Today I supported a Motion to keep the Collins Class submarine extensive maintenance and upgrade refit program in South Australia rather than have it moved to Western Australia. I also took time to condemn the new contract signed to build 12 new submarines.
This order will cost $200 billions. These submarines will be obsolete before they even get delivered. This money would be better spent supporting our economy as we recover from the COVID19 economic crisis.
Transcript
– Mr. President thank you, I’ll seek leave to make a short statement one minute.
– Leave is granted for one minute.
– Thank you, we supported the original motion, the current sustainment model that supports the Collins class submarines works well in South Australia and it is not warranted to move this to Western Australia.
Of greater significance is the absurdly expensive contract, that the government signed to purchase 12 new submarines over the next 20 years. The current cost of building them with all peripherals is now around $200,000,000,000, $200,000,000,000, has this government gone mad?
In the middle of this pandemic we cannot afford to proceed with this contract. This money will be far better spent to support the Australian recovery from the economic pit, that is caused by this pandemic. By the time these submarines are delivered, they will be obsolete.
A complete waste of money that would be far better spent elsewhere. The cost of $400,000,000 to cancel this contract is a pittance compared with proceeding.
Australian universities have their hands out for COVID19 stimulus monies.
When you pay your Vice Chancellors over $1 million and spend taxpayers money on non-core building activity, I say NO.
Transcript
Mr. President, I move the motion as amended.
Senator Ruston.
[Ruston] I seek leave to make a short statement.
[President] Leave is granted for one minute.
[Ruston] The Morrison Government Community Group to support those in need, including international students, universities, together with states and territories of established hardship funds, and other supports. Australia’s universities are autonomous institutions governed by university councils. Reporting of liquidity across the sector as of the 31st of December 2018 showed total cash and investments of $20.3 billion. Universities are eligible for job keeping if they meet the relevant criteria.
Senator Roberts.
[Roberts] I seek leave to make a short statement.
[President] Leave is granted for one minute.
[Roberts] Thank you. One Nation opposes this motion. We are concerned that everyday Australians who are doing it tough right now may have to bail out the universities that have become dependent on foreign students. These universities expose us to significant financial risk when they’ve spent vast amounts of our money on overseas students to create more revenue for them.
So where was their detailed business case in their risk analysis? If government did a utilisation study on these campuses before approving more building, they would find that their existing buildings are underused. And universities should not be in the accommodation business.
James Cook University has just tendered to develop student accommodation at a time when I found 216 vacant rental properties in Town’s Hall today. James Cooke University should give us our money back. We value their research and teaching, but they must act professionally.
If the universities were serious, then they would lead by example and cut the million dollar plus vice chancellor’s salaries. Why won’t they? Because they lack accountability.
Once again the Greens are using naturally occurring weather events to push their anti-environmental agenda.
My reply to another motion on the Great Barrier Reef and calls for increased cuts to human CO2.
Transcript
[Malcom] – I seek leave to make a short statement.
[President] – Leave is granted for one minute.
[Malcolm] – Thank you Mr. President, One Nation opposes this motion. The Great Barrier Reef is the larges single structure made by living organisms. The current reef is between 6000 to 8000 years of age, it stretches over an area of approximately 344,000 square kilometres.
Our understanding of its history and its ebbs and flows over thousands of years is in its infancy. Claims that the reef is dead due to a natural atmospheric trace gas are a lie. Coral bleaching events are natural and reoccurring events that are the result of a temporary increase or decrease in ocean temperature and a lack of wind to mix the ocean waters.
Sometimes compounded with low sea levels. As with things natural, after bleaching the reef immediately starts to repair itself. The greatest threat to our Great Barrier Reef is activists and ignorant uncaring politicians falsely using it as a poster child because that leads to underfunding of real environmental programmes like eradicating crown of thorn starfish.
https://i0.wp.com/www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Screen-Shot-2020-05-13-at-11.47.30-am.png?fit=1110%2C604&ssl=16041110Senator Malcolm Robertshttps://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/One-Nation-Logo1-300x150.pngSenator Malcolm Roberts2020-05-13 11:48:342020-05-13 11:49:21Great Barrier Reef is not Dead or Dying
This evening I spoke about how the Liberal and Labor parties have worked hand in hand to destroy our country.
Transcript
-Senator Roberts.
-Thank you Madame Acting Deputy President. As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, I remind the government of a word whose meaning they have forgotten: democracy, essential for accountability. Yesterday, a group of 10 former judges, leading lawyers, and integrity experts sent an open letter to Prime Minister Morrison voicing their concern at the gutting of the parliament.
These leading Australians include former Justice of the High Court, Mary Gaudron, who described the Prime Minister’s actions as “unprecedented and undemocratic.” One Nation represents the interests of people who raise issues directly with us. We can’t do our jobs if the Senate sits a day or two every now and then. This is the house of review.
It may suit the government to never have their work reviewed, but that’s not how our democracy works. The Morrison government is not entitled to the Senate’s support on every matter. My remarks are not just criticism of the government, but of the opposition as well.
The Senate could have stopped, or amended, the gutting of our role if we were given the opportunity. We were not given the opportunity because the ALP rolled over and went along with the government. What kind of opposition are they? Since my return to this place, I have watched the opposition crowd in together with the government on benches that were never designed for the government and the opposition to be cosy.
