS
Days and Hours of Meeting
Leave of Absence
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (22:11): I move:
That:
(a) the orders of the Senate of 14 November 2019 relating to the days of meeting for 2020 and estimates hearings be suspended until 11 August 2020;
(b) the President shall alter the day and time of the next meeting of the Senate at the request of, or the agreement of, the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and the time of meeting shall be notified to each senator;
(c) the Senate may meet in a manner and form not otherwise provided in the standing orders with the agreement of the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and that the rules and orders necessary to constitute such a meeting may be determined by the Procedure Committee; and
(d) leave of absence be granted to every member of the Senate from the end of the sitting today, to the day on which the Senate next meets.
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (22:11): I thought that a Labor member might request the call, but, regardless, I would just make a couple of observations about this and flag with you, President, that I will be asking that part (a) be put separately from parts (b), (c) and (d). That will be a request that I will be making of you. We don't believe it is appropriate to suspend effective until 11 August. There are other ways around this and we think that a suspension of effectively six months of the parliament is simply not warranted and justified under the current circumstances. Labor were very strong on this in the House of Representatives and in fact opposed this policy of the government, and Labor can speak for itself in this place, but the Greens, as we did in the other place, will be voting against this provision. We believe that the Senate timetable as previously agreed should be maintained and there are mechanisms available if sittings need to be postponed. That deals with clause (a).
I also flag with you, President, that we will be moving amendments to parts (b) and (c) which insert in each part, after the words 'Leader of the Opposition in the Senate', 'and the Leader of the Greens in the Senate'. We are the third party in this place. We are recognised as a party—that is, we have party status, recognised by the parliament—and we believe that our leader in the Senate, Senator Waters, ought to be involved in any discussions or mechanisms covered in part (b) and part (c) of this motion.
The PRESIDENT: I will put clause (a) first, then I will ask you to move your amendments to clauses (b) and (c), which are fairly simple. The question is that clause (a) of the motion moved by Senator Cormann be agreed to.
Question agreed to.
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (22:14): I simply make the same request you have had made of you previously. I just note that Labor supported the government's position on this and that it was opposed by the Greens.
The PRESIDENT: The Journals and the Hansard will record that the Greens opposed the vote on clause (a). Your amendment—which I'm happy to take verbally, Senator McKim—is after the words 'Leader of the Opposition in the Senate' in clause (b) and (c) insert 'Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate.' Is that it?
Senator McKIM: Thank you, Mr President. That's exactly my amendment.
The PRESIDENT: I will put the amendment first. The question is that clauses (b) and (c) be amended in those terms.
Question negatived.
The PRESIDENT: The same request, for the record?
Senator McKIM (Tasmania—Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate) (22:15): Yes, thank you.
The PRESIDENT: As so recorded that the Greens supported clauses (b) and (c).
Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (22:15): I would like to support that as well, please.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Roberts so recorded as well supporting that particular provision. Now what I will do is put clauses (b), (c) and (d) in their original form, collectively, to the Senate.
Question agreed to.
The PRESIDENT (22:16): I will make a very brief statement before I call you for the last motion, Senator Cormann. As we depart and focus on our families, communities, fellow citizens and I'd say also our staff over the coming months, can I also ask us to consider one another because this is a particularly collegial place where many senators spend a great deal of time with one another working through some very contentious and difficult issues that don't often get public attention but do serve the public interest. That won't be happening for the foreseeable future. I would just ask that we all consider each other and particularly those who are subject to testing, self-isolation or, indeed, recovery from this particular illness over the coming months. I would particularly like to thank all senators, and particularly the staff of the Senate, for their cooperation in achieving the results we have today.
ADJOURNMENT
Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (22:16): I move:
That the Senate do now adjourn.
Question agreed to.
Senate adjourned at 22:16 until Tuesday 11 August 2020