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Faruqi warns Senators we are not going back to White Australia policy

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Faruqi warns Senators we are not going back to White Australia policy

Faruqi Sen Mehreen 1

Senator Mehreen Faruqi (New South Wales): Matters of Public Importance Migration I did ponder a bit whether speaking on this matter of public importance was worth it, because it clearly seeks to divide us. But, to be honest, I have had it up to here with One Nation, so I will have my say. This MPI is just another way for them to define who should be in Australia, who is deemed as ‘one of us’ and who is deemed as the ‘other’ because of what they look like or where they come from. Let me make one thing crystal clear: when One Nation talk about changing the composition of our migration program, we know what you mean. It’s not simply a technical or abstract debate about temporary versus permanent migration, or skilled workers versus family reunion. For One Nation, the party of the Muslim ban and decades of overt racism, it is about something else entirely.

Just two years ago, former Senator Anning, who was elected as a One Nation senator, said the quiet part aloud in his widely condemned first speech, calling for a migration program that reflects the historic European Christian composition of Australian society. That senator, thankfully, has gone, but unfortunately One Nation is still here. If you had your way, I would have never been allowed in this country that I call home, let alone sit in this parliament, in the Senate chamber. Shame on you. For all your talk about supporting good migrants who speak perfect English and assimilate completely, you would rather we just go back to the White Australia Policy. Well, we are not going back to White Australia.



It’s not just One Nation sitting here relentlessly pursuing their agenda of racism and xenophobia; it’s also the Liberals sitting over there and the Labor Party sitting over there who must cop blame as well. The Liberals have, for years, targeted and fanned the flames of hatred, from targeting the Sudanese community to Lebanese Muslim migrants to asylum seekers and refugees. The Labor Party’s hands are dirty as well, with its continual dog whistling Australian-first rhetoric. This posturing and rhetoric normalises and gives oxygen to One Nation’s racism and xenophobia. It hurts and damages us. We are not here as fodder for your inherent biases and white supremacy that you want to exert. We are proud upstanding citizens of this country and we work hand to make Australia a better place.



https://www.aph.gov.au/Attribution: Parliament of Australia

Hanson-Young The Arts and industry needs $ billions stimulus package

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Hanson-Young The Arts and industry needs $ billions stimulus package

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Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (South Australia) 13/05/2020 Covid -19 Arts and Entertainment Industry: I rise today to speak about the impact that COVID-19 has had on hundreds of thousands of artists and entertainers right across Australia. We know that this has been a tough time for all Australians. From having to stay away from loved ones and find new ways to celebrate birthdays and have coffee catch-ups, to those who have lost jobs and livelihoods, with no idea of what awaits them in the future, or those who have tragically lost a family member or friend due to the health crisis of COVID-19, we have all felt these impacts in one way or another. There have been few things that have brought us together during these isolated times, but there has been one thing that we have all been able to turn to and take comfort from, and that’s our arts and our entertainment industry. A good book, our favourite TV show or film, musicians doing gigs via social media, and virtual exhibitions have all offered us an outlet to both escape and come together. This is not the first time, of course. We saw only recently, over summer, that it was artists and creatives that were there in the midst of the bushfire crisis and were the first to step up, help out and raise money at a much-needed time.



But there is no denying that this time around the people who work in these industries have been left behind by the government. There has been no targeted package for this sector like there has for others. No matter how many times the government insists that JobKeeper is there to help them, the truth is that a large number of workers in these industries have fallen and are continuing to fall through the gaps, left with nothing. ABS data has shown just how hard the arts and entertainment sector has been hit. Ninety-four per cent of arts and recreation businesses have been impacted. A huge 53 per cent of businesses have stopped operating entirely. Twenty-seven per cent of people in the arts and recreation sector have lost their jobs. Of the one million Australians who have lost their jobs during this time, one-third have come from arts and recreation. I want to make this very, very clear: we are at a very real risk of losing an entire generation of Australian artists and creative institutions if we don’t do something now to help them. This neglect is now taking a serious toll on the already underfunded sector.



I could stand here for my entire 10-minute speech and just list the numbers of artists, performers and businesses who have been completely stripped of their livelihoods. Just today the Woodford Folk Festival, Australia’s biggest music and cultural festival, have shared their concerns that, if the event doesn’t go ahead this year, it may be gone for good. This festival alone contributes over $20 million to its local economy each and every year. That’s a lot of jobs. That’s a lot of economic stimulus in that area. There is an endless list of festivals and events that have been cancelled right across the country, including the Byron Bay Bluesfest and Dark Mofo in Tasmania. These cancellations affect so many, from the participating artists to the tech support and the crew, but it flows beyond that: it’s the local tourism industry, the local hotels, the B&B owners, the restaurants and the other tourism businesses in those areas. The entire community feels a loss when festivals like this have to cancel and close down.



ABS data has shown us that arts, recreation, accommodation and food services have suffered the most from COVID-19. Sixty per cent of the jobs lost during COVID-19 thus far are in these sectors. These industries exist in an ecosystem, and one cannot live without the other. Without a healthy arts and entertainment sector, tourism and hospitality just suffer, and they continue to suffer greatly. We now risk entire organisations collapsing. Australian galleries have lost huge amounts of income, with regional galleries still reeling from the bushfires as well. This has been hit after hit after hit.



Contemporary art space Carriageworks in Sydney being forced into voluntary administration made the headlines in recent weeks. The list of severely wounded organisations and businesses grows. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra is facing a $20 million hit to its revenue. That’s a lot of jobs. After recently being knocked back for funding, the Restless Dance Theatre in Adelaide has now had to suffer through the stresses of COVID-19. Adelaide’s iconic live music venue The Gov is also on the brink today of calling in liquidators. The owner recently stated that they just won’t be able to survive in the coming months. These closures filter down to every artist, performer and employee.



I was contacted earlier this week by an Adelaide woman whose husband works in the film industry in Adelaide and is out of work, with no clear pathway. They have an 18-month-old child and a second kid on the way. But right now they have no idea how they are going to recover from this devastating blow and they’ve got no help from the government programs already announced.



Arts and entertainment contribute $112 billion to our economy, yet they have been left out in the cold. We need to ensure that there is enough support for a smooth recovery and the opportunity for economic stimulus. Arts and entertainment are such a huge part of our lives. We need them. Arts and entertainment help us to process what we’re going through, to make sense of the world around us. We need our artists to be there at the end of this to help us heal. At the moment, they’ve been left out in the cold, left on their own, and there is no hope coming from the government. We will need them after this just as much as we’ve needed them during lockdown.



This is exactly why we need an economic stimulus package for the arts and entertainment industry. Earlier this week I announced a plan for a package to chart a pathway to recovery. The plan comprises three main elements. The first is an artist-in-residence program, a $300 million project that would see an artist in residence in every school and library across the country. This is about investing in the value of the next generation of artists as well as getting our artists and authors back to work. It would enable visual artists, authors and writers to engage their skills to help mentor Australia’s young people and students. The project would be focused on job creation and community development, building an enhanced appreciation for our creative industries.



The second element of this package is the billion stories fund—$1 billion put into an Australian content fund to kickstart the Australian screen industry. Productions are job rich, including creative, scriptwriting, IT, lighting, sound engineers, crews, costumes, tradespeople, marketing, logistics—the list goes on. Making sure we can tell our Australian stories when we get through this crisis, when we get to the end, is going to be essential. It is vital for our cultural identity, but it’s important for education and local jobs.



Finally, the third element that we need a stimulus package for is our live performance, live Australia. A $1 billion grant fund is needed to inject money into Australia’s festival, music and live performance sector, which needs cash flow right now to recover and restart—investing in and creating incentives for the planning and delivery of events, live music and performance projects for metropolitan, suburban and regional communities. These projects are job rich and provide the economic kick that is so desperately needed for instant stimulus in the communities where they occur.



This package would not only put artists and creatives back to work but it would build on our cultural capital that is so at risk of falling over at the moment. We are going to need to restore our social fabric as we come out of this crisis. We need to create jobs for those who have been hardest hit and we need to create hope for the Australian community, with stories that reflect the Australian identity and show the value of really coming together.



https://www.aph.gov.au/Attribution: Parliament of Australia

Waters; The COVID-19 recovery presents a genuine transition to renewable, jobs-rich future.

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Waters; The COVID-19 recovery presents a genuine transition to renewable, jobs-rich future.

Larissa Waters 1


Senator Larissa Waters: The Greens support the aim of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Cross-boundary Greenhouse Gas Titles and Other Measures) Bill 2019 to strengthen and clarify the monitoring, inspection and enforcement powers of NOPSEMA during an oil pollution emergency. Earlier this year we celebrated Equinor pulling out of the Great Australian Bight. It was a huge win for environmentalists, coastal communities and the surfing community. For those who love our pristine beaches, the risk of an oil pollution emergency was not something to be monitored or managed; it was to be avoided at all costs. Thousands of people stood up, and Equinor stood down. My colleague Senator Hanson-Young will be moving amendments in the committee stage of this bill to secure the ongoing protection of the bight from the sorts of emergencies that this bill is designed to manage.


But what of the ongoing climate emergency? We’ve just experienced one of the hottest summers on record and a devastating bushfire season that claimed 34 lives. Regional communities are still struggling to recover from the impacts in the brief reprieve before the fire season starts again. But, despite the need for urgent climate action, Australia’s pollution from oil and gas production has increased a staggering 621 per cent since 2005, and it continues to rise each quarter. It’s no wonder that we’re on track for 3.4 degrees of warming.



The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis recently released a report comparing government and industry use of methane emissions data to the scandal of Volkswagen under-reporting its emissions. That report notes that methane from gas poses the greatest threat to the warming climate.