The crossbench are now the opposition. Sadly, we’re rendered ineffective while the opposition and the government form this unholy alliance. What should we call it, Madam Acting Deputy President? The Uni Party? The Lib-Lab Duopoly? Lib-Labs.
The Lib-Labs combined to vote down a One Nation initiative to provide water to our farmers. The Lib-Labs combined to suppress action on our motion providing remediation, like-for-like relocation and compensation for the government’s PFAS disaster across the country. After each in turn, when in opposition promised to take up the PFAS cause.
The Lib-Labs combined to vote down the One Nation motion to provide banking customers with a code of banking practise that actually gave banking customers some basic rights. It’s no wonder that the opposition has decided it’s just easier to have no parliament than to have to keep cozying up with the government to vote down great work from One Nation and the crossbench.
This is not a recent event. The decision to sign away Australian sovereignty to the United Nations was a joint venture, accelerated under Labour Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, who appeared to be bitter enemies, yet implemented UN policies.
All these years later the partnership continues. No baseload power stations built in Queensland since Kogan Creek in 2007 is on both of you. No dams in 30 years is on both of you. An unemployment rate that has gone from 1.5% in 1972 to 5.5% before COVID hit is on both of you.
The highest electricity prices in the world are on both of you. Well may Labour make fun of the phrase “snapping back,” as you have done today. The economy cannot snap back. Economic resilience is provided by middle class enterprise. Yet small business was belted hard well before the virus.
Water, electricity, government charges, commercial rental, red, green and blue UN tape have gone up while the incomes of their customers, everyday Australians, have gone down faster than opposition leader Anthony Albanese’s approval numbers.
Australia does lead the world in one thing, we have the largest decline in the number of small business startups in the western world. Down 40% over 20 years, despite our population growing 50% in that period. 50%, yet business startups down.
Oh, and that 50% increase in population has caused Australia to have the highest real estate prices in the world. And that is on both of you as well. What person in their right mind would start a business in such a hostile environment?
The Liberals and Nationals seem perfectly happy transferring wealth from small business to global corporations, whose interest they represent so well. It is a fundamental of Labor’s brand of socialism that a population reliant on big government is a population incapable of resisting big government oppression.
The same oppression premiers Andrews and Palaszczuk are now trialling in Victoria and Queensland. The LNP and the ALP seek different outcomes from the same actions. They are joined at the hip in the pursuit of the elimination of middle class enterprise.
This does not serve the interests of the Australian people. We must bring back democracy.
We must bring back democracy and accountability. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Acting Deputy President. As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, I want to discuss our people’s health and safety, the security of our national economy and thirdly, our national economic recovery in the near future and the long term because no one is discussing the key issue, and One Nation has solutions.
I remind people of government’s three primary roles, protect life, protect property and protect freedom. Importantly, in democracies, those governing do so only with the permission of the people governed and those governing are responsible to the people.
I will in this speech discuss a former prime minister who I had respected until I did my research. I want to thank everyone who is caring for us and keeping us safe, including healthcare workers, police, defence, emergency workers and everyone serving others including helping to supply and feed us, electricity generation, cleaners, garbage collection, water supply and many more.
Many of us feel gutted that this year will be the first time Anzac Day public commemorations have been called off. This illustrates the seriousness of the threat we face. Firstly, health and safety, this must be every government’s primary focus.
Now there is no manual on dealing with COVID-19. So while I empathise with government’s challenge, people want answers, people are feeling confused, afraid, concerned, some feel lost, grieving for those dying and grief for our country.
Some feel angry, many are still living in disbelief, why? Because people want to know what has to be done, why it has to be done and how long before it’s over and what will it cost, financial, social, personal, mental, emotional.
Remember, we have to pay these bills. People have a right to know the fair dinkum facts and right now, many people are, like me, in the dark or plagued with uncertainty. Two and a half weeks ago, in this place, I praised the success of East Asian nations in combating COVID-19, particularly Taiwan and South Korea.
Their focus is on people’s health and safety. Both are democracies and government provides strong, clear leadership. The people trust those governments because they used facts, instituted rigorous widespread testing of body temperature and virus infection, relied on sharing data and had solid processes and systems with medical supplies and facilities.
Both those nations quickly arrested the virus and instead of isolating everyone, they quickly and rigorously isolated the infected and the vulnerable, allowing the majority of healthy people to continue working.
This is their lesson to us, acting decisively to make health their first priority, minimised disturbance to their economies. Western nations though have tried to balance health and the economy and as a result, both have been compromised.
Australians are asking serious questions. Why did it take so long for the government to publicly discuss modelling, as it pretended to do so yesterday yet not release the modelling. Why did the modellers release the draught version separately yet not release the model?
Why did the government not discuss the underlying assumptions including infection, transmission and mortality rates? Why did the government not discuss the variables modelled? Without that we can make no conclusions.
Why did the government not disclose the model’s result? Did the government gather data and facts from successful nations like Taiwan and South Korea? And if so, what did it learn? Now modelling is often flawed yet in this case, isn’t failing to get the data or failing to model acceptance of needless deaths?
When did state and federal health ministers last get together to scenario plan the effects and management of a virus pandemic? Have they ever? Have they considered their interaction with border security and who to allow into our country from planes and ships?
Did they involve the hospitals and medical colleges? Data suggests Australia’s testing for the virus is narrow and well below the world’s best per capita. Why is the government’s data on number of cases continually revised with dramatic changes to its graph?
Are casualties and deaths from flu and pneumonia here and overseas being reported as from COVID-19? How many people will die with the virus compared with how many people die from the virus? In some nations, are deaths inflated?
