TRANSCRIPT: INTERVIEW ON 2SM WITH JOHN LAWS, 23 March 2020

E&OE

Subjects: Coronavirus;

JOHN LAWS:

I'm delighted to say that we've got the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack on the line. Michael, good morning and welcome to the program.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Good morning, John.

JOHN LAWS:

What impact will the closure of nonessential services have in regional communities where places like the local pub are the heart of the town? I mean they're going to suffer.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

No doubt they will and whether it’s the Royal Hotel at Grong Grong, or wherever the case might be, John, yes, they are the heartbeat of a local community but for Australians to be their best selves and for us to ensure that as few a number of Australians as possible get infected and potentially lose their lives from this coronavirus pandemic, we need Australians to follow the rules and we need obviously people to absolutely think of others at this critical point in time because I've likened it to a flood. You look out your own window, you see that everything's fine, sun's shining and nothing to see here but you watch on the news and you can hear on the radio that upstream there's a flood coming and you can see the images of houses being destroyed and lives being lost and yet you think everything's alright here.

Let me tell you it's not alright here and Australians need to follow the advice of the Chief Medical Officer. They need to follow the advice of the Prime Minister and they need to be their best selves and think of others. Particularly in rural and remote communities, for those Aboriginal communities, for those people who live in country areas and for those older Australians who are most vulnerable from this COVID 19, we need them to get through this crisis.

JOHN LAWS:

Okay, but what plans have you got in place to manage a potential outbreak in those areas to which you've referred? What are you doing in that area?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

I know that each of the health districts are following the advice and they're making sure that there's more respiratory devices available, they're making sure that there's face masks and personal protection equipment and the like. We're ramping up, through the States, the number of people who can treat those people who present themselves to hospitals. We're just making sure that wherever the case might be and certainly in rural and regional Australia, which unfortunately gets hardest hit whenever there is a natural disaster, let alone something like this, that we're ready to cope.

JOHN LAWS:

Is there any risk to our export industry or is Australian produce in even greater demand overseas than usual? That could well be the case.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, cargo shipping and freight shipping continues and of course, as we all know, that 99% of goods either come in or go out of this country on ships, so that continues as per normal. I was only talking to [inaudible], a good mate of mine, the other day, he was ready to take his sheep to the sales, the Wagga Wagga sale yards last week, he decided to keep them for potentially another week or two.

Farming continues and we've had a bit of good rain, John, as you would well know and I've heard you say it on air. We've had a bit of good rain and so there's a bit of hope out there in regional Australia, there's green shoots everywhere and farmers for the first time for a long time in many areas are going to be actually planting a crop. They're buying seed, they're buying fertiliser and they're going to continue that fine production of the cleanest, the best, the greenest food that the world has and so food security is not an issue and I know the National Farmers' Federation has been at pains to point that out.

Good farmers, they're telling us, they're telling me, and I'm telling you now, that farming production will continue. We will continue to grow food, whether it's sheep meat, whether it's grains, whatever the case might be, beef, rice, we'll continue to produce it and Australians don't need to go to their supermarkets and raid everything on the shelves.

JOHN LAWS:

That's happening.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

That's not necessary.

JOHN LAWS:

That's happening, though.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

It is happening and Australians need to avert and avoid it because food security will not be an issue.

JOHN LAWS:

No and it's a stupid thing to do. I mean it just is childish panic behaviour. Unemployment benefits will effectively be doubled. Why is that being given to the long term unemployed rather than just people who lose their jobs as a result of the virus?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

We need everybody and our long term unemployed need help too, everybody needs assistance through this and we wanted to make sure that essentially doubling Newstart is going to help them through this. Everybody's going to need support and it wouldn't be fair to not provide that similar support, the same support, that equity right throughout the economy. This is an extraordinary time. We need Australians to be their best selves and the Federal Government is there to support all Australians.

JOHN LAWS:

What's amazed me is the buses from the city that are going to country areas to literally raid their supermarkets, that's what they're doing. Can't that be stopped? I mean

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

It will be stopped and essentially

JOHN LAWS:

How do you stop it? How do you stop it?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

What we're doing also is anything – we're making extra screening checks on containers going out and certainly Australia Post is looking at packaging going out and if these people who are sending items back to families abroad or other people abroad, well, it will be considered a contraband as such. So with hand sanitisers, nappies, baby formula, whatever the case might be, essentially at the supermarket you won't be able to buy in bulk orders. You will only be able to do it one customer at a time but if buses are coming in with people who are going to raid everything off supermarket shelves. I couldn't believe it when I saw

JOHN LAWS:

How do you stop that? If they come in a bus, they're still entitled to go to the supermarket and buy what they believe they need, aren't they?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Well, they are but people are also being asked for their ID at supermarket doors. I know they've put on more security and if they're from outside the area and have no good reason for being there and certainly if they get off a bus in huge numbers they will be asked as to why they're doing it and if they can't show good cause or good reason, well, they won't be allowed to buy in bulk or buy anything, essentially and that's essentially what needs to happen. I had reports from even a little place like Weethalle last week where their local independent grocer, they bought absolutely everything from that place, Tumbarumba and Batlow where they are still getting over the fires, and will be for many, many months to come, their supermarkets were just stripped bare. Now that's not on and Australians need to think of others. They absolutely need to think of others, particularly those regional Australians already hard hit by drought and fire.