Peer reviewed studies have consistently shown that so-called natural gas emissions have actually been underestimated by at least 25 to 40 per cent, with some studies suggesting as much as 60 per cent. Methane leaks like a sieve from fracking for unconventional gas, and those fugitive emissions, when properly accounted for, make gas almost as polluting as coal, with damage to underground water supplies thrown in to boot. Yet the gas industry in Australia has no intention of reducing supply, and, therefore, its emissions. Instead, Australia’s gas industry has the enthusiastic support of government to keep polluting, with a long list of new gas projects, both onshore and offshore, from Narrabri to the Galilee, from the Beetaloo Basin to the Burrup Peninsula. Perhaps the regular donations from the gas industry—and they go to both sides of politics—are what shore up that enthusiastic support.



While the country’s attention has been on COVID responses, NOPSEMA, the regulator, has quietly approved the Scarborough offshore gasfield development. That development is part of Woodside’s proposed $50 billion Burrup Hub LNG project, which analysis estimates would have a footprint of six billion tonnes—that’s six gigatonnes—of carbon pollution, equivalent to four Adani sized coalmines. Emissions at that scale will jeopardise any prospect of Australia meeting its Paris climate targets. But most concerning is the statement from NOPSEMA that the project will be contributing to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. This is straight from the industry and government playbook that talks up gas as a transitional fuel. But there is little evidence that gas is in fact displacing coal globally. It simply adds to the carbon intensity in many countries, and it can divert efforts from a genuine switch to renewables. And no end date is being proposed for this so-called transition fuel.



Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity for a genuine transition to a genuinely clean renewable future. The International Renewable Energy Agency has estimated that a renewable energy driven transition to zero net emissions would boost global GDP by $155 trillion. Numerous business leaders have urged the government to use the recovery to invest in renewables to support a green steel manufacturing boom and to provide sustainable jobs for regional areas. And yet this government remains focused on a gas fired recovery, and so the carbon racket goes on.



Given the energy minister’s obsession with oil, gas and coal, it’s hardly surprising that the COVID-19 commission, tasked with guiding our recovery, is stacked with the government’s fossil fuel mates. The chair, Mr Nev Power, is the director of an onshore gas exploration company, Strike Energy. Catherine Tanna is the managing director of Energy Australia and, of course, was a former director of the BG Group, which led the charge to open up Queensland’s gasfields. The list of high-priority projects promoted by the commission includes a new fertiliser plant that is only possible if the Narrabri gas project proceeds. History shows that incumbent industries like the fossil fuel lobby use their power to convince governments that an economic crisis could justify the relaxation of climate change and environmental regulations. We will stand against such attempts.



My bill to give traditional owners, farmers and landholders the right to say no to gas companies—and coal companies, for that matter—has been before this parliament since 2011. We will continue to fight for those rights to protect land, water, the climate and people’s livelihoods. We’ll continue to push for the true cost of carbon emissions to be accounted for and for big emitters to be held responsible. That brings me to the Greens second reading amendment on sheet 8894, which I so move:



At the end of the motion, add:”, but the Senate notes that:



(a) Australia’s emissions from gas production has risen a staggering 621 per cent since 2005 to record high levels;



(b) the gas industry no longer pays for its emissions, and that regulatory attempts to require carbon abatement be purchased from farmers and land managers have been thwarted by the industry and their close financial and employment relationships with political parties; and



(c) letting gas companies pollute for free is denying new income streams for Australia’s farmers struggling through a deep drought, exacerbated by the gas industry”.



I move this amendment to recognise that polluting companies are currently not paying for the damage they do.



When the carbon price was first established, Western Australia removed its requirements for gas projects to pay farmers to abate carbon emissions. But, despite the scrapping of the carbon price, the abatement requirements were not put back in place. When the WA EPA introduced guidelines last year requiring resource projects to completely offset their greenhouse gas emissions, the usual suspects were outraged and demanded the guidelines be withdrawn, and they were. New guidelines have not yet been finalised. The gas donors called in their favours and used the Liberal and Labor parties to squash reform. If resource companies were required to buy Australian certified carbon units, it would not only drive efforts to reduce emissions; it would transfer wealth from gas companies to farmers, who desperately need the income stream. It will be interesting to see whose side the National Party is on. When we vote on my second reading amendment, which notes this, we invite the Nationals to come over and vote with us, to represent farmers instead of their coal, oil and gas donors.



Source: Parliament of Australia Website Creative Commons

ScoMo Getting people back into jobs, getting our economy moving again

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ScoMo Getting people back into jobs, getting our economy moving again

PM Scott Morrison 13


PRIME MINISTER: Welcome back, colleagues, in this rather unusual setting but it’s good for us to get together in a COVID safe way. We’re back at work – we’ve never not been at work over these many months – we have been hard at work, but here we are, back today and in Canberra for the sittings today. Getting people back into their workplace and back into jobs, getting our economy moving again. That’s our task.


In the last four months, we’ve been fighting this virus and we’ve been doing it with some success, particularly when you look at it internationally. And over the course of this period, we have been following a very clear plan. It is our response to the COVID crisis that has enveloped the world. Step one of that way has always been to fight the virus. And we are winning, but we have not yet won. That virus is still out there, that virus still has a great potential to do enormous harm to the livelihoods of Australians and the lives of Australians. We need to continue to fight that battle and I want to commend Greg Hunt on the tremendous job that he has done in leading that health response.



Step two of that plan has to extend an economic lifeline to Australians throughout the course of this crisis. JobKeeper, JobSeeker, the cash flow lifeline to small businesses. The additional payments that are going to pensioners and to others on welfare benefits and will happen again in July. Making sure that we understand during this emergency time we have emergency responses. That is entirely appropriate. And our Government did not shrink from that, our Government responded to that in an effective and well-planned and well-considered way, consistent with the principles that we set out in early March. That we don’t commit Australians across the generations to high levels of spending into the future, that we do it with the time that is necessary to give the support that is necessary to help Australians through this crisis. And that’s what we’ve done. And to you, Josh, and the entire economic team and Mathias and others, it has been a very effective program, brought together in record time. 



The JobSeeker program has seen more than a million people, sadly, have to seek that support through the JobSeeker payments and the work that Stuart Robert has done through Services  Australia and the amazing work with the public service who have been part of that team. More than 5,000 additional people we had to bring and brought them into Services Australia to process the claims of more than a million Australians so they can get the help they need and that’s been an extraordinary piece of work to extend that economic lifeline, where it is needed, to ensure that Australians can move forward with confidence.



You know, from the day that JobSeeker and JobKeeper, I should say, together were announced, confidence surveys show that we’ve already covered some 70 per cent of the ground by having a plan, by having the commitment, by having the follow through. And most importantly, for delivering on the ground. That is so important. We can have policies, we can have all of these things. But it’s the delivery on the ground that has been demonstrated, whether it’s in processing more than a million claims, five and a half million people coming onto JobKeeper, thousands, tens of thousands of small businesses that have been given that cash flow lifeline that enables them to get and see the road ahead for themselves.



So I have great faith, as we all do, in the optimism of Australians and in their resourcefulness and in their tenacity and their determination. And they can work within that framework and they can work within that plan and that’s why the third step of the plan which I announced last Friday was that road back. Those three steps, working together with the states and territories in a way that we have never seen in our Federation through the National Cabinet. I thank the premiers and chief ministers for the work that they have done, working together as part of a genuine national effort, and we have led that effort as a Government. We’ve mapped out the road back to a COVID safe economy.



So Australians can go back to the workplaces, so children can be back in school. Both of my daughters are back in school today, in the classroom, in New South Wales. That road back is giving Australians hope. It’s giving them confidence. They can see down the road and they can see how we can get to that next stage.



But we cannot be complacent. States and territories are each pacing out this road back and that’s appropriate, because the circumstances of our great country and its broad reaches are very different. From Warren up in North Queensland to our friends in Tasmania, right across in the West where they’re well ahead down this plan. It’s a big country and it means the responses will be different across the country. But they’re all heading in the same direction and that’s what the national effort has done.



But as we reopen, which is that third stage, we now must work to build confidence and to build momentum. We cannot be complacent. While we very much look to the future as Australians are, as a Government we must remain absolutely focused on the right here, right now, needs of Australians. Australians are hurting now. Their businesses are still not open now. They’re still not back to their full time employment arrangements that they long to be back into. Not all of the kids are back in school. There’s still a long way to go, and so we can’t be distracted. By things that are further down the road because Australians need our help now, and we need to focus on their needs now, right here, right now, and that’s what we’ll be doing in this parliament this very week. 



But that fourth phase is about building that momentum. It’s about building that confidence, confidence figures are out today, as I said, a 70 per cent rebound. Despite the difficult circumstances, the country is still moving. But we can’t be complacent. As Australians go back out and re-engage in their workplaces and their communities as kids go back to playgrounds, and surfers get back on the waves and golfers get back on the course. And thankfully, the NRL returns to the field, and the AFL too I’m sure, and the netball. 



But we cannot be complacent that the virus is beaten as I’m sure Greg will tell us, the virus is still out there. It is still there to wreak havoc, to cause terrible illness, particularly to our most vulnerable Australians and deny Australians’ their livelihoods.



And so that’s why the COVIDSafe app is so important, because that is part of the protection that Australians have as we venture back out. We can open back up, not because the virus is defeated, we can open up, because of the tremendous work is being done in our health system to build up the ICU’s, to get the ventilators in place, to build up our testing regime, to get the COVIDSafe app so we can industrialize the tracing of cases and isolate those who will contract the virus as the economy opens up again. And then we can respond to individual outbreaks, whether they’re in a nursing home, and I congratulate you, Melissa, for the great work you’ve done out there in the community of Penrith with the Newmarch, it’s been a terrible, terrible, a terrible incident. And Richard, to you and all that time in the department, have done a great job in responding to these outbreaks. And they will happen, but we will respond.