What is the government’s plan for treatment using hydroxychloroquine showing amazing results in New York and elsewhere? And ivermectin being 100% effective in Monash University’s in-vitro tests? What is the plan for mental health issues?
Everyday Australians want to know, how long will I be working from home? When can we get back to work and school? When will we be safe from this virus? I now turn to the Chinese Communist government that harmed the Chinese people and people worldwide.
It hid the outbreak, suppressed the views of the virus and punished the doctors who wanted to inform and prepare the world. That meant the virus spread rapidly around the world. What will it do now to people in poorer countries, Africa, India?
Instead of it protecting its people, the Chinese Communist government neglected, controlled and punished them. Worse, in January, the United Nations’ World Health Organisation spread the communist government’s lies that there is no human to human transmission of the virus.
Then in March, the UN’s World Health Organisation said the time to act was two months earlier in January. The World Health Organisation, gutless, bumbling, incompetent, hopeless, dishonest, inherently corrupt just like the whole UN.
This virus needs to be renamed the Chinese Communist Party UN virus, the Chinese Communist Party and UN need to be held accountable. Compare the Chinese Communist government with that of Taiwan’s democratic government, Taiwan’s 24 million people responded freely and as of today, had just five deaths.
Freedom works, freedom works providing the government serves the people. With freedom comes responsibility and self control, always far superior to imposed control. The communists gave us the virus, democratic Taiwan gave us medical equipment.
Now let’s turn to our fragile economy. People expect government to lead and expect leaders to have a plan based on solid data and facts. Economies are living organisms comprised of families, economies depend on human interaction.
Isolate people and economies wither. So what is the plan for bringing back our economy? What are the government’s trigger points for changing strategy from isolating everyone to wider testing and then isolating only the sick and vulnerable so the healthy majority can return to interacting, producing, exchanging, getting back to work like Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore?
The government shutdown is a ticking time bomb. It is necessary but it is a ticking time bomb. Humanity needs security, connection, family, friends. The worst thing we can do to a person after all is take their job off them.
I note now, for now rather that this bill needs to be structured as an open cheque to the government to ensure the flexibility to support people. Thirdly, this crisis has highlighted a huge gap in our country’s security.
Shortages of critical equipment like basic medical supplies, worse, an inability to manufacture medical equipment, cars, many goods that we once made ourselves are now imported, why? Because the Whitlam Labor government signed the UN’s Lima declaration in 1975 and the Fraser Liberal National’s government ratified it the very next year to transfer manufacturing to third world countries.
Worse still, an inability in Australia to grow our own food. We were exporters of basic food commodities like rice and wheat, now we cannot get enough rice and due to the virus, Vietnam has blocked exports for us to ensure supply for its own people.
Durum wheat for pasta is in shortage, why? Because the Howard government under the guidance of Liberal Senator Robert Hill, National’s Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson and Liberal Prime Minister John Howard in 1996 stole farmers inalienable rights to use the land they bought.
And to avoid paying compensation, colluded with Queensland Nationals’ premier Rob Burbidge and later Labour’s premier Peter BD and with New South Wales Labour’s state minister Bob Carr, why? For the Howard government to comply with the UN’s Kyoto Protocol.
The UN, let’s get it out and who buys our farms? The Chinese Communist government despite banning Australians from buying Chinese properties. Water, what about water?
Farmers lost their water as a result of the Turnbull Howard Water Act of 2007 that according to world renowned John Briscoe, took the world’s best national water policy under the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and made it the worst under the Turnbull Howard Murray-Darling Basin Authority. How?
Infecting it with politics, UN rules and regulations. The UN exit, this week, yet another farmer Tanya Ginns in New South Wales asked, please help us, help her against the government, the global corporates, the UN.
Our own farmers asking for help against the government so she and her family can produce food for our people. And then energy, never before have humans materially advanced so quickly as in the last 170 years and it was due to ever decreasing real prices of energy, electricity, oil and gas.
The miracle that raised living standards gave us independence from weather and eliminated famines. It gave us longer, healthier, safer, easier, more productive, more comfortable and secure lifestyles.
We are the world’s second largest exporter of coal and largest exporter of liquefied natural gas yet we now have high domestic energy costs. In just a few decades, we went from the world’s cheapest electricity, thanks to our clean high energy coal to the world’s most expensive electricity, thanks to the Howard government policies based on the UN lies and fraud.
Eight years after John Howard was booted from office, he admitted in Britain, that on climate science, he was agnostic. He had no science yet he destroyed all these industries. We now export our coal to China so it can produce cheap electricity because China sensibly uses hydro, coal and nuclear being the cheapest forms of electricity generation.
The Chinese already produce about eight times more coal than does Australia entirely and they’re rapidly increasing their production. India is furiously increasing its production, why? Because they know cheap energy is the key to productivity and productivity is the key to wealth generation and wealth generation is the key to raising everyone’s living standards.
At the same time, China exports wind turbines and solar panels to us that wreck our environment and steal our precious farmland. We subsidise Chinese companies to install these inefficient monstrosities that raise our electricity costs, destroy reliability of supply and drive our manufacturers and jobs overseas, why?
In our renewal plans, this must be reviewed and dumped. Mind you, it provides entertainment with Barnaby Joyce and Senator Canavan first speaking clearly as climate sceptics, then contorting and converting to speaking for the UN’s climate rort and now, now back-flipping to copy One Nation’s stance.
