TRANSCRIPT: WAGGA WAGGA PRESS CONFERENCE, 20 March 2020
E&OE
Subjects: Coronavirus;
GREG CONKEY:
Thank you, again, for your attendance here this morning. These are unprecedented times and we are doing a combined approach to this city to mitigate the economic damage that will be affected as far as ‑ that will take place as far as coronavirus is concerned.
So you can see we have the local member ‑ the Deputy Prime Minister here, the local member Joe McGirr here. We have representatives from the Committee for Wagga, the Wagga Business Chamber and also Women in Business. And so we're looking at a combined approach to see what we can do as a community to mitigate the economic effects on this community.
So we got together, we had a meeting yesterday, late yesterday afternoon to see what Wagga City Council can do. We've already put in place a number of measures to try and assist the business community. We're also always open to any other suggestions that we can do. Bearing in mind this is a changing feast, it changes every sort of ‑ basically every half hour, every hour. So we are complying with everything that the Federal and State Governments are telling us to do. We're happy to do that. As you know, The Oasis, only 100 people allowed in that, we've closed the Civic Theatre and the library again, only a maximum of 100 people there at any one time. We're encouraging people not to gather any more than 100 people indoors with mass gatherings done with 500 outdoors. We are complying with all those regulations but at the same time there's some business impacts here and so that's why we're working with these business organisations in this city to have a combined approach.
We're looking at our own resources to see what we can do concerning that, and over the next couple of days we will work out a strategy. It's a moving event. Things are changing regularly and we'll see what we can do as a community, we're a part of that community, Business Chamber is part of that community, to see what we can do to mitigate the drastic effects this is going to have on our community.
I would like to call on others, if they would like to speak, maybe starting with you, Michael.
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Yeah, look, thanks, Greg, and the fact that Wagga Wagga City Council has called this meeting shows the gravity of the situation. It shows just how important this is to keep the economy of Wagga Wagga as best we can, ticking along. It is going to be difficult. There's absolutely no question that these are unprecedented times and we will get through them. It could take, as the Prime Minister has repeatedly said in recent days, up to six months but people have to be their best selves during this time. They have to think of others. The fact that there have been raids on supermarkets is just beyond comprehension and the Government will be moving to ensure that people coming in from outside areas and taking absolutely every item off the shelf, that won't be able to continue to happen. It can't happen, it shouldn't have happened in the first place.
Food security is one thing in this nation that we have plenty of and we will continue to provide the amount of food that Australians need and other products as well, such as toilet paper. So there's no need to hoard it. Just be sensible and think of others.
But I commend Wagga Wagga City Council for calling together the Committee for Wagga Wagga, the Business Chamber, Women in Business. It's important that people know that the city will continue to operate and function as best it can.
I see that the Murrumbidgee Turf Club has made the Wagga Wagga Gold Cup Carnival a participant‑only event. So there will be only be trainers and jockeys and officials and of course, the horses. This is unprecedented but we will have the Wagga Wagga Gold Cup. It will still broadcast Wagga Wagga to the nation and to the world and if people want to lay a bet, they'll have to do it online or via other means. But at least they're still running the Wagga Wagga Cup. It needs to continue as does other social functions.
Despite the fact that there will be social distancing, despite the fact that there will be a limit of 100 people per venue, Wagga Wagga still needs to continue and I urge and encourage people to still support their local businesses. I've made moves in just recent days to ensure that trucks can continue to deliver goods to supermarkets. We are, as a Federal Cabinet, sitting every day of the week. I'm doing it via Skype here in Wagga Wagga, making sure that the country can continue and of course, next week Parliament will resume on Monday and Tuesday to pass the stimulus package.
The stimulus packages, more to be announced over the weekend and even indeed later on this afternoon, but stimulus packages to continue to provide cash flow for businesses and to continue importantly, for people to stay in work. Whilst appreciating that it will be difficult for some businesses to keep engaging every single employee, we want to make sure that there is a safety net for those employees. We want to make sure that we can get through this as best we can, because we will.
This is a great city, there's no better city in all of Australia in which to live. We just need to be our best selves. I know Wagga Wagga City Council is setting up a dedicated website. There will be more to say about that in this interview, but to ensure we can place people who have lost their jobs with work that is available.
I commend Qantas for making sure that, as best they can, to engage their employees who perhaps aren't gainfully employed at the moment to take work in aged care centres and those sorts of things so we need to make sure that we can do those sorts of things so we can place the jobs with the workers and we get through this.
I might ask Joe McGirr to add to my comments.
JOE MCGIRR:
Thank you, Michael, and can I also thank Wagga Wagga City Council for calling this and for their leadership in bringing the different groups together. There are clearly three aspects that we're dealing with here. The first, of course, is the health aspect. I've been in daily contact with the local health district and I am confident that they are putting in place, with the additional funding from the State Government, the measures that are needed to manage the response to this health crisis that we're facing.