And that is where our focus will be in the many months ahead, weeks and months of getting the momentum back into our country. And that’s where we must support all Australians in our electorates across the country, encouraging them, spurring them on. We’ve got the frameworks right, we’ve got the policy settings right. And we know they will get it right, if we continue encouraging them and showing the way forward. And of course, we will need to reset our economic policies and other policy frameworks to ensure that Australia grows itself out of this crisis.



The answer is not spending more or spending forever. The answer is that Australian businesses small, micro, medium, large will rebuild, will re-employ, will restart and engage in this COVID safe economy and do what they’ve always done. Theirs are the shoulders that Australians will stand on, those businesses that will provide the employment and provide the opportunities.



Governments can support that. But at the end of the day, it’s that economy. You know, governments, we have no money of our own. The only money we have is what is provided to us by the Australian people and the hard work of Australian people and the success of Australian businesses. And that is our road map to recovery. That is our road ahead. By spurring those businesses on to ensure that they can provide the livelihoods that Australians desire on the other side of this crisis.



So jobs, guaranteeing the essential services that Australians rely on, keeping Australians safe, looking after this amazing country that we have the responsibility to look after. That can only be done as we know, by ensuring that we rebuild our economy on the other side of this crisis and that between now and that point, we stand with Australians, giving them the support they need to ensure that they can put themselves in that position on the other side.



Now, from this point, during the course of this week, we’ll obviously deal with the legislation that’s coming before the parliament. And there are many Australians, I think, we need to thank, but one group in particular I want to thank, as I have spoken with leaders around the world and we’ve compared notes on how we’re dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, and Australia stacks up pretty well. One of the groups in our community here in Australia that was so important early on was the Chinese-Australian community. They have been instrumental. That first wave that would have come, the responsibility, discipline, the support for each other, demonstrated by the Chinese-Australian community when the border restrictions were put in place, one of the first places in the world to do that, and the cooperation, the willing, enthusiastic, patriotic cooperation we had with the Chinese-Australians here was magnificent. And we owe them a great debt as a nation. And I want to thank them for that. Because they set the mark for the rest of us to follow, which we all now have. And that means that Australia is in a better position than almost any other country in the world to deal with this crisis. So a big shout out to all of our community, those amazing Australians that join us here each year in Australia who dealt the first blow of this virus as it came in Australia.



So with that, I’m going to hand over to the DPM, and it’s great to have you all back here, the many times by telepresence and remotely over past months. It is good to have us back here in a COVID safe environment as so many other workplaces and schools and other organisations all around the country are doing this every day. This is the road back, we’re on it. Thank you all very much.



Source: Licensed from the Commonwealth of Australia under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.



The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the content of this publication.

PM Morrison “Coronavirus” Outlines a three-stage plan to reopen Australia by July

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PM Morrison “Coronavirus” Outlines a three-stage plan to reopen Australia by July

PM Scott Morrison 10


PM Scott Morrison’s three-step roadmap to a COVIDSafe Australia with our aim to get through these steps and get Australia working again in July this year. States and territories will set their own pace and decide the timings for each step.


Road Map Covidsafe
Roadmap to a COVIDSafe Australia


The PM Morrison Liberal -National Party government has outlined a three-stage plan to allow businesses to reopen, large gatherings, and interstate travel by the end of July with ScoMo PM Scott Morrison declaring it’s time to (get out from under the doona).  Victoria Dan Andrews has his road map and Queensland Premier is on Board.

First Lady Melania Trump’s Message for National Nurses Day

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First Lady Melania Trump’s Message for National Nurses Day

First Lady Melania Trumps Message for National Nurses Day 1

On this National Nurses Day, we should all take a moment to reflect on the dedication of America’s incredible healthcare workers. While their selflessness is evident each day, the risks and challenges of the job are on full display during this pandemic.


Watch on Youtube I


First Lady Melania Trump shared a video message today to thank nurses for slowing the spread of Coronavirus and saving many American lives.
 
“In addition to the work you do each day, you have gone above and beyond your call of duty in responding to our nation’s invisible enemy, COVID-19,” she said.
 
“You are an inspiration to us all, and your actions show us the true power of the American spirit. Thank you for your care and compassion. Our nation will continue to pray for your safety and strength.”
 
In the Oval Office today, President Trump recognized a group of exemplary nurses and signed a Presidential Proclamation in honor of National Nurses Day.

$1 billion Pacific Motorway upgrade from Varsity Lakes to Tugun

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$1 billion Pacific Motorway upgrade from Varsity Lakes to Tugun

Pacific Motorway 1

Works have started on the $1 billion Pacific Motorway upgrade from Varsity Lakes to Tugun, the Gold Coast’s largest road project.


Concrete safety barriers have been put up, VMS boards installed and speeds reduced to make way for the mammoth jointly-funded project, which will see the M1 transformed into at least six lanes from Brisbane to Tugun.


It comes as another milestone is reached on the $218.5 million M1 upgrade between Mudgeeraba and Varsity Lakes with the new Stapley Drive bridge expected to open to traffic next week.


Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Government had fast-tracked the project to help bust congestion and create a jobs pipeline to help in the recovery from COVID-19.

“We’re getting moving as quickly as we can to get shovels in the ground and workers on site,” the Prime Minister said.



“Our $500 million investment to upgrade the M1 will boost jobs and get workers home sooner and safer.



“This isn’t just a project with significant long-term benefits, it’s going to be delivering benefits right now with more jobs to help local workers as Australia moves past the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”



Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the project was not only about tackling congestion in Australia’s sixth largest city, but also keeping Queenslanders in jobs.



“This project will support more than 830 jobs and we’re going to keep delivering jobs and infrastructure for the Gold Coast and the whole of Queensland,” Premier Palaszczuk said.



“We’re starting before the current section is complete because we want to see progress and jobs continue.



“Getting started on this project sooner rather than later means when we come out of COVID-19, Queensland’s economy can support as many jobs as possible.”



Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure Alan Tudge said the project would be divided into three packages, with the section from Varsity Lakes to Burleigh the first to be delivered.



“Start of construction has been fast-tracked because we know the delivery of major infrastructure projects like the M1 is essential to supporting jobs and economic growth at this time,” Minister Tudge said.



“It’s rare to see a project of this size start construction within several weeks after contract award but we know it is vital to get this project up and running at a time when creating and maintaining jobs has never been more critical.



“This is just one of our major infrastructure projects that will be essential in the post-pandemic economic recovery.”



 Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said close to 80 per cent of businesses currently working on the first M1 upgrade between Mudgeeraba and Varsity Lakes were local, and that Gold Coasters would see that level of local engagement replicated on an upgrade five times the size, benefitting the city for years to come.



“The Queensland Government has secured $2.5 billion to build a better M1, and to create more than 2,000 jobs and plenty of work for dozens of local businesses,” Minister Bailey said.



“Getting shovels in the ground now means that once works wrap up on the Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes section in mid-2020, there won’t be a pause in much-needed jobs.



“Attacking coronavirus means going at it from all angles. That includes the economic front, where major construction projects like this are crucial to keeping Queenslanders employed and assisting businesses as much as possible.”



Federal Member for McPherson Karen Andrews said it was a win-win-win situation, particularly as the Gold Coast feels the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 



“Getting this project started ahead of time is a win for jobs, a win for our economy and a win for Gold Coast drivers,” Minister Andrews said.



“By relieving the southern Gold Coast of the constant traffic bottlenecks, we can reduce travel times and increase freight efficiency.”



The project will feature the region’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange and more lanes for the 10-kilometre stretch between Varsity Lakes and Tugun and there will also be upgrades to the Burleigh Heads, Tallebudgera and Palm Beach exits.



It will also include building a new service road bridge over Tallebudgera Creek and connecting a new western service road (one lane each way) between Palm Beach (Exit 92) and Tallebudgera (Exit 89). The corridor south of Varsity Lakes will be preserved for a future rail extension.



The $1 billion M1 Pacific Motorway – Varsity Lakes to Tugun project is being jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments, with both governments contributing $500 million each.



Source: Licensed from the Commonwealth of Australia under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.



The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the content of this publication.



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Trump, We Built the Greatest Economy in the World—and Together,

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Trump, We Built the Greatest Economy in the World—and Together,


THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much everyone.  This is a great honor.  And I see you have social distance on your mind and that’s a very good thing.  Jovita, congratulations.  Tremendous job you’re doing.


I want to thank everyone for being at the White House — a very special house, a very special place.  No matter where you go in the world, they love the White House.  And being here in the East Room of the White House in particular, where so many important functions have taken place over the years.


And today, we’re really celebrating American workers and small businesses.  And we’ve done a job for you and we’re going to make it so, as we open up our country, you’re going to be in good shape, as opposed to be either losing your business or, “How do we get some people to work here?”  Especially since your employees were so good over the years and those are the ones you wanted, so we made that possible for you.


We’re delighted to be joined this afternoon by representatives of several incredible small businesses from across our country.  Also with us are Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — Steve, thank you very much — (applause); and SBA Administrator — you’ve been busy, Steve, by the way?  Huh?  A little bit, right?  Broke every record in the book.


And SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza.  Thank you, Jovita.  (Applause.)  Have you gone to sleep in the last two weeks?  I don’t think so.  Right?  You broke every single lending record: numbers of loans, amount of loans.  Small business — it’s actually a very big business, when you think about it.  Thank you very much, Jovita.  Great job.


As our nation battles against this terrible scourge, we continue to pray for the victims, as well as for those Americans who are grieving their lost ones and their loved ones.  There’s never been anything like this.   We suffer with one heart, but we will prevail.  We’re coming back and we’re coming back strong.