Yet although they now speak like us, they still vote like Trent Zimmerman, Zali Steggall and the Greens. Despite the recent droughts, Despite the recent drought, farmers with water could not afford to pay for electricity to pump irrigation water to grow fodder in a drought because of electricity prices.
China and the UN are doing this, exit the UN. Seafood, we have the world’s largest continental shellfishing zone yet import almost three quarters of the seafood we consume, why?
Because we have 36% of the world’s marine parks that previous ministers like Labor’s Mr. Tony Burke and Liberal Senator Robert Hill handed to the UN as World Heritage areas, all now managed under UN rules and who is our largest supply of seafood imported by?
China with its tiny coastline and 56 times more mouths to feed compared to ours, China and the UN, exit the UN. In Queensland, we have 31 major federal and state policies gutting farming and as Charleville farmer, Dan McDonald says, “With every farm input now completely under regulatory control, farming is nationalised.”
We have lost our food security, our manufacturing, our farmers’ land use, our water, our energy security. We have lost our productive capacity, our ability to produce, we have lost our economic resilience, our ability to rebound all to globalism in the name of interdependency.
The corporate elites benefiting from our bureaucrats’ gift of farming land and water and benefit from owning Chinese manufacturing. Interdependency is a con, it means we are dependent on others, we are dependent.
This virus crisis is exposing a huge gap in our security from face masks to food to loss of our independence. We voters have allowed our government since the formation of the UN, especially since 1996 to sacrifice our country’s productive capacity, our economic resilience, our economic independence and security.
Did you elect UN bureaucrats to be in charge? I didn’t, our national debt now is around 600 billion, Queensland’s around 90 billion before this package. Members of parliament and senior federal public servants need to share the burden, stop the perks like flying business class, cut our superannuation rate, reject or defer salary increases.
Let’s look to the future. What will the world look like after the Prime Minister’s quaintly named six-month hibernation? In just three to four months, what will people be doing? Will people emerge from hibernation?
When we look around, will we as a nation feel supported, excited or depleted, hungry and angry? We need two plans, one for now and one for bringing back our productive capacity and economic resilience.
One Nation will return with their detailed analysis. When this is over, though, everyday Australians of all backgrounds expect to see and deserve to be a healthy, secure people with a proud, independent Australia that reflects our lifestyle, culture, values, freedom, democracy and potential. All people want is a fair go and governance we can trust to work for our country. Thank you Madam Deputy President.
https://i0.wp.com/www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-09-at-3.00.31-pm.png?fit=557%2C304&ssl=1304557Senator Malcolm Robertshttps://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/One-Nation-Logo1-300x150.pngSenator Malcolm Roberts2020-04-09 05:07:412020-04-09 05:07:59Questions for the Prime Minister – COVID19
Thank you Mr President. I seek to make a statement in response to the Minister’s statement. We acknowledge that there is no manual for dealing with this virus, and we empathise with the government’s challenge.
That is though, all the more reason for the government to openly share data, future projections, and information with the people. As pressures mount regarding personal security, as well as emotionally and financially on people across our nation, any shortage of data is being seen as an absence of trust from the government in the people.
And, that will make it difficult for Australians to in turn, trust government and the parliament. Government trust in the people and honesty, will be met with trust from the people.
One Nation would also like at this time, to thank everyone who is caring for us, and keeping us safe, including healthcare workers, police, defence, emergency workers, and everyone serving others, including helping to supply and feed us, teach our children, electricity generation, garbage collection, cleaning, water supply, and many more.
People keeping services working for us all. COVID-19 Mr President, has exposed us as severely lacking in our current economic and industrial structures, the productive capacity and economic resilience, that were once part of Australian culture and history.
We need to take this opportunity to take stock, and then rebuild our society on the values, systems and cultures that ensure a return to personal enterprise, instead of the creeping dead hand and suffocating blanket of a large, and ever-growing central government.
History shows that the secret of human happiness and human progress is nothing new, and has been discovered, lost, and rediscovered for millennia, and more recently, lost in our country.
We need to bring back Australia’s economic sovereignty, productive capacity and economic resilience, based on restoring personal enterprise and compliance with our Constitution, that enshrines competitive Federalism and individual liberty.
We all need, as representatives of the people, and servants to the people, to ensure the people’s government is held accountable for what it does, and does not do during this emergency. We are giving the government a blank check, and rightly so, because there are many uncertainties in this.
There’s such a complex system that we are already trying to amend. But Ministers have the power to make these changes through regulations. And, that is given to ensure that cracks in the legislation are closed quickly, to ensure people are covered fairly, right across our country.
It is a blank check. But, we must do our jobs as Senators to make sure that we review that and the progress of it. What many Australians, looking beyond our health and financial safety want, is to make sure that we leave COVID-19 behind us with better freedoms and liberties, and a stronger, freer economy than before. Thank you, Mr President.
Thank you mister acting deputy president. As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, I advise that One Nation will support the government’s measures tackling COVID-19, Coronavirus.
We don’t agree with them all, yet now is when the government that the people elected must be allowed to govern. I will raise serious questions about the government’s approach to fulfilling its three core responsibilities.
Protecting life, protecting property and protecting freedom. All three are relevant tonight. We are well aware of the devastating effects and the human tragedy that this virus is leaving in its wake around the world.
