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| Coronavirus Australia live update: Morrison pledges to rebuild economy without tax hikes, as Victoria reports 15 new cases | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Scott Morrison to outline Coalition’s manufacturing reboot in press club address; NSW reports two new cases in hotel quarantine; Queensland expands NSW border bubble. Follow live | Scott Morrison to outline Coalition’s manufacturing reboot in press club address; NSW reports two new cases in hotel quarantine; Queensland expands NSW border bubble. Follow live |
| Meanwhile | |
| Q: You’ve had the income - retirement incomes review since July. There is a big debate going on about the future of the superannuation contribution and you will make a decision in a few months. Why don’t you release that fact-based report immediately so the debate can be better informed. | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: One of the big impacts on the economic growth for the next financial year will be the migration mix. We know that permanent migration will fall probably to one of its lowest levels. Are there mechanisms where refugees who are in Australia on temporary protection visas can help fill that void, given we know these are remarkably resilient tarps, highly skilled, highly motivated that want to make a contribution? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: New mechanisms was the crucial word – new. | |
| Morrison: | |
| Q: You mentioned a few times that up to 40% of costs for industries - cost structures are gas. Is there scope - are you willing to enforce retailers to reduce their price closer to the wholesale price? For those industries? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: More than 90% of Australian’s pharmaceuticals are manufactured offshore. You have set a priority focus on medical products. Does that include pharmaceuticals? Does that industry given the circumstances we have seen geared up more quickly with a bit more government money? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: We are talking today about developing the manufacturing industries of the future. I want to ask you about apparent deep problem with the manufacturing industries of the present. COVID aside, the data from the website today of the Department of Employment and skills, which is just pre-COVID, shows serious skills shortages in areas like sheet metal workers, fitters, mechanics, panel beaters, bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, glaze years, plasterers, plumbers, electrician, refrigeration mechanisms - it goes on and on. We are going to have a record pool of young potential employee, record skills shortages. What will you do to match those two issues? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: You have been critical of Labor in the fast for failing to quantify the costs of their climate and energy policies. So, in that vain, has the government quantified the cost to taxpayers of your gas-led recovery? Obviously you have telegraphed $53 million in the budget next week. But you have also foreshadowed opening a number of new gas basins, you have fore shadowed potential underwriting of infrastructure and common sense tells us that some of these projects may require taxpayer indemnities. So, what is the total cost? Has the government modelled the impact of these initiatives on your own government’s climate policies? And also where do your employment estimates come from, given the Grattan Institute in a forthcoming report indicates that only 1% of manufacturing workers work in gas-intensive manufacturing. | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: Given that we can probably expect tax cuts next week, what are the methods by which you can get households to consume and spend in the stimulatory way that the budget requires? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: You don’t want them to save it? | |
| Morrison: | |
| Q: My question is how do you encourage people to spend it? | |
| Morrison: | |
| Q: On your comments on sovereign manufacturing capability plans, you said the crisis is not an excuse for protectionist policies to subsidise inefficient firms to make things here locally. Do you consider a government procurement protectionist? In other words, a state or federal government agreeing to underwrite the manufacture of critical products here? Is that protectionist or otherwise? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: Treasury’s best-case assumptions in the July budget update were derailed. We had Victoria’s lockdown extended and new border closures come into play. How confident can we be in next week’s budget assumptions as the country reopens again and how vital is it that once states do open, they stay open? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: You mentioned research and development during your speech several times. Before the Senate at the moment, the government has a bill that changes taxation on R&D, saves money, one of the critics of that bill is a company called ResMed which made a big contribution this year by making ventilators. At the moment, you seem to be spending $1.5 billion on manufacturing, at the same time you save $1. 8 billion on R&D tax concessions. Does that make sense? Are you open to rethinking the R&D tax changes so that you can actually encourage more research and development? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Q: Can you offer guidance [on what you are going to do] | |
| Morrison: | |
| Let’s hope not every question is answered with ‘you’ll find out in the budget’ | |
| Q: You touched on industrial relations a couple of times in your speech. The last time that you are here, as you acknowledge, you launched a JobMaker, where you talked about the need for change on industrial relations and you voiced a time-bound approach with September as the deadline with a number of round-table groups, where you also appealed to people to put down their tribal - traditional tribal allegiances to one side. September’s come and gone. Can you tell us where that process is at? Is IR reform still part of your agenda? And will it be announced in the weeks ahead? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Scott Morrison finishes his speech with this: | Scott Morrison finishes his speech with this: |
| *Unless it is fossil fuels, apparently. | |
| The Morrison government needs to do a better job of explaining the benefits of foreign investment because of underlying community concerns “that foreigners are buying up the farm, they’re taking over”, a senior adviser to the government has said. | The Morrison government needs to do a better job of explaining the benefits of foreign investment because of underlying community concerns “that foreigners are buying up the farm, they’re taking over”, a senior adviser to the government has said. |
| David Irvine, the former Asio chief who now heads the foreign investment review board, clashed with committee chair George Christensen who is using an inquiry into to call for Australia to reduce its economic dependence on China. | David Irvine, the former Asio chief who now heads the foreign investment review board, clashed with committee chair George Christensen who is using an inquiry into to call for Australia to reduce its economic dependence on China. |
| Irvine used his appearance before a committee hearing on Thursday to defend the benefits of foreign investment, but when he noted that some underlying concerns were based on “nationalistic” sentiment he was accused by Christensen of being “dismissive” of community concerns. | Irvine used his appearance before a committee hearing on Thursday to defend the benefits of foreign investment, but when he noted that some underlying concerns were based on “nationalistic” sentiment he was accused by Christensen of being “dismissive” of community concerns. |
| Irvine resisted attempts to make sweeping statements about Australian concerns about government-owned investors, saying: | Irvine resisted attempts to make sweeping statements about Australian concerns about government-owned investors, saying: |
| We’ll have a full story soon | We’ll have a full story soon |
| Scott Morrison: | Scott Morrison: |
| Meanwhile, an important point from my colleague Paul Karp: | Meanwhile, an important point from my colleague Paul Karp: |
| We are hearing a rehash of the budget announcements (and re-announcements) that have already been made. | We are hearing a rehash of the budget announcements (and re-announcements) that have already been made. |
| Murph is at the press club, so we’ll bring you the new parts of the speech, as well as the Q and A. | Murph is at the press club, so we’ll bring you the new parts of the speech, as well as the Q and A. |
| Scott Morrison: | Scott Morrison: |
| The prime minister opens his press club address by welcoming Michael McCormack’s “tremendous” speech yesterday at the Regional Institute – which is where he suggested people promote fruit picking as a chance for a great Instagram story, or to find love. | The prime minister opens his press club address by welcoming Michael McCormack’s “tremendous” speech yesterday at the Regional Institute – which is where he suggested people promote fruit picking as a chance for a great Instagram story, or to find love. |
| You can also take photos in front of big things, the deputy prime minister says. | You can also take photos in front of big things, the deputy prime minister says. |
| McCormack looks very chuffed. (I guess it makes up for when the PM chipped him for referring to taxpayers paying 10 times the value of a plot of land not needed for another 30 years as “a bargain”.) | McCormack looks very chuffed. (I guess it makes up for when the PM chipped him for referring to taxpayers paying 10 times the value of a plot of land not needed for another 30 years as “a bargain”.) |
| Mathias Cormann also gets a shout out and a reminder that he is leaving at the end of the day, and the “very big shoes” he leaves to fill in the government. | Mathias Cormann also gets a shout out and a reminder that he is leaving at the end of the day, and the “very big shoes” he leaves to fill in the government. |