We built the greatest economy anywhere in the world.  And two months ago — and we’re going to build it again.  We’re going to build it fast.  It’s going to go very quickly.


And, Larry, thank you for being here very much.  It’s — you see what’s going to happen.  I think you have the same feeling as I do: It’s going to come back very fast.


Now that our experts believe the worst days of the pandemic are behind us, Americans are looking forward to the safe and rapid reopening of our country.  Throughout this ordeal, millions of hardworking Americans have been asked to really make tremendous, tremendous sacrifices.  It’s sacrifices like nobody thought would even be possible.  Nobody thought we’d ever be talking about something like this.


This virus has inflicted an enormous and painful toll on our nation’s workers and small businesses.  That’s why, last month, I asked Congress to pass the Paycheck Protection Program, giving small businesses emergency economic relief to keep workers on the payroll.  Four weeks ago, I was proud to sign it into law.  We did that at a great ceremony with many of the people here and the officials here.  And it was something.  And I can tell you — I’m going to ask Steve to say a few words — but the kind of numbers and the kind of jobs they’ve done and the kind of jobs that have also been saved, it’s incredible.  You’ll be seeing that in the coming weeks.


The Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration launched the program in record-breaking time — just one week.  And in the 14 days following its launch, we processed as many loans as the SBA would typically process in over 14 years.  So in 14 days, they did more work and more loans, both in terms of applications and in terms of dollar amount, than they did in 14 years.  Fourteen days, fourteen years — easy one to remember, right?  That’s some record.


The first round of funding provided more than 1.6 million small businesses with over $340 billion so that American workers can retain their jobs, receive their paychecks, and help our economy take off quickly once America reopens for business, which is happening right now as we sit.  We’re going to be all set.  You all ready?  Huh?  I can — I know you are.  I talked to you back there.   You’re ready.  You folks are ready.


Our swift action supported or saved 30 million American jobs at least.  And last week, Congress answered our call to replenish the program, and I was honored to sign an additional $320 billion for American workers into law.


At least $60 billion are reserved for community financial institutions, including those that serve minority and distressed communities.  And that’s also, when you think — it’s African American communities, it’s Hispanic American communities, it’s Asian American communities.


We began accepting applications for the second round of funding yesterday.  Demand is extraordinarily high, and there are already twice as many users accessing the system as on any day under the first round.


And one of the things that the Secretary of the Treasury told me is that the amounts are much more loans at much smaller amounts.  And we like to hear that because we’re looking at the small amounts — the smaller businesses — and that’s what we want.


Nonetheless, we’re processing loans at a pace never achieved before.  In the first 24 hours of the second round of funding, we’ve handled over 30 percent more loans than any previous day of the program.  So far, we’ve processed an amazing 450,000 loans, totaling over $50 billion.  That’s in phase two.  That’s incredible.


Along with Administrator Carranza and Secretary Mnuchin, Ivanka has played an essential role in spearheading this important program.  Incredible role.  That’s what she wants to do: She wants to help people.


From the beginning of my administration, Ivanka has used her experience as an entrepreneur to fight for the American worker.  She has created many jobs.  That’s what she did when she first came in.  She just wanted people to be able to get jobs and job training.  Went to the biggest companies anywhere in the world that are located in our country, and they would take hundreds of thousands of people and train them.  And I think you got up to almost 15 million people, right?  Fifteen million.  She started off with a goal of 500,000.  She wanted to get 500,000 and she is now on almost 15 million people.


And I’d like to ask, if I might, Ivanka, to say a few words as to what’s exactly happening today, what’s exact — what’s happening over the next week, and what her views are for what’s going to happen over the next period of time.  It’s going to be something — I think is going to be very special, and bigger and better than anybody really understands.  Let’s see if I’m right about that.


Ivanka, please.


MS. TRUMP:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Well, thank you everyone.  And thank you, Mr. President, for convening this incredible group of entrepreneurs and small-business owners who very much represent the soul and the spirit, the grit and the tenacity of America’s small-business owners across the nation.  So we’re grateful to each and every one of you for — for joining us here today.


And very excited to hear your stories and hear specifically, about how you’re going through this challenge and how, through the Payment [Paycheck] Protection Program and through the PPP, you are able to keep your workforce employed.  It’s — it’s about your businesses thriving and growing within your communities.  It’s about your workforce, who each of you cares very dearly about.


And I’d like to make a special call out of thanks to Secretary Mnuchin for his tireless work on this front.  So if you’d like to come up and join us, we would appreciate that, Secretary.  (Applause.)


And SBA Administrator Carranza, thank you.  You have been such a champion for America’s small business.  If you’d also like to come up and join us.


And — and, Larry Kudlow, thank you for — for all that you do in fighting for American workers.


With that, I would like to kick us off by introducing Amy Wright to come up to the stage and share with us a little bit of her story.  She has created an amazing business that — that stemmed from personal experience and very much her — her heart.  And it’s been an honor getting to know you, Amy, as you really embody the spirit of small businesses around this country.


Amy, because of the PPP program, was able to rehire the 120 workers that she was forced to lay off.  And now those workers, all of which have some form of disability, are able to bring cheer and bring comfort to your clients as you’re serving them.


So, Amy, if you’d like to come up and share your story.  And, Michael, her great colleague, is here today as well, who could share his perspective.  Thank you, Amy.  (Applause.)


MS. WRIGHT:  Thank you, Ivanka, Mr. President.  I’m so honored to be joined by my employee Michael who you will hear from in just a moment.


Bitty & Beau’s Coffee is more than a coffee shop; it’s a human rights movement.  We employ 120 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  And for most of them, it’s their first paying job, which made the decision for us to temporarily close all five of our shops especially difficult.


But thanks to the Paycheck Protection Program and the incredible team at Live Oak Bank, all 120 of our employees are back on the payroll today and working from home, writing handwritten notes that we include with each online order we ship.  (Applause.)


I know everyone is ready to return to normal, but I believe it’s time for a new normal — one where people with disabilities are valued, especially in the workplace.  As a recipient of the PPP loan, we will continue to take up the charge and help everyone, especially people with disabilities, pursue the American Dream.


And, Michael, would you like to say —


MR. HEUP:  Sure.


THE PRESIDENT:  Great.


MR. HEUP:  Let’s hope this thing isn’t too big for me.


So to you, President Trump and Ivanka, thanks a lot for inviting us.  Thank you, Mr. President, for having us.  I love my job and I’m excited about going back to work.


At Bitty & Beau’s, we like to use a phrase called “not broken.”  That means me and all my amazing coworkers are not broken, and we have lots to offer.  I know the great country of the United States isn’t broken either.  So on behalf of myself, Megan, and Amy, and all the employees of Bitty & Beau’s, thank you for inviting us over.


THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, Michael.  Thank you.  Fantastic.


MR. HEUP:  You guys are our family.  (Applause.)


THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.


MR. HEUP:  Love you guys.


THE PRESIDENT:  That’s better than we did.  (Laughter.)  Much better, Michael.  (Laughter.)  You did a better job.  Thank you very much.  That’s beautiful.


MR. HEUP:  You’re welcome.


THE PRESIDENT:  Stick around.  You’ll get to hear the press ask some questions and they’ll probably be a little bit nicer if you’re in the audience.  Right, Amy?  (Laughter.)  That’s pretty good.


Also, I’d like to ask Tony Stafford, chief — very — sort of the boss, I guess you could say — chef and founder.  You’re the boss, right?  Wouldn’t you say?  Of Ford’s Fish Shack.  And I hear it’s good stuff.  How about explaining?  Please.


MR. STAFFORD:  Best (inaudible), and I brought you some.


THE PRESIDENT:  Best?  Oh, I’ll have it.  Be careful.  Thank you.  Come on up, please.  (Applause.)


MR. STAFFORD:  Thank you.  I’m here to represent — well, thank you, first of all, for inviting me, inviting Mark, my great employee with us.  We’re here representing the restaurant industry, which has been really hurt hard by this with the closures and things like that.  So I’ll keep it brief.


I’d first like to thank the President and the Vice President for leading us through the pandemic.  It is — it has devastated our restaurants.  Over the last six weeks, my three restaurants have been devastated: dining room closures; had to furlough over 100 people.  That was an incredible, hard phone call to make about six weeks ago and tell the employees — I’ve never had to lay off a single employee — that I just don’t have a space for you.  We just don’t have — you know, the restaurants are closed.  And it was just extremely hard.  And it was very emotional.  And it was one of the hardest choices I ever had to make.  So, it was tough.


But I promised every employee we would do our best to bring them back and we would fight every day, tooth and nail, to get them back into the restaurants and be successful like we were the 10 years before all this terrible stuff happened.  And now, with the help of the PPP loan and the success of the PPP loan that we were able to get, I’m going to be able to keep that promise and bring every one of those employees back.  So, thank you, Secretary Mnuchin.  Thank you.


It was — it’s been awesome to be able to tell them that we’re going to — we’re going to weather this storm, we’re going to get through this, and we’re going to be stronger and more agile once this is over.  The one thing that you can see with the restaurants — we’re surviving out there.  We’re doing things that we didn’t do before, with carry-out and curbside and delivery.  And all of those meal plans — those things are awesome to see my fellow industry leaders out there doing in the restaurant industry.  So I commend every one of the those restaurants that is fighting to survive out there.  And so thank you all for that.


We will get through this.  We will welcome our guests back. And once our state opens up, we’ll welcome them back and thank them, and thank them for their support through all this.  I have amazing stories of guests coming into our restaurant the day after the closures to just give us tips, give us cash to give to our employees we had to furlough.  So those great stories, that will not be forgotten from any of our guests.  So thank you for that.


And I look forward to the one day when all restaurants and all small businesses can reopen and be as successful as they were before.  So, thank you very much.