Now it is taking a hold and its attack on Australia and on Australians. Many people have died, and unfortunately, many more will die or be scarred. The World Health Organisation says that of the people who contract the virus, 3.4% will die, yet there are many factors, including transmission rate and whether or not a nations health care system is overwhelmed.
Experts tell us that everyone will eventually get Coronavirus. Using these figures simplistically means that 850,000 Australians would die. That’s staggering, yet we must remain calm though, because such broad figures cannot be applied so simply, and we can do much better when we are committed.
Italy’s early figures show a fatality rate much higher than this 3.4%. South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, much, much lower around one tenth. The first step is to protect people, to prevent deaths.
That means stopping or reducing the transmission, and that means in part stopping human interaction. This virus easily transmits itself from human to human. Secondly, preventing overwhelming of our health care system, so that everyone can get effective treatment.
Thirdly, identifying economic impacts, serious economic challenges, because without human interactions, economies contract. Fourth, identifying which industries, sectors and individuals will need assistance.
Fifth, what are the sources of funding and the areas for reducing peoples expenses. And finally, we need to consider how to restore our economy afterwards. That involves short term and long term factors to restore our nation’s productive capacity and economic resilience.
Let’s return to the first step. Some foreign governments acted swiftly to stop the virus. They immediately closed borders and sent people home to protect them and to help isolate and stop the virus.
They proactively quarantined, including closing schools while infection numbers were low. They took immediate action to help curb the spread of this killer. We may or may not know who shares this deadly virus with us, a friend, a relative who does not know they even have the virus themselves, yet the death rate isn’t the only determining factor regarding how deadly a pandemic can be.
It will be the impact on our families, our businesses, on the economy, and on our way of life. Who knows what life will be like after this storm passes. Minister, every day Australians are more and more concerned, and we rely on our governments to protect us, yet in Canberra yesterday we saw shoppers mingling normally, the same in Brisbane restaurants.
It’s time for decisive action to protect our health, our children, our jobs and their countries future. The sooner we act to stop transmitting the virus and isolate it, the safer Australians will be, and the fewer will die.
The 1918 Spanish flu epidemic was the deadliest flu season we know, killing around 50 million people. The Coronavirus, COVID-19 is no less a killer, and it is easier for humans to catch than 1918 Spanish flu.
Now I base my facts, my data on reports from Taiwan, South Korea, China and Singapore, and from the western countries that are currently floundering like Italy, the UK, the USA and more.
I have become very concerned that we need decisive action, and that we need a stronger, broader, deeper response now. The question is which is more important, peoples lives or the economy?
It’s not appropriate to try a balancing act. The high priority is to protect peoples health, and I commend the government for acting, yet we have to be both dynamic and aggressive in attacking this enemy, and base decisions on data.
From a strategic point of view, our choices in combating this deadly virus are either mitigation or suppression, yet what does this mean? Mitigation involves voluntary isolation and trying to reduce the impact like Italy, France, Spain, Britain and the USA, yet this has the potential that very soon we will see overwhelm of our healthcare system, destroy the economy and needlessly cost Australian lives.
Mitigation takes time, and experience overseas, as in Italy, says it is killing more people. Suppression though is preferred, and is the enforced isolation of the population as in Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea.
It involves aggressive testing and then managed treatments. Suppression could cut this horrendous mortality rate from five percent in Italy to point six of a percent in South Korea.
The harsh enforcement of suppression is against our democratic ideals, and our friendly outdoors lifestyle, yet doing it will save potentially hundreds of thousands of Australian lives, and this does not include the collateral damage, where people in need are not able to get into intensive care units.
We should not assume that there is a hospital bed waiting for us if we get sick or injured. The data suggests that using mitigation strategies, only one in 30 infected people will be able to get into an ICU bed in Australia.
That means that intensive care units and the health care system will be completely overwhelmed. Patients will be lying in hospital corridors. Nurses and doctors will decide who survives and who dies, and that’s a terrible, scary responsibility for professionals who care.
Media reports from Italy say that people over 80 years of age are now not treated. Some victims of Coronavirus, and there could likely be many, will need intensive care units, because COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, and many people will need intubation.
What is going to happen to those who would normally be referred to an ICU unit for other causes, like major trauma, or severe burns, respiratory failure, organ transplant, car accidents?
Sick or injured Australians may not find a bed that does not already have a Coronavirus patient in it, and that means more deaths. According to the experts and overseas data, suppression is best, but we’re not doing it.
After that, it’s going to take an effective vaccine, which is up to a year away, and then herd immunity, which blocks out the virus when we become immune from already having had COVID-19.
The overseas data seems to show that right now, we need a suppression strategy until we develop a vaccine. Our government isn’t there yet, and complacency kills. Reportedly in South Korea, comprehensive testing for body temperature is followed with testing high temperature people for COVID-19.
Those with the virus are isolated, as are those with weaker immunity. The majority of people stay at work and keep going, that means much less economic disruption to the economy.
Until the government takes stronger action, we’re all going to need to practise social distancing to help minimise the number of people who contract the virus. In simple terms, we all need to keep our distance from others, practise good hygiene, including regular hand washing and surface cleaning, eating well, resting and being considerate of others.
We’ll need to work together to limit exposure to one another, especially with older adults and people with underlying illnesses who have the greatest risk of developing severe symptoms.
Though we do need to take action to contain the spread, and to protect our most vulnerable Australians, we all have to take responsibility for the health and welfare of ourselves and others.