But we have to do our part. It's very clear that the health system will cope if we can flatten this curve and the measures around social distancing, restrictions on travel, restrictions on gatherings outdoors are part of that and so we as a community have our role to play in making sure that this ‑ the curve is flattened, that we limit the number of severe cases at any one time and as I say, the local district has been working extremely well and effectively to put these measures in place and I look forward to getting feedback on that as well. So that's an important aspect of things, the health aspect.
The second part of this, of course, is the economic impact, and it's clear that people are distressed by this. As the Deputy Prime Minister has outlined, there will be impacts on businesses. But I think the thing is that the Government, both State and Federal, have announced a range of stimulus measures and packages to support people and I think the sort of initiatives that the local council are putting in place, the flexibility around rules that enable businesses to explore different ways of operating, that needs to be encouraged. I'll certainly be doing what I can at State level. I've had suggestions around amendments to liquor licensing so that some restaurants can even serve ‑ deliver some beverages and so on, along with take away.
And I'd encourage local people to support local businesses in that respect and do what you can. Either order take away, for example or if you're young enough and fit enough, of course, go out to a cafe. If you want to take your spray or whatever, by all means do that. The cafes are taking the necessary measures. But we do need to do what we can to support business but at the same time, as I said earlier, those distances around social distancing and hand hygiene.
And finally, just do want to make a comment about the social aspects. The mass buying, the hoarding has just got to stopped. I was distressed yesterday to hear the examples of buses going into bushfire‑affected communities in our region to take goods out of supermarkets. I mean surely we've had enough without that. This has just got to stop. We have to take responsibility here. This is putting pressure on our society and our system. We do not have a food crisis. We do not have a supply crisis. As the Deputy Prime Minister has indicated, the State Government this morning lifted restrictions on the times in which goods can be delivered to supermarkets. The shelves will be restocked. If we go about our business normally, we will stop putting pressure on the system and we will get through this.
And I think, as I say, this has just got to stop, this social hoarding. We have got to take responsibility here. We will get through this but we will get through this doing the right thing and I just want to call that out. That's just got to stop. Thank you.
GREG CONKEY:
Maybe the Committee for Wagga, Alan Johnston.
ALAN JOHNSTON:
Thanks, Greg. Thank you all. How quickly times change. This group came together as a result of a conversation only a week ago at the time when we were celebrating the 150 years of Wagga becoming a borough/city and now we're in unprecedented times. So I'd commend the council and all our other fellow business and industry representative groups for absolutely having no hesitation about combining efforts to ‑ and resources to do what we can to support the business community and the whole community by way of our efforts and you are efforts of our members.
Our group here doesn't have all the great ideas. There's, I'm sure, lots of great ideas out in the community. We will be going out to our members and inviting their comments and innovative solutions and we will be providing, as part of what we've been talking about, a platform for that to happen.
So we are a resilient community, we've proved that before, we'll prove it again, and that's not to say things aren't going to be tough but we will get through it and there's some great minds in this city and we'll do what we can to provide the leadership to the community and to the business community. It's going to be business as usual, we've all heard that term before, this is it for real. But we'll get there and we're really excited about working together and I think this is just another indication of what this community is going to be able to do as we grow.
This is a little interruption along the way, as we grow this city to something that's really special in this part of the Riverina and in southern New South Wales. So we'll get through it and we'll be a whole lot better for it out the other end. Looking forward to everybody's support and really looking forward to seeing government and business representatives work together. We've already started and I don't see it stopping any time soon for the next 20 years. So that's what we're about. Let's get to it.
GREG CONKEY:
Naomi, would you like to say a few words?
NAOMI STUART:
So Women in Business stands united with council, with the Business Chamber and with Committee For Wagga to support the people of Wagga Wagga. We are looking to implement many practical measures with the support of all the other groups, including mental health measures because we appreciate that many of the people in the community are feeling significant anxiety around COVID‑19. So we stand united.
We are reaching out to our members to see what type of practical support they need. So we'd encourage all our members to please provide us with that feedback and, you know, we are here as one of the business groups of Wagga, to support the entire community. Thank you.
GREG CONKEY:
The Wagga Business Chamber.
CASEY WILSON:
The Wagga Business Chamber is pretty well business as usual at the moment. We are here to support our members. We're excited to be working with the other community organisations in town to provide extra services and extra assistance where required. We are currently helping all of our members and non-members get online for those businesses that need some extra assistance in setting up Zoom accounts or online platforms so that business can continue during these difficult times. But we're hoping for feedback for our members with what everybody's requiring and we will get through this if we remain united and we've got some really great organisations here that are willing to help and available at any time.
GREG CONKEY:
So open to questions, if there's any questions.
JOURNALIST:
I have a question. So obviously it's going to be small business that are going to be hit the hardest in these sort of times. So from a council or government perspective, what sort of actual measures are we putting in place to protect them? Are there fees waived, rent waived, is there stimulus ‑ like is there anything you can give us concrete at the moment to what you're actually doing?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
There is going to be obviously more stimulus measures announced in coming days but what we want to make sure is that businesses have that cash flow. So small businesses, up to $50 million in fact, can make sure that the instant asset write off, which was only $30,000, it's now $150,000 up until June 30. So if they've got that capital investment that they've been looking at, for instance, an electrician could buy a truck to take their goods around to the various appointments, it could be anything up to $150,000 for that measure.