Mark.


THE PRESIDENT:  Fantastic.  Thank you very much.


MR. STAFFORD:  Thank you.


MR. UNDERWOOD:  So, my name is Mark Underwood.  I am an employee of Ford’s Fish Shack, so I am a living example of what your plan has done.  I’m a husband, a father of five.  My mother lives with me.  And just listening to Tony talk about that day when the layoffs happened, it’s a little emotional.  But with the PPP, it has now given life to my family, it has injected hope in our business, and it’s allowing us to fight the fight.


So I appreciate it from everybody on your team to help us get through this issue that we’re going through.  So thank you very much.


THE PRESIDENT:  We’re going to help you.  Is he a great chef or a good chef?


MR. STAFFORD:  He’s a great chef.


THE PRESIDENT:  Good.


MR. STAFFORD:  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)


THE PRESIDENT:  That’s great.  That’s a great story.  Your mother lives with you, five children.  That’s a great story.  So that was a rough day, right?  Wasn’t it, huh?


MR. UNDERWOOD:  Yes, sir.


THE PRESIDENT:  It never happened to you before probably.


MR. UNDERWOOD:  No.


THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  It happened to a lot of people it never happened before.  So — but we’re bringing it all back.


You know, there have been a couple of places that have opened.  And I don’t know if you saw this, Tony — they have some restaurants and they have lines that are very long to get in.  People want to be back.  They want to come back.  We’re going to bring our country back.  They want to get to work.  And I know you were in that category very much.  So it’s great.  Thank you, fellas, very much.


Jackie Krick, CEO and Founder of ECU Communications.  Jackie, please.  (Applause.)


I’ll move that down, Jackie.  I’ll move that down a little bit.


MS. KRICK:  I’m a little short, so.


THE PRESIDENT:  I’ll move that down a little bit.  I’ll get in trouble for touching it.  See?  They’ll say, “He touched the microphone.”  What am I going to do?


MS. KRICK:  Thank you, Mr. President, Ivanka, Secretary Mnuchin, and Administrator Carranza.  It is a pleasure and an honor to be here.  My name is Jackie Krick.  I’m originally from Bogota, Colombia, in South America.  Yay.  And I’ve been here for many years, and a big part of those years that I’ve been here, I’ve been CEO of ECU Communications, which I founded 16 years ago.


We focus on advertising and marketing with niche products for diversity recruitment and outreach programs.  But more than anything, we’re a woman-owned small business, minority-owned — 100 percent.  So just like many of the stories that I’ve heard before me and I’m sure the ones that are coming, we are concerned about the future.  And being able to get that PPP loan has given me and my staff a little peace of mind to know that we’re going to be okay.


Just in — at the end of February, I hired three more staff members.  We’re 30 now.  So, when we heard the news about going home and working from home or not being able to work from home, you know, the first thing that comes to your mind is: How am I going to support or tell these folks that they need to go?  Being able to get the PPP loan has given me the ability to have that peace of mind that I’ll keep them — they’re treasured staff — and I’ll be able to continue to focus on my program.


Thank you so much for what you do, for your leadership. Thank you.  (Applause.)


THE PRESIDENT:  Great job.


MS. KRICK:  Thanks.


THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Jackie.  Great job.


Chris Stansbury, co-founder and partner, West Virginia Eye Consultants.  I like West Virginia, you know.  I like it.


We’ll put that up.  (Adjusts microphone.)


DR. STANSBURY:  And it likes you, sir.


THE PRESIDENT:  I like it.  They like me, too.


DR. STANSURY:  Thank you, Mr. President.  Thank you, Ivanka, Mr. Secretary, Madam Administrator.  I appreciate the opportunity to be here today.  It’s just an honor and a privilege.  As a small-business owner, it’s very meaningful to have this opportunity.


My company is called West Virginia Eye Consultants.  It’s based out of Charleston, West Virginia.  And we started in 2011 and we have two doctors, one employee in one location.  And over the last nine years, we’ve been blessed with a lot of growth.  We’ve worked hard.  And in February, we celebrated our ninth anniversary with 7 locations, 7 doctors, and almost 60 employees.


THE PRESIDENT:  Wow.


DR. STANSBURY:  So it’s been a great ride.  But just a month later, thanks to COVID-19, we shut most of it down.  And my partners and I were just overwhelmed, just bewildered.  We weren’t sure how we were going to survive this.  But thankfully, Congress passed the CARES Act and President Trump signed that into law.  And as part of that, the PPP loans became available, and my partners and I applied for a PPP loan through the SBA.


And we were so gracious and so — so thankful to receive that because it’s been a lifeline for us.  As soon as we received those funds, we were able to start paying our utilities, our rent, and start bringing some of those employees back that we need to get staged to begin to reopen the economy.


And so we’re just so grateful for President Trump’s leadership and Congress for working with him to get us through this crisis.  So, thank you so much, sir.  We appreciate all your help.  (Applause.)


THE PRESIDENT:  Fantastic.  So you do eye examinations, Doctor?


DR. STANSBURY:  Yes, sir.


THE PRESIDENT:  And you do glasses and all of that?


DR. STANSBURY:  Yes, sir.


THE PRESIDENT:  I may have to see you.  (Laughter.)  Okay?  I guarantee you’re probably better than these high-priced people.  I used to see the highest price, and they were not the best.  I’ll bet you’re better than all of them.  So I may have to see you, Doctor.  I’m serious about it.  We can do something quickly, all right?  You go — you move quickly too, right?  No long meetings?  Good.  I may have to see you, Doctor.  Thank you.


Tisa Clark, President and CEO, J.D. Clark Professional Services.  J.D. Clark.  Hi, come on up.  (Applause.)


MS. CLARK:  Thank you, Mr. President, Ivanka, Mr. Secretary, and Madam Administrator.  I am Tisa Clark, President and CEO of J.D. Clark Professional Services.  I am a general contractor and property maintenance manager for the affordable housing, hospitality, as well as our government agencies, particularly our nonprofits.


Most of my employees are the underserved, underemployed, or unemployed.  And having the opportunity to be able to apply for a program such as the Paycheck Protection Program allowed me to keep those individuals employed.  As a small-business owner, my company is based out of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and I’ve been in business for 12 years.


And as a small-business owner, we never want to fire or layoff, and — even to the extent of ourselves not receiving a paycheck.  And so I foregoed my paycheck until I could get funds.  And so now, with the funding that we received via M&T Bank on last Monday, it has allowed us to continue to pay our staff and for even myself, as the business owner, to once again take a paycheck.  So this program is phenomenal for our small businesses.


Also as a side note, Madam Administrator, I did also apply for the Economic Injury Disaster loan, and I did receive my advance on Tuesday of last week.


So these programs are very critical for the small-business community, but I do believe that we, as a small business, are strong, and we are resilient, and we will bounce back.  Thank you.  (Applause.)


THE PRESIDENT:  Have you ever thought about running for office?  You could do it very easily.


MS. CLARK:  (Inaudible.)  (Off-mic.)


THE PRESIDENT:  You are something.  That’s a very good job. Thank you very much.


Luke Bernstein, executive vice president, chief retail officer, and chief communications officer for Orrstown Bank.  Come up, Luke.  (Applause.)


MR. BERNSTEIN:  Thank you, Mr. President, Ivanka, Secretary Mnuchin, Administrator Carranza.  I’m Luke Bernstein.  I’m proud to be here representing Orrstown Bank.  I’m proud of our board, I’m proud of our entire team, and I’m proud of my fellow community bankers throughout the country who have rolled up their sleeves and worked tirelessly to help communities, working around the clock and helping them gain access to Paycheck Protection funds.


Orrstown is a small, 101-year-old community bank based in Pennsylvania and Maryland.  And in just 14 days, we were able to process approximately 1,500 Paycheck Protection loans, totaling $370 million dollars.  In those two weeks, Orrstown processed more loans in total amount than we did in an average year last year.  We did more SBA loans in 14 days than in our entire 101-year history.  Why?  Because this is about the communities.  This is not about Orrstown Bank.  This is not about banks.  This is about people — the stories you’re hearing today.  This is about what’s going on Main Street.


The stories of what’s happening with the Paycheck Protection Program are not only heartwarming, they’re inspirational.  We’re helping pizza shops, delis, healthcare workers, repair shops, construction companies, and countless others get access to these funds.  These people need this money.  They’re getting a lifeline through this program.


Every job is life-sustaining to someone, and the PPP is saving the livelihoods of those in our communities.  We want to thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership during this extraordinary and unprecedented time, and for partnering with community banks and Congress to help us and give us the opportunity to do what we do best — and that’s serve our communities through the good times and the bad.  You have unleashed the innovation of the private industry, and we are going to respond.


We also want to thank Secretary Mnuchin and Administrator Carranza and Congress for supporting this program and giving the opportunity to community banks around the country to join together and help those in need.  With this program, we can do that.


Thank you, Mr. President.  (Applause.)


THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, Luke.  That’s a beautiful job.


Brandon Hutson, president, Ed and Jim’s Body Shop.  I know what that means.  I’ll bet you fix beautiful cars.  You make them beautiful, right?  I’ll bet you do.  Please come up.


MR. HUTSON:  Thank you, Mr. President and Ivanka, Secretary.  Instead of celebrating our anniversary on April 1st of being in business, we began furloughing employees.  So I would like to take the opportunity to thank President Trump for quickly signing the PPP into action.  Because of this program, Ed and Jim’s is able to rehire all of our furloughed employees and provide them with a paycheck starting this week.  This program has given our small business the funds needed to operate and maintain through this crisis.


With everything we’ve gone through, I can’t extend a thank you enough to President Trump for everything he’s done for small businesses like us in the automotive industry at a time where our business really depends on people leaving their house and driving.