It is time to be care and be kind. We have every reason to stay calm and make decisions based on data and facts.
Minister, a matter of importance is that every day Australians are calling now for detailed and regular information and updates, and people want information when and where we need it, often.
Australians deserve to know the data and the facts about what the government is doing, and what is happening to us here and overseas. Television and the internet may not be available or enough.
The government must engage effectively to keep us all up to date with facts. I especially want to express Australia’s thanks and best wishes to all of our health care professionals, our heroes, for what they are doing, and for what they are going to do in the tough months ahead.
Some have talked about bringing health professionals out of retirement. This may be a good idea, provided the older professionals themselves are not in a high risk group to get this sinister virus.
To all those who step up to the challenge, and to those who support our health care heroes, we thank you. Who knows what Australia and indeed the world will look like after this menace is overcome.
I just hope that the actions that our national and state governments are taking today will be quick and decisive, and ensure that we are saving as many Australian lives as possible. The sooner we are through this event, the sooner we can all get back to normal.
One Nation has scrutinised the bill, and in the interest of speedy action and support for people across our country, will vote in favour. I do those want to address two measures we appose strongly.
Firstly the business growth front. Recently the cross bench came together to appose this legislation. We raised many, many problems with how this terrible legislation would work in practise.
We pointed out that there is already a patient capital industry in this country. This legislation will eliminate it. That will reduce competition for the major banks. That will increase returns for the banks.
We pointed out that Australian tax payers would now subsidise the local arm of foreign corporations to the detriment of Australian owned businesses. We said that the government has no place trying to pick winners in the venture capital space, no place eliminating competition for the banks.
All these objections and more have been ignored. Now I find the bill has been included in the rescue package, so we can no longer appose it. The Liberals, Nationals and Labour worked on this together.
The Liberal, Labour duopoly will do whatever it takes to transfer wealth from everyday Australians to their mates in the banks, even at the cost of wiping out our entire venture capital industry.
I thought this was a rescue package, not a wipe out the banks, wipe out the competition to the banks package. I do find one thing interesting, mister acting deputy president, one of the suggestions by Senator Patrick was to turn this fund into an underwriting fund.
That would allow the existing venture capital market to make loans the government underwrites. This is a much safer bet for the tax payers. Our risk ends as soon as the loan is made.
Imagine my surprise when I opened the rescue package and saw the guarantee of lending to small and medium enterprises bill, a 20 billion dollar fund, not an underwriting fund, a guarantee fund.
The tax payers will be guaranteed 20 billion dollars worth of loans. My first thought was, doesn’t this fund make the business growth fund moot? What has the venture capital industry done to bring the wrath of the banks down on them?
The Liberal Labour banking cheer squad have moved the risk for 20 billion dollars worth of small business loans from the banks to tax payers, yet risk is what the banks deal in. If the government is now picking up the banking sector risk, is that government becoming a bank?
So let me take that a step further, it is One Nation policy to create a peoples bank, to give the big four banks some real competition in the areas in which they are complete failures. Failures in talking about honesty and integrity and accountability.
A peoples bank would be really handy right now, at least we would be propping up a bank we own. The second area that causes us alarm is the 115 billion dollars this government and the reserve bank is about to spend on securitized mortgages.
At senate estimates earlier this month, I asked the reserve bank if they had actually checked the 300 billion dollars they’re already holding in securitized mortgages. By checked, I mean picked a trench at random, cracked it open, made sure the paperwork was in order, the properties were correctly valued, and the mortgaging income and assets were correct.
The reserve bank admitted to me that it has never opened any of these trenches. Now I know from banking victims, cases that flood my office, that mortgages are being altered after being issued.
The scam is to make a mortgage look better so it can be securitized. This government must check these things before it buys them with tax payer money. Now let me turn to the one thing that is missing from this package, and that is simply the future.
Can this government really only think a few months ahead? Where is the vision in this rescue package? Why are we not getting cracking today on nation building schemes to create new productive capacity to power this nation to a future?
To create fresh wealth for every day Australians. Where is the Bradfield scheme? Where are the dams, the power stations, the ports and airports? Where are the railways to places that need them?
We’re selling off our farms, shrinking rural Australia, shredding jobs and sending the profits from this new corporate agriculture to the Cayman Islands. Where are the governments measures to save rural Australia?
Wait, Liberal Labour governments are the ones killing rural Australia for 30 years. Where is the billion dollars for South Australia’s South East drainage project? To turn the drains around and send 400 gigaliters a year of fresh water back into the Coorong.
This will save our Ramsar listed wetland, with all the tourism and commerce that brings. It will save the Menindee Lakes wetland from being drained again. It will free up hundreds of gigaliters of water for irrigation, to grow billions of dollars of food and fibre for the world and earn us exports.
Where is the government’s response to the PFAS contamination? Yes that will be expensive to fix, yet it will inject billions into regions right across Australia, as we move effected residents out into like for like properties, and remediate the environmental damage. What a perfect time to be doing that.
What about restoring land rights, land use rights to farmers who bought them, yet the Howard Liberal government and many state Labour governments since have stolen without compensation.
If not under our constitution, farmers, if not restored under our constitution, farmers need to be compensated. Restoration or compensation, so our farmers can get on with the job. What about stopping the waste of billions on subsidies for expensive, intermittent solar and wind power?
Bring jobs back to Australia with affordable energy using our abundance of energy currently exported to our competitors for cheap energy. The minister of age care today told us that a major global source of personal protective equipment for healthcare and age care workers is, wait for it, Wuhan, the virus epicentre.