There's also measures in the withholding tax which could enable a business to get a return of up to $25,000. There are various measures to keep apprentices in their jobs. So incentives to enable businesses to keep that apprentice on or indeed, to hire an apprentice, if in fact, there is going to be additional work.
For some businesses, these will be tough times. There's absolutely no question. But for other businesses, they may well find a spike indeed, a boost, in the number of work hours that they're being required to do and so for those businesses, there's the opportunities there to either take advantage of that instant asset write off, to put on that apprentice or to keep that apprentice working. So I would encourage those people, those people in business, to try as best they can to keep their doors open, to have a look at what's available. They can call my office if they like.
There are a number of measure that is have already been announced, hopefully we can get those passed through the Parliament with complete ease next Monday and Tuesday. I'm hoping that other Members of Parliament, that other parties don't start playing the politics with this. I'm hoping that we can get these measures and the others that we'll be announcing in the next few days through, so that we can all get back to our communities and make sure that our business community knows that we've got their back.
JOURNALIST:
Sorry, Michael, will they be cash handouts made available as well given that those asset write offs might not help business keep a waiter employed?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
That's why I say there's the withholding tax incentives that can enable businesses to recoup and most Wagga Wagga businesses will be eligible for that, to be able to get thousands of dollars back and straight into their bottom line, straight as a cash flow measure. We've put in a number of things already. We'll be making further announcements to keep the cash flow going and to make sure that they can have the confidence to keep their employees in jobs. These are extraordinary times and they do require extraordinary measures to be put into place to keep the business doors open.
JOURNALIST:
Mr McCormack, freelancers have been hit pretty hard by this, if you're a local wedding photographer, musician your work has pretty much dried up, no leave entitlements, no employer to support them. Are these stimulus packages potentially going to support people like that?
MICHAEL MCCORMACK:
Well, we've got a Cabinet meeting today which we will be discussing things which we've already put through the Expenditure Review Committee. Obviously Cabinet confidentiality I can't announce those and as well, they haven't actually been ratified yet by Cabinet but we will have measures in place for workers. We will have measures in place for those people seeking work and of course, already for people at the lower end of the economic scale, those people who do get family benefits, those people who do get welfare benefits, there is that $750 cash stimulus package that was announced last week as part of the $17.6 billion overall first tranche of measures. Hopefully they will be going through the Parliament if not Monday, then Tuesday and that will put also cash through communities. That will put money in the pockets of the people who need it the most and, as we know from these past sort of measures, they have spent the money in their communities. So I would urge and encourage them to spend it in their local communities, to support local businesses as best they can.
JOURNALIST:
Greg, you said you had already spoken about a couple of things council might be able to do. Are you able to announce any of those things at this point in time or are they just sort of conversations?
GREG CONKEY:
They're conversations continuing. We'd like to receive any feedback from the business community as to what they'd like us to put in place. We for instance, one of the first things we're looking at is outside on our main street with our cafes with the tables and chairs. At the moment we need to separate those so we're looking at allowing those cafes to have a larger footprint within the CBD area. So they will expand out, provided their neighbours agree with that. We're looking at also ways that we can assist with deliveries and there's certain times and zones like that that we can do. So they're fairly minor things but probably some other major things that we will be looking at as well. But we'd like to receive that feedback from the community as to what else we could put in place to make it a lot easier for these people.
JOURNALIST:
I have a question for the Women in Business about the mental health aspect as well. You mentioned that you're looking at supporting people through mental health stuff that's going on. Obviously there's anxiety across the community but I imagine it would be especially for small businesses and those in Wagga. What do you mean by supporting the mental health? Is it just business owners or anyone? What are you looking to do?
NAOMI STUART:
No, look, we're looking to leverage already existing services because we have some amazing services to support people who are experiencing anxiety around COVID‑19. So as part of our coordinated approach with council, we've already started discussing how we can pull together a centralised point for business and community members who perhaps, you know, there's resources all over the place at the moment, let's centralise it for the people of Wagga so that they can go there to access all the information that they need to.
GREG CONKEY:
Just to recap a couple of things here. We are setting up a website organised by Wagga City Council. We're having input from the Federal Government, the State Government as well as the business community in this city as far as incentives are concerned for businesses, as well as keeping people up to date as best we can as far as this virus is concerned. So we're putting that into place. Our appeal to everybody is please don't hoard. Be considerate of others, please. We do, we do have food security in this city as the Deputy Prime Minister mentioned and the issue we're having at the moment is restocking. We've got the trucks coming to the city but the issue is to restock. I know Coles have just put on six additional people to assist with restocking their shelves.
So please, be considerate of others. We are working as a team to get for the benefit of this whole community and that's federal, State, and local business groups as well as the Wagga City Council. Look, we'll get through this but we need to be mindful of the economic impact on this city and that's what we are all working to achieve to minimise that impact on this city. Thank you for your attendance today.