So, Mr. President, thank you very much for what you’ve done, for what you’ve done for us and the industry.  Thank you.


THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Thank you.  And what do you do with cars?  Explain maybe.


MR. HUTSON:  Our business is we repair cars.  We’re a collision repair shop in Parkville, Maryland.  So we work with a lot of insurance companies.  We have walk-in customers.  So if you get into an accident, unfortunately, we’re here to help you out.


THE PRESIDENT:  Can you generally fix — like, when there’s a problem with a car, can you generally fix it without sending for new pieces?


MR. HUTSON:  Yeah.


THE PRESIDENT:  Or do you generally have to put new pieces on if it’s a big collision?
MR. HUTSON:  It depends.  If it’s a big collision, we’re mostly probably replacing some stuff.  But we can repair a lot of things.  So, you know, we’ve been fortunate enough that we are able to repair a lot of things.  But, you know, with the demand for manufacturers to move to producing other things, such as PPE and things like that, yeah, we’re a little nervous about what that means for the future for us right now.  But, you know, we know now you’ll do the right thing —


THE PRESIDENT:  Well, now it’s going to be great.


MR. HUTSON:  You’ll do the right thing for us.


THE PRESIDENT:  After today, you’ll have a lot of customers too.


MR. HUTSON:  (Laughs.)  We appreciate you, sir.  Thank you.


THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Thank you, Brandon.  (Applause.)  Thank you, Brandon.


Ali Mills, executive vice president, Plum Contracting, Inc.  (Applause.)


Would you like to have — come.  Come on up here.  He was so good.  Put that — put that mask on, the way you had it.  It was — (inaudible).


MS. MILLS:  Thank you, President Trump, Ivanka, Secretary, Madam Administrator.


I’m here representing the highway industry.  Plum Contracting is a third-generation union highway and bridge contractor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  With Pennsylvania’s winter construction shutdowns, we have been left with little revenue coming into a new season.


COVID-19 abruptly halted all highway work on March 16th in our state.  With very little revenue at this point of the season, we were forced to sadly lay off a majority of our employees — about 125 — which included trades and management.  There were a lot of sleepless nights and fear of losing it all.


The Payroll Protection Program was and remains the engine that is carrying our business through this shutdown.  We wouldn’t survive without it.  With the — with our PPP approval, by May 1st, we anticipate our company running at full capacity when the highway industry is permitted to return back to work.


We applaud you, Mr. President, for your interest in the welfare of America’s small business and the American worker.  And thanks to all that, my company will be here to work on a big infrastructure program —


THE PRESIDENT:  Good.


MS. MILLS:  — very soon, when you’re ready to do that.


THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Thank you very much.


MS. MILLS:  Thank you.  (Applause.)


THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.


I was with Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, which is interesting from your standpoint because we — we talked about the business that you’re in.  And he noticed that, right into the immediate shutdown, he noticed there was very few cars on the road.  And he did very opposite of what a lot of governors did.  He said, “This is a great time to fix our roads and highways.”


And I said — as soon as he said it — this was in the Oval Office, two hours ago — he said, “I noticed there was very few cars, and isn’t that better than fixing them during rush hour or when there’s traffic and when it’s booming?” — like hopefully, over the next few months, it’s going to be again, just like it was before, the best we’ve ever had.  And then we had to close it down.


So he’s fixing roads and bridges and doing a tremendous amount of work during this period of time.  And I thought it was very smart.  So it’s a little bit the opposite, but to each his own, right?  To each his own.  But it made a lot of sense to me when I heard it.


I’d like to ask Secretary Mnuchin to come up and explain just a little bit about how well it’s going, how — the kind of numbers, the kind of records, to a point where there’s never been anything like this — loans coming in.  And how the loans are actually smaller than in phase one, and that makes us happy because that means smaller businesses, and that’s where we — that’s what we’re looking at.  That’s what we’re aiming at this time.


Please, Steve.


SECRETARY MNUCHIN:  Thank you, Mr. President.  And, Ivanka, thank you for putting this together.  Your stories are the stories of the 60 million American workers that are going to have the benefits of the close to a trillion dollars that the President and Congress have invested in small business to protect you and put you back to work.  That’s over $650 billion in the PPP, that’s over $300 billion in disaster loans, and that’s over $20 billion of grants.


And I know the press has commented on a lot of big companies that inappropriately took the money, and we’ve been very clear — we announced today that any loan over $2 million will have a full review for forgiveness before they’re repaid, because this is the story of small business here.


And I am so pleased to see how this is working.  So, thank you, Mr. President.


I’d also just like to comment: We’re going to be up to close to $120 million of direct deposits in checks for the economic impact payments.  If you have not received it yet, please go to IRS.gov/GetMyPayment.  We made some corrections to the website over the weekend.  Please go on and check your payment.  If you haven’t received your payment, upload your information so we can get you the money.


The combination of the direct payments, the PPP, the disaster loans, and enhanced unemployment insurance is the investment that the President has made in American business and American workers.


Thank you, Mr. President.


THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, Steve.  Very much.
And on the enhanced — (applause) — thank you.  And, Steve, on the enhanced payments, we’re really looking to the state to give that out.  And, unfortunately, some of the states have very old computerized equipment from many generations ago, but they have the money to give out, and they’ll give it out as it comes.  And hopefully, they’ll be able to do the job.


Some states have been very efficient and others have had a hard time.  But you’ll work with the ones that have had a hard time.  But we’re relying on the states, and we are relying on the states to get it out as quickly as they can — considering, especially, some of the equipment they have.  Maybe now they’ll be able to buy new equipment — right?  When we get all finished, we’ll have nice, new computerized equipment so they can do it.


With that, if you’d like to ask a few questions, I think this would be a good time because with these incredible people — this is the media.  You’ve heard me talking about it on occasion.  Seldom, right?  But on occasion.  And I think with you in the room, I have a feeling that they’ll ask me much nicer questions.  They’ll tone them down, right?  And thank you for the apology.  I appreciate it.  That was very nice.  Yahoo.  I appreciate it.  That was very nice.


Yeah, go ahead.  Jim, go ahead.


Q    Mr. President, today the U.S. hit a grim milestone of 1 million cases of the coronavirus.  Back in late February, you predicted that the number of cases would go down to zero.  How did we get from your prediction of zero to 1 million?


THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it will go down to zero, ultimately.  And you have to understand, when it comes to cases, we do much more testing than anybody else.  So we could go to some of these other countries — you know, as an example, China — if you test, you’re going to show many more cases.  So we’re testing.  We’re doing more testing than any other country in the world, by far, which we — we just discussed over in the Oval Office.


So we’re going to show more cases because we’re doing much, much more testing — double anybody else.  Somebody said if you add everybody else combined, that would be a number.  And it will be — at the appropriate time, it will be down to zero, like we said.


Q    But weren’t the experts at the time saying that the number of cases would go up?  We would have community spread.


THE PRESIDENT:  Well, experts all —


Q    Dr. Messonnier, from the CDC —


THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Yeah.


Q    — was warning about this (inaudible).


THE PRESIDENT:  Right.  Also, experts — many very good experts — very good people, too — said that this would never affect the United States.  It wouldn’t affect Europe.  It wouldn’t affect anything outside of China.  So we were listening to experts and we always will listen to experts.  But the experts got it wrong.  A lot of people got it wrong.  And a lot of people had no idea —


Q    (Inaudible.)  (Off-mic.)


THE PRESIDENT:  — it would be this serious.  I listen to experts.


I’ll tell you what — I did something that the experts thought I shouldn’t have done: I closed down our country and our borders.  I did a ban on China from coming in, other than U.S. citizens.  And we did very strong checks on even our U.S. citizens.  Ron DeSantis was telling me before that when they came in, people were put into quarantine, people were checked.  And we’re doing that now.


So, yeah, I think we did something well ahead of schedule and we did that at the end of January.  People were talking about this “wouldn’t have an impact” — as you know — even into March.


So, I think we’ve done a great job, in the sense that we were early.  I think, by banning China — by banning China and banning people coming in who would have been very heavily infected, we probably saved hundreds of thousands of lives.  So, on that, I’m very proud.


Yeah, please.


Q    Mr. President and Sec- — actually, for Secretary Mnuchin as well — what about the idea of another round of stimulus payments to American taxpayers directly?  Democrats, of course — up on the Hill — are talking about the idea of a —


THE PRESIDENT:  Right.


Q    — guaranteed income, which obviously could go on for months and months and months.


THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.


Q    What about another round of —


THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I like the idea of payroll tax cuts.  I’ve liked that from the beginning.  That was the thing that I really would love to see happen.  A lot of economists would agree with me.  A lot of people agree with me.  And I think, frankly, it’s simple.  It’s not the big distribution, and it would really be an incentive for people to come back to work and for employers to hire.  The double tax on the company and also on the person, that’s what I like.  And something like that could happen.


Also, I think you have to look, because a lot of people are talking to — I assume your next question would be about states.  And, Steve and I talked about it, and I talked about it with Mitch and with Kevin and with everybody.  And the problem with the states is we’re not looking to recover 25 years of bad management and to give them the money that they lost.  That’s unfair to other states.


Now, if it’s COVID-related, I guess we can talk about it, but we’d want certain things also, including sanctuary city adjustments because we have so many people in sanctuary cities, which I don’t even think are popular, even by radical-left folks.  Because what’s happening is people are being protected that shouldn’t be protected and a lot of bad things are happening with sanctuary cities.


But that’s just — standing up here answering this question, that’s one of the things I think about.  If we’re going to do something for the states, I think they’d probably want a — something having to do with sanctuary cities, something having to do with other different points that we can discuss a little bit later on.