This virus has taught us about the stupidity and the cost of the globalist elites in United Nations preaching interdependence. This virus shows that interdependence is really dependency.
We need to restore our productive capacity, our economic resilience and our economic independence. One Nation would build for our future and put people to work, not just put the entire nation onto unemployment benefits.
For this, we rely on our government to protect us, to help protect our health, our economy, our jobs and our way of life. In all respects, we need decisive action and we need it now. People need reassurance, confidence, hope, support and care.
Today I asked the government questions about why they have chosen to use the Mitigation strategy to deal with the Corona Virus rather than the Suppression method
Mitigation, involves voluntary isolation and trying to reduce the impact like Italy and the USA, yet this has the potential that very soon we will overwhelm our healthcare system.
Suppression, is the enforced isolation of the population like in Taiwan recently. It involves aggressive testing and then managed treatment – not only has significantly lower fatalities, it has much, much less impact on economy.
Senator Cash’s first answer showed no understanding of the two vastly different strategies available to national governments.
Second answer: reportedly South Koreans test everyone’s temperature when entering buildings/workplaces and if high temp they get tested for CV. Then if fail the test, isolated. If pass the test go to work with a note saying high temp is not due to CV.
Additionally I asked why Australia’s hospital beds: in the 55 years from 1961 to 2015, the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people in Australia fell from 12 to 3.8, a decrease of two-thirds.
In Italy, the number fell from nine to 3.5. In South Korea, though, it has risen from less than one to almost 12. In Japan it increased from nine to 13. What will be the impact of high immigration numbers on coronavirus’s potential for overwhelming our hospital system?
The signs are that a senior minister does not understand the core issues that are in play. She parrots the stock answers from the Department.
There is data now that shows we need to question everything and get the data that is now becoming available around the world.
Transcript
Thank you, Mr. President, my question is to the minister representing the Minister for Health. Has the minister gathered data to compare the two different virus management approaches being mitigation, used in Italy, France, and U.S.A. and elsewhere, or suppression, practised successfully in Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore? In asking this question, I note that South Korea first let things get out of hand like Italy, and then, through rigorous testing, specific isolation and treatment, the South Koreans quickly brought it under control at minimal cost and with minimal disruption to their economy. Has the minister gathered data to compare the two different virus management approaches, being mitigation, that has failed, and suppression that is proving to be so effective and successful?
[President] The minister representing the Minister for Health, Senator Cash.
Thank you, Mr. President, and I thank Senator Roberts for his question. In relation to the gathering of data itself, I will take that on notice, but in terms of the Australian Government’s approach, Senator Roberts, I’ll reconfirm what the Minister for Finance, the Leader of the Government, has stated. This is an unprecedented challenge and it has required an unprecedented response. In terms of the Australian Government’s response, you’d be aware, Australia is well-placed with a world-class health system. We also have a health system and health emergency responses that are flexible, they are scalable, and they are able to respond effectively to the evolving situation. Australia has been responding to rapid changes in the epidemiology of COVID-19 and activated and is implementing the Australian Health Sector Emergency Response plan for Novel Coronavirus, which as you now know, is known as the COVID-19 Plan. Australia, because of the response that we have taken, is well-placed to respond to ill travellers and those at risk of contracting infection with border isolation, surveillance, and contact tracing mechanisms already in place. You’ll also be aware that a 24/7 national coronavirus health information line is available. for the benefit of Hansard, on 1800 020 080, and what this health line actually does is provides health and situation information on the COVID-19 outbreak. Senator Roberts, I would also point out, this is very, very important, the Australian Government is also aware of COVID-19 disinformation, misinformation, and scams–
Order, Senator Cash.
Targeting Australians.
[President] Time for the answer has expired. Senator Roberts, a supplementary question.
Thank you, Mr. President. Minister, if the Government adopted rigorous testing, combined with strict isolation for people with the virus, and for vulnerable people, then most every day Australians could return to work with minimal disruption to them or our economy. Has the minister modelled this, and will you consider changing Australia’s mitigation strategy that is failing disastrously in Italy and wherever it is used, and instead adopt a rigorous testing and suppression strategy, reportedly highly successful in South Korea and elsewhere?
[President] Senator Cash.
Thank you, Mr. President. Senator Roberts, to confront the threat of Coronavirus the Australian Government is ensuring, we know who has it, and where they are. Australia actually, as the Minister for Health has said often, has one of the highest Coronavirus testing rates in the world. I’ll just repeat that, one of the highest Coronavirus testing rates in the world with over 135,000 tests, they have been completed so far. In terms of the outcome of those tests, for every 100 tests completed, 99 have returned a negative result. I’ll say that again, for every 100 tests completed, 99 have returned a negative result. And that is why it is important that testing is only undertaken where the patient meets the national guidelines for testing.
[President] Order, Senator Cash. Senator Roberts, a final supplementary question.
Minister, a second associated factor, hospital beds. In the 55 years from 1961 to 2015, the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people in Australia fell from 12 to 3.8, a decrease of two-thirds. In Italy, the number fell from nine to 3.5. In South Korea, though, it has risen from less than one to almost 12. Japan increased from nine to 13. What would be the impact of high immigration numbers on coronavirus’ potential for overwhelming of our hospital system?
[President] Senator Cash.