JOHN LAWS:

Because what these people do and taking it away from the locals, nothing left for the locals.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Nothing left for the locals and it's hard enough to get those stocks in but what we've also done, and I've made sure, talking to all my Transport Ministers right throughout the country, as I've been doing almost on a daily basis in recent times, we've made sure that those curfews, local government in some places, curfews have been lifted such that trucks can get in and deliver more goods, more often for their supermarkets.

I've got to say John, our truckies have been real heroes in this crisis. They continue to deliver everything except for babies in this country, Lindsay Fox told me last week it's even 25% up on their best pre Christmas or their busiest pre Christmas times. That's what they're experiencing now and they continue to be heroes and we need to make sure that we've got the right laws and provisions in place to enable them to deliver to supermarkets at whatever time is necessary and we've done that.

JOHN LAWS:

Okay, we must also make sure we thank God every now and again for the likes of Lindsay Fox who doesn't lie down easily, my friend Lindsay.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

He's a good mate of mine.

JOHN LAWS:

He's a terrific bloke.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

They're great people. They employ thousands of Australians and they, like so many other businesses, small or large in this country, we want them to keep their doors open, we want them to keep employing people as best we can we will and if those people can't be employed or engaged actively over the next six months, that's why we've announced our stimulus package and that's why we're in Parliament today to get it through the Parliament and make sure those measures become available as soon as we can for the benefit of all Australians.

JOHN LAWS:

Can you give us the details of this stimulus package?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Sure. Welfare recipients are going to receive an extra $550 a fortnight on top of their current benefits, essentially doubling Newstart. Coronavirus supplement time limited for the next six months. Waiting time and asset tests for Jobseeker payments have been waived. There's an extra one off $750 payment for welfare recipients and veterans on top of the $750 announced the week before last. For Jobseekers, casuals and sole traders, they're going to be able to access their superannuation, so that's unprecedented as such. They can apply for access up to $10,000, essentially the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said yesterday, it's their money, we're making it available before 1 July 2020 and another $10,000 in the three months after that should they desire to do that. Deeming rates are going to be lowered in line with the Reserve Bank's emergency rate cut, so that's going to benefit up to 900,000 pensioners and of course, for employers, those small and medium enterprises, you know, John, I've heard you say it many, many times, they are the lifeblood, they are the engine room of our economy. They're going to be able to access up to $100,000 to keep staff in their jobs. Payments will be lent to businesses to 100% of their withholding tax from staff wages. The more staff you have, the more money you will get back and businesses with turnovers up to $50 million and charities will be eligible.

So there will be a cash flow injection into small businesses from the last stimulus package. There is minimum payment rises from $2,000 to $10,000 with a maximum payment from $25,000 to $50,000. So a lot of things there, John. I urge and encourage businesses to go to treasury.gov.au, have a look at the special link there for the coronavirus link to see what they're eligible for, to see how they can access it. In many cases John, there won't be forms even needed to be filled out. The tax office is going to be very accommodating, as they usually are but even more so during this crisis.

JOHN LAWS:

Give me that web address again, will you?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

It's treasury.gov.au.

JOHN LAWS:

Treasury.gov.au simple as that.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

John, if I can just say, people need to heed the advice of the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Brendan Murphy. He's been magnificent through that. He reminds me a little bit of what Shane Fitzsimmons was during the fire crisis, the Rural Fire Service Commissioner. They're wonderful people. They are leaders in their own right, people need to listen to the Prime Minister, they need to listen to the Chief Medical Officer. We need to practice social distancing, we need to think of others. Practice those things that we were all taught by our mothers when we were kids, wash your hands after the toilet, keep sanitising your hands, keep making sure that if you sneeze you do it in your elbow, all those sorts of things. It's just common sense, John, but unfortunately, you know, people in this crisis, they need to be reminded and they need to be told again and again that if you just do it, you will protect yourself, you will protect others, you will save lives.

JOHN LAWS:

It's intriguing to note also that some concerns have been raised that increasing the lockdowns will see a spike in domestic violence cases. Do you subscribe to that?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

Again, I say people just need to be their best selves. You know, just think of others and whether that's in the home in a domestic situation, whether that's in the workplace, whether that's socially, you know, we just need to think of others and we'll get through this crisis. We're a resilient nation. It's the biggest thing that most people have ever faced.

We haven't had a war as such, you know, at a global level apart from obviously Iraq and Afghanistan, but something that has really reached into our living rooms and affected us like World War II did, like the other things, of course, the Spanish Flu. We haven't had a crisis like that for 100 years and there would be nobody living who would probably remember it. They might have been told about it, those centenarians, they've been told about it but they haven't lived through it.

This is going to be the biggest crisis we faced in our lives. We'll get through it. We'll get through it together. We'll get through it if we follow the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and the Prime Minister and just think of others and make sure that we be our best selves. This is a time of leadership John, as you said and I thank you for the leadership that you've shown too, in doing the right and responsible thing. There's a lot of mixed messaging out there but we will get through this and we'll get through it together and hopefully we'll be stronger for it.

JOHN LAWS:

Good on you, Michael. Good to talk to you. Thank you very much for your time and if we can do anything to help in any way, all you've got to do is give us a call.

MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

You're a good man, John. All the best.

JOHN LAWS:

Thank you, Michael. Thank you very much.