Yeah.  Jeff, go ahead, please.


Q    Mr. President, you’re going to sign an executive order today about meat packaging plants.  It affects liability for them.  What efforts or what measures are you looking at for liability for other industries and other businesses?


THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we haven’t been talked about — it hasn’t been asked on another industries yet.  But with the meatpacking and with the transportation, we have had some difficulty where they’re having a liability that’s really unfair to them.  And we’re going to be doing that — I think, Mark — we’re going to be doing that fairly soon.  It’s getting — it’s getting drawn up.  I should be signing that over the next hour or so, taking the liability — which frees up the entire system.  And I fully understand it — not their fault.


Yeah, please, go ahead.


Q    Thank you, Mr. President.


THE PRESIDENT:  No, over here first.


Q    Thank you, Mr. President, I just want to go back to what we discussed a little earlier today: Are you considering asking airlines to test passengers on international or also domestic flights?


THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, we’re looking at doing it on the international flights coming out of areas that are heavily infected.  As you know, Brazil is getting to that category.  I think they’re going to be okay.  I hope they’re going to be okay.  He’s a very good friend of mine — but — the President.


But I think that we’re going to look at it from the standpoint — I was discussing that with the governor of Florida, with Ron, a little while ago.  So we’re going to be looking at that, coming in from other countries, frankly.  But South America seems to be one that’s talked about because they have so much business going into Florida.


With all of that being said, Florida has done incredibly well, and they’re starting to open up and open up very rapidly.


But we will be looking into that in the very near future.  We’re looking at it very strongly.


Q    And the airlines would have this responsibility?


THE PRESIDENT:  Either the airlines or government.  One or the other.  We’re working with the airlines; maybe it’s a combination of both.


Kristen, go ahead.


Q    Thank you, Mr. President.  Some health experts say the U.S. needs 5 million tests per day by June in order to safely reopen.  You unveiled a plan yesterday that will increase testing, but not by that much.  Why not?  And can you get to that benchmark?


THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it will increase it and it’ll increase it by much more than that in the very near future.  We’re way ahead of everyone on testing.  We haven’t been given the press — in terms of, I think, fairness of the press — but that’s okay.  And that’s why I appreciated the — the statement before by Yahoo.


We are way ahead on testing.  We are the best in the world on testing.  We’ve tested much more than anybody else, times two — or every country combined.  We’ve tested more than every country combined.  And they keep talking about South Korea, and I’m very friendly, as you know, with President Moon, who just had a great victory — a new victory — as we’re very happy about.  But he will tell you how well the United States has done on testing.  And he told me that very strongly.  The quality of our tests is the best and the number is the best.  Now, with all of that being said, we will be going to an even higher number, and it goes up exponentially.


And I’ve told you that we inherited a very broken test — a broken system and a broken test, and within a short period of time, we were setting records.  So we have set records.  We’ve done more than the entire world combined.  We’ve done more than any other country in the world.  So I think we’ve done a really good job.


Now, with that being said, not everybody feels as strongly about testing as others.  We have some governors that are very strong on testing.  We have other governors, frankly, that aren’t nearly as strong on testing.  Their test is much more modest.  And their real test is when people stop getting sick, and they’ll be able to do that too.  And I understand both systems very well, but we’re going to maximum testing, even though some people won’t even want to use it.


Q    Did I hear you saying you’re confident you can surpass 5 million tests per day?  Is that —


THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, well, we’re going to be there very soon.  If you look at the numbers, it could be that we’re getting very close.  I mean, I don’t have the exact numbers.  We would’ve had them if you asked me the same question a little while ago because people with the statistics were there.


We’re going to be there very soon.  We’re really — we’re really doing — I mean, I watched your report on NBC today and it was an incorrect report, because we’re really doing a great job on testing.  Unfortunately, the — the administration, the people that work our government, hasn’t been given the kind of credit that it deserves.


Last month, it was about ventilators.  Now we have so many that we’re able to give them to Italy, France, Spain.  Other countries have been asking us for ventilators.  We’re making over 150,000.  We’ve distributed thousands and thousands.


New York is in great shape with what we’ve done, as you know.  New Jersey is in great shape.  We spoke — just recently, Ivanka just spoke with the governor, and they’re in very good shape with ventilators.  I mean, everybody has — and most of them have far more than they’ll ever need.  They’re starting to send them back.


So nobody went without a ventilator, and yet, if you read the media from a month and a half ago, it was all about ventilators.  And ventilators are tough.  That’s — that was a tough thing.  But we should be very proud of our country.  We took assembly lines, and they converted from cars, and other things, into ventilators.


And the job that we’ve seen has not been seen since World War Two.  What they have done in terms of the manufacture of very high-grade ventilators is amazing.  So now we don’t hear about that.


And I noticed that the testing is starting to die down because we now have the best testing anywhere in the world, by far.  And we have more, and that’s a good thing.  That’s a very good thing.  I’m happy about it.


We had a call yesterday with governors.  And I will say that — I’m sure many of you were on that call, even though you shouldn’t have been.  They shouldn’t have been, Amy, but they were.  I wonder how that happened.


But you heard the — the governors were thrilled.  Now, the following day — if you’ll get a Democrat on the call, they’ll say — you know, I saw some of them today.  They were so thrilled, yesterday, on a call that they thought it was a closed call.  And today, they were good, but they weren’t the same as they were yesterday because that’s the business.  They want to try and win on November 3rd.


But we’re doing a job the likes of which nobody has ever done.  And I’m not talking about myself; I’m talking about people in the Army Corps of Engineers, where we built hospitals, where we built thousands and thousands of beds all over the country.


New York — what we did was incredible: 2,900 beds in a matter of days.  What they’ve done is so incredible.  And FEMA, what they’ve done.  And the doctors and the professionals and all of the people that you see me with all the time.  You know, these are great people, and they’ve really done a great job.


And now our country is opening up again, and I think it’s going to be very, very successful.  I think that — I mean, Larry is here.  We talked about it, and we talk about it all the time.  I think that third quarter, it’s obviously a transition quarter, but I think it’s going to be okay.  Maybe better than okay.  Larry thinks better than okay.  I think even more so than I do.  And then I think fourth quarter will be great.  And I think next year is going to be a tremendous year for this country.


Q    On the PPP loans, sir?


THE PRESIDENT:  Jennifer?


Q    Yes, on the PPP loans: Can you say who is going to be responsible for that review that Secretary Mnuchin mentioned on the loans above $2 million?  Who exactly will be responsible for that?


SECRETARY MNUCHIN:  The SBA will be responsible, and —


Q    Anyone in particular at the SBA?


SECRETARY MNUCHIN:  And they’ll — they’ll be — they have a team of people.  They’ll bring in additional people.  And — and again, I want to assure the American public and the American taxpayers: We will make sure that these certifications were done accurately, or the loans won’t be forgiven and there will be liability.


THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.


Q    Mr. President, Mitch McConnell today told some Republicans on a phone call that he does not want to fund infrastructure in a coronavirus stimulus bill.  Do you have a reaction to that?


THE PRESIDENT:  I think Mitch is looking at it, as I do to an extent, as the infrastructure — he likes infrastructure.  We all do.  We have to rebuild our country.  Eight trillion dollars has been spent.  I wasn’t in favor of it — I can tell you that.  In the Middle East, $8 trillion.  Think of it.  And yet, you wanted to fix a pothole in a roadway or in a highway in this country, and you didn’t do it because they didn’t have the money because so much money was spent in the Middle East.


Well, that says, you know, a whole different story now.  And we’re going to do — we want to do infrastructure, but a lot of people — a lot of the Republicans would like to keep that as a separate bill.  So we’ll see how that works out, Jennifer.  We’ll — we’ll see.


Yeah, please.


Q    Mr. President, you said at the top of your remarks that you feel the worst of the pandemic is behind us.  But without a treatment, without a vaccine, and states now reopening, how can you be so sure?


THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think that, like other things, we’re going to — hopefully, we’re going to come up with a vaccine.  You never know about a vaccine, but tremendous progress has been made.  Johnson & Johnson and Oxford and lots of good things.  You’ve been hearing the same things as I do.  Tremendous progress has been made, we think, on a vaccine.  You always have to say “think,” and then you have to test it, and that takes a period of time.


But a lot of movement and a lot of progress has been made in a vaccine.  But I think what happens is it’s going to go away.  This is going to go away.  And whether it comes back in a modified form in the fall, we’ll be able to handle it.  We’ll be able to put out spurts, and we’re very prepared to handle it.


We’ve learned a lot.  We’ve learned a lot about it.  The invisible enemy, it’s a bad enemy.  It’s a very tough enemy, but we’ve learned a lot.  It’s in 184 countries, as you hear me say often.  It’s hard to believe.  It’s inconceivable.  It should have been stopped at the source, which was China.  Should’ve been stopped very much at the source, but it wasn’t.  And now we have 184 countries going through hell.


But I think that — I think that a lot of good things are going to happen, and I really believe that fourth quarter is going to be maybe tremendous.  And the — next year, I think, has a chance to be really getting close to record setting.  We hope so.  We hope we can be back where we were.  We had the strongest economy anywhere in the world, and I hope we’re going to be back there again.


Go ahead, please.


Q    You’ve spoken about your friend who passed away.  I was wondering if you have spoken to the families of anyone else who has lost a loved one to COVID-19.  If there’s any particular stories that have affected you.


THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I have — I have many people.  I know many stories.  I’ve spoken to three, maybe, I guess, four families unrelated to me.  I did — I lost a very good friend.  I also lost three other friends — two of whom I didn’t know as well, but they were friends and people I did business with, and probably almost everybody in the room did.