Well again, Senator Roberts, the Australian Government has put in place incredibly strict procedures at the border. You will actually be aware that we have taken a number of decisions in relation to those who are now able to enter Australia, and in fact, a number of the states themselves, and Queensland being the most recent, have also now put in place very, very strict procedures in relation to who is able to enter the particular state, and if they do, in terms of the self-isolation that they are now required to undertake. So, Senator Roberts, in answer to your question, the Australian Government has taken a comprehensive response to the issues that you have raised.
I spoke about 3 “free trade” agreements that the Liberal, National and Labor party have voted together to approve.
Globalists united!
While there is some fantastic news for farmers, the Indonesian agreement is a stinker.
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My first comment, Mr President is to criticise this Government for bundling 3 free trade agreements into the one piece of legislation. It is no wonder that we are being forced to vote for or against these agreements as some bizarre “job lot”, because the Indonesia Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is a stinker.
The dishonesty from this government extends beyond bundling the agreements. It extends to the lies this Government is telling about the agreements.
Let me talk about ISDS – Investor State Dispute Settlement provisions in all 3 of these agreements before us today.
These clauses allow private companies to sue the Australian Government if our actions cost them money.
Let me give you some examples.
When President Putin came to power he took on the corrupt Oligarchs that exploited the end of communism to steal everything worth stealing, and then pay no taxes on all this wealth. Putin cleaned up the oligarchs and many fled overseas. From there they used ISDS provisions to sue Putin for acting in Russia’s best interests, and for making them pay their fair share of tax. And they won Mr President.
Now I know why Prime Minister Morrison loves ISDS provisions so much. Large corporates paying their fair share of tax, Mr President, not on the Prime Minister’s watch!
Renco Group Inc., a company owned by one of the richest men in America, invested in a metal smelter Peru which is one of the 10 most polluted mining sites in the world. Peru took Renco to their local court to force Renco to install sulphur filters to make the air in neighbouring villages breathable.
A local Court found in the villagers favour, but then Renco moved the case to an ISDS panel and won.
This is One Nation’s objections to ISDS provisions. It takes justice away from everyday Australians and moves it into international Courts where even a small case costs in the tens of millions.
In these courts there is no national interest, there is no thoughts of common law protections of our inaliable human rights, no consideration of basic principles of justice.
National interest is subverted to corporate profits and to hell with the consequences for everyday citizens.
Could this heartless liberal nationals government be summed up any better than that.
Let me turn to labour market provisions. This agreement allows Indonesia to supply 4100 new temporary visa holders into the Australian market, rising to 5000 annually by 2024.
In addition, this agreement requires Australia to send trainers to Indonesia to skill their labour force up to Australian standards, so even more can come over.
We are not asking if they are going to take jobs from everyday Australians. We are not asking what effect this will have on the lives, businesses and wages of tradies and construction workers in particular.
Mr President there are currently 1.4 million of these temporary work visa holders in Australia. Every new trade agreement brings more.
Co-incidentally there are also 1.4 million Australians who are unemployed or underemployed.
Yet all we hear from the Government, and oddly today, from the ALP, is that this immigration leads to more jobs.
If more of these workers leads to jobs growth Mr President when is that going to happen?
When are our 1.4 million unemployed and underemployed going to benefit from all these corporate trade agreements?
The answer Mr President is that it will not. These agreements exist to bring in large numbers of foreign workers, to drive down wages and maximise corporate profits.
Australian is used to that from the Liberal National Party. My question, Mr President, is why is the Australian Labor Party voting for this stinker?
Aren’t you supposed to be the party of labour?
Aren’t you supposed to protect Australian workers?
Apparently not.
There is one aspect of these agreements that One Nation does support. This is the expansion of Australia’s farm exports.
A half a million tonnes of grain to Indonesia along with a 1300% increase in cattle exports by 2050. Dairy gets another $6 million in exports. Carrot and potato tariffs are eliminated.
The Peru agreement will eliminate a 17 per cent tariff on beer, a 9 per cent tariff on wine and will allow market access for Australian sugar, dairy, beef, lamb, cereals and nuts.
In a time of drought these targets may be at best theoretical, but this drought will not last forever. It will rain again and when it does, these additional markets will be critical to getting our farmers back on their feet. Our struggling manufacturing sector will benefit from another 250,000 tonnes of steel to Indonesia, and from market access to Peru for our pharmaceutical and minerals markets.
Ultimately, the absolute necessity of keeping our economy out of recession by developing these new markets has decided our vote on this matter.
In response to a motion from Senator Hanson-Young, I outlined how the Greens keep changing their position until the UN’s Agenda 2030 Sustainable goals are reached.
The Greens in Tasmania led the war against the forestry industry for decades in the name of conservation. This war against the sustainable forestry industry has seen a decline in the industry, including jobs losses and communities struggling to survive.
In its place the Greens argued, would spring a new tourism boom that would enable Australians and international visitor a chance to visit the incredible natural Tasmanian wilderness.
So now that the free market is looking to invest in the Greens new tourism industry, what do they want to do? Change the rules. They want to change the rules because their intent was never to transition from forestry to tourism but to lock-up and lock-out everyone from enjoying nature.
So what do “high end resorts” bring? High end customers. Wealthy consumers who will help create jobs, create thriving communities with high-end local services and products. Not everyone likes a rugged camping holiday, or a rustic bungalow, some like to have some modern comforts and turning away these consumers is an idea that could only be dreamed up in the fairyland that the Greens exist in.