And it’s a — it’s a bad death.  It’s not a — it’s — it’s a bad thing.  It grips onto some people.  Now, we found out that young people do extraordinarily well.  That’s why I think we can start thinking about schools, but of course, we’re ending the school season.  So, you know, it wouldn’t be — probably, you’d be back — you wouldn’t be back for too long.


I noticed where Purdue University, a great school and a great state, wants to open and have students come in.  I think that’s correct.  Some colleges — I think I saw Harvard wants to have students come back in the fall.  I would hope that they’d have a — have students.


I think that the whole concept of computer learning is wonderful, but it’s not tele — tele-learning.  But it’s not the same thing as being in a classroom in a great college or a college of any kind — college, university.  There’s nothing — you can’t replace that.  So hopefully they’re going to be coming back.  Young people do very well with this horrible scourge.  They do very well.


So I am going to see you tomorrow, and we’ll have other things to talk about.  We have a lot of interesting things.  I don’t think we should have a news conference today because this is a news conference.  In addition, it’s a celebration of these incredible people that have done such a good job.


And I think we found a couple of stars in this room today.  I won’t tell you who, but there are a couple.  This guy, right here, is the biggest star in the room.  Right?  (Applause.)  We’ll all agree he’s the — I — I vote — I vote for you.  Okay?  Great job you’ve done.  And I really appreciate it (inaudible).  I appreciate you being here.  Couldn’t have done better.


MR. HEUP:  And, of course, Megan and I and Amy would like to know if you and some of your closest staff members, bodyguards, or anybody in the (inaudible) would like to come to Annapolis to our coffee shop.


THE PRESIDENT:  Be careful.  That could happen.  That could happen.  Be careful.  We’ll have to do that, Amy.  I think we could — maybe we could do something like that.  You’re very good.  He’s stolen the show, right?  (Laughter.)  Do we agree?  Doc, I’ll tell you, I’m getting ready with the eyes.  Come on with me if you want.  Do a quick one.  Want to save a lot of time.  We need time.  We’re opening up the country, Doc, so we need a little time.  We can’t spend too much.  I don’t want to spend two and a half hours at an eye doctor, right?  Okay?  So we’ll think about that.  We want to do that.


I want to thank everybody, and in particular, Jovita.  I want to thank you very much.


And, Steve, you’re working — I can call Steve at any time.  It’s — I can call him at two in the morning, six in the morning.  It doesn’t make any difference.  I say, “Did I wake you?”  The answer is always, “No.”  He’s doing a great job.  We’re proud of him and everybody is.  Everybody.


Our government — we have to be proud of our government and we have to be proud of our country.  These are really terrific people.  We’re going through a period of time, the likes of which we’ve never seen in this country before.


Certainly, even if you go back into 1917, that was the worst of all time, but it was also not as bad here.  It was very bad.  It was very rough.  It was a bad one, but it wasn’t — it wasn’t — wasn’t quite like what we’re going through right now.  And it’s because of the amazing — when you look at how contagious this is, where people literally just being in the same area with other people, it’s — it catches.


So I’m very proud of this country, I have to say.  I’m very proud to be your President, and I’m very proud of this country.


Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.  Thank you


WhiteHouse.gov under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

COVID-19 Queensland 10,000 Worker Harvest season can go ahead safely with Conditions

Sam
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COVID-19 Queensland 10,000 Worker Harvest season can go ahead safely with Conditions
Annastacia Palaszczuk 1 2

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has assured growers they can maintain a seasonal workforce while meeting their COVID-19 public health obligations.

She said the industry needed clarity about managing an incoming workforce, particularly backpackers, at an important time of year.

“Everyone needs fresh fruit and vegetables to stay healthy during this time, and much of Australia’s produce is grown right here,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“To harvest these crops our horticulture industry has an average monthly workforce demand of up to 10,000 skilled and unskilled workers over the next six months, but COVID-19 restrictions must also be followed.

“So we have a clear message to agricultural employers and workers about what they need to do, especially if they come from a coronavirus hot spot.”

Any seasonal worker coming to Queensland would need a border pass and details of:

where they had been for the previous two weeks
written confirmation of a job in Queensland
and where they planned to reside.
If they have come from a declared COVID-19 hotspot, they must also self-quarantine for 14 days at their own or employer’s expense before starting their employment.

The Government will also:

promote the importance of complying with health obligations
insist on mandatory health management plans
strengthen compliance
and ensure local solutions for local circumstances are developed.
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said Wide Bay Burnett, Cairns and Moreton Bay North will have the highest demand for harvest workers, followed by Darling Downs-Maranoa and Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday.

“During this process we need to keep everybody safe, and we all have an obligation for taking actions that prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Mr Furner said.

“That means everybody involved in the agricultural employment and supply chain — workers, transporters, accommodation providers, employers, labour-hire companies and local communities — are responsible for ensuring proper arrangements.

“Our plan will facilitate the movement of agricultural labourers while ensuring health and safety for them and our regional communities.”

“Agricultural seasonal worker employers, transporters and accommodation providers must have a health management plan in place. Employers must comply with stringent record-keeping on the health status of their workforce.”

Mr Furner said agricultural production was a key pillar of the Queensland economy and was always going to be vital in managing the pandemic.

“That’s why we moved quickly to declare agriculture an essential industry. Queensland farmers and fishers have built a global reputation for their great produce and we stand by them 100 per cent.”

For further information on health management plans, recording employment/travel history and health status of employees, and other COVID-19 agribusiness support, visit www.business.qld.gov.au

The Queensland Government acknowledges that agricultural, fisheries and forestry businesses are essential, and we continue to support them as we work together throughout the COVID-19 response.

Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries
The Honourable Mark Furner


ScoMo COVIDSafe: The New app to slow the spread of coronavirus

Sam
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ScoMo COVIDSafe: The New app to slow the spread of coronavirus

Scomo 1 1

ScoMo COVIDSafe: The New app to slow the spread of coronavirus
The Australian Government launches the new voluntary coronavirus app, COVIDSafe.

The app is an important public health initiative that will help keep you, your family, and your community safe from further spread of coronavirus through early notification of possible exposure.

“Australians are doing an extraordinary job to flatten the curve and contain the spread of the coronavirus, but we cannot be complacent,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

“The Chief Medical Officer’s advice is we need the COVIDSafe app as part of the plan to save lives and save livelihoods. The more people who download this important public health app, the safer they and their family will be, the safer their community will be and the sooner we can safely lift restrictions and get back to business and do the things we love.”

The health initiative uses technology to automate and improve what state and territory health officials already do manually. COVIDSafe will speed up the process of identifying people who have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with coronavirus, quickly stopping further spread of the virus in the community.

Minister for Health, Greg Hunt thanked Australians for their actions during the pandemic, and said the app is part of the three key requirements for easing restrictions: Test, Trace and Respond.

“We thank Australians for their help in adhering to the difficult but life-saving social distancing measures,” Minister Hunt said.

“We are now calling on all Australians to download the COVIDSafe app to help protect you, your family and your community from further spread of COVID-19. This will be necessary if we are to start easing some of the difficult social distancing restrictions we have had to put in place” Minister Hunt said.

“It will be one of the critical tools we will use to help protect the health of the community by quickly alerting people who may be at risk of having contact with COVID-19. If you’d been exposed, you’d want to know, wouldn’t you?”

The app has received strong support from states and territories and the health sector, which recognise it is a valuable tool that will enhance the ability to respond rapidly to local outbreaks, and the confidence to know the virus is not silently spreading throughout communities.

A new determination issued by the Minister for Health under the Biosecurity Act will ensure information provided voluntarily through the App will only be accessible for use by authorised state and territory health officials. Any other access or use will be a criminal offence.

Minister for Government Services, Stuart Robert described the App as being developed with one purpose: to stop the spread of coronavirus.

“Once installed and running, the COVIDSafe app uses Bluetooth to look for other phones that also have the app installed,” Minister Robert said.

“To be effective, users should have the app running in the background when they are coming into contact with others. Your phone does not need to be unlocked for the app to work.”

“It then securely makes a ‘digital handshake’, which notes the date and time, distance and duration of the contact. All information collected by the app is securely encrypted and stored in the app on the user’s phone. No one, not even the user, can access it.”

“Unless and until a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, no contact information collected in the app is disclosed or able to be accessed. Then, once the person agrees and uploads the data, only the relevant state or territory public health officials will have access to information. The only information they are allowed to access is that of close contacts – when a person has come within approximately 1.5 metres of another app user for 15 minutes or more – in their jurisdiction,” Minister Robert said.

Welcoming the announcement, Australian Chief Medical Officer, Brendan Murphy said COVIDSafe is set to be a major tool in streamlining the process of identifying contacts after a person tests positive for coronavirus.

“Finding out quickly means you can quarantine yourself or be treated much faster, protecting your family and friends from possible infection, and slowing the spread of the virus,” Professor Murphy said.

“Without this technology, health officials have to rely on people being able to remember who they have been around, and being able to provide contact details for those people.”

“It is important to note that only state and territory health officials will be able to use the information.”

“COVIDSafe only keeps contact information for 21 days. This covers the maximum incubation period for the virus and the time it takes for someone to be tested for COVID-19,” Professor Murphy said.

“Once the coronavirus pandemic is over, and Australia no longer needs the app, the app and the information on it will be deleted permanently. No virus, no app,” Minister Hunt said.

Coronavirus is a serious and contagious respiratory disease with symptoms including fever, a dry cough, a sore throat and shortness of breath that has infected more than 2.8 million people globally and led to 200,000 deaths. In Australia around 6,700 people have contracted coronavirus and sadly 82 people have died.

The App can be downloaded here from the App stores. Get the app
Download on the Apple app store
Download on the Google play app store

Source: Licensed from the Commonwealth of Australia under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.

The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the content of this publication.

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