Scott Morrison: (22:58)
As we come out of this COVID crisis and as we are on this road ahead, infrastructure development will play a critical role in our job maker plan. Our government has already committed nearly $180 billion on economic infrastructure over the next decade. And I’ll have the next slide. With more than half allocated across the four years of the [inaudible 00:10:25]. This isn’t just roads and rail that get us to work and get us to school and get goods to market and to ports. It’s dams that improve water security and underpin an expansion of high value agriculture as part of our 2030 agriculture plan. The telecommunication services that keep us connected, the poles and wires, which are critical to removing bottlenecks in our electricity grid and improving competition and driving down prices. Defense assets, which keep our nation secure and supporting many regional economies, advanced manufacturing. As we come to the end of this financial year, the Commonwealth will have invested more than $24 billion for key infrastructure projects in key government portfolios.
Scott Morrison: (24:13)
And as we move into 2021, we are pushing to do even more. Since last November, we have worked with state, territory and local governments to bring forward or inject additional investment totalling… This on top of what we’re doing… some $7.8 billion. That includes $4.2 billion for joint priority projects with the states and territories at [inaudible 00:00:24:35]. $1.75 billion in additional funding for Sydney Metro, Western Sydney Airport, fast-tracking a nearly $11 billion project that will support 14,000 jobs in the heart of Western Sydney. A $1.3 billion bring forward of the financial assistance it’s program that Deputy Prime Minister announced recently providing untied funds for all councils across Australia to use at their discretion. And that comes on top of the support as the DPM remind you of what has been done to support councils through both drought and bush fire recovery assistance.
Scott Morrison: (25:14)
$500 million in new funding to establish a new program supporting all councils to undertake local road and community infrastructure, upgrades that previously weren’t in their forward schedules, new spending. And today, I’m committing a further $1.5 billion to immediately start work on small priority projects, identified by the states and the territories as part of our partnership. As part of this package, $1 billion will be allocated to priority projects, which are shovel-ready. And being smaller projects, they’re ready to go with 500 million reserves specifically to target road safety works. This is an important opportunity to make our roads safer right across the country, not just in rural and regional areas where it is critically important.
Scott Morrison: (26:03)
… not just in rural and regional areas where it is critically important, but also in other parts of the country. Further announcements on these specific projects that will be made in coming days and soon. And the result being we will have brought forward or provided additional funding of some $9.33 billion in infrastructure investment in just the past eight months to build the pipeline of future projects. We’re determined though, to get out of the way and speed up progress by improving approvals processes. One area in which the Commonwealth has a direct regulatory role for relevant projects is through approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. According to departmental estimates, delays associated with these approvals alone costs industry over $300 million, just in 2019 and that’s not good enough.
Scott Morrison: (26:55)
The Commonwealth has already taken steps to cut project approval times under the EPBC Act. And at the end of 2019 approval decisions took 90 days on average today they take 40. That is what we achieved this year in 2020. Our goal is to cut these times by a further 25% by the end of this year and get it down to 35 for major projects. Ultimately, our objective is the streamlining of Commonwealth and state processes to a point of single touch approvals. The national cabinet has had already early discussions on how we can achieve this objective and there is already, I can assure you a high level of interest and engagement and indeed even agreement. The national cabinet will come back to this issue very shortly informed by the current review of the EPBC Act, being conducted by Graham Samuel. Now, when it comes to major projects, of course, focusing on Commonwealth approvals, won’t do much to deliver projects faster if we also don’t address the state approval processes.
Scott Morrison: (28:03)
And today I announced a priority list of 15 major projects that are now on a fast track for approval under a bilateral model between the Commonwealth States and territories. Joint assessment teams will work on accelerating these projects worth more than $72 billion in public and private investment. Projects that will support 66,000 direct and indirect jobs under. Our new project, this investment and most importantly, these jobs will be brought to market earlier by targeting a 50% reduction in Commonwealth assessment and approval times for major projects from an average of three and a half years to 21 months. Now this priority list includes the inland rail from Melbourne to Brisbane. The Meritus link between Tasmania and Victoria, Olympic dam extension in South Australia, emergency town water projects in new South Wales and road rail and iron ore projects in Western Australia. Early examples of this approach are already paying dividends and are very encouraging.
Scott Morrison: (29:09)
And I commend the New South Wales government whom we’ve been working with and we are on track to complete Commonwealth assessment and approval for the snowy 2.0 project in under two years, unlocking over 2000 regional jobs. Now successful deregulation has increased competition and economic efficiency, raising productivity, and ultimately supporting jobs and wages. Early gains have been made in the process I established with assistant minister Morton last year through the establishment of the deregulation task force.
Scott Morrison: (29:43)
Now this has already included simplifying business registers, streamlining export documentation and making it easier for a sole trader and micro business to employ people. In most cases, their first ever employee. The next phase of the task force work will zero in on areas to exist COVID-19 economic recovery. So for example, occupational licensing and registration requirements often vary across States and territories, which increases cost on business and workers who operate or move across Australia. Greater mutual recognition of qualifications and improved information flows between jurisdictions will be vital to allow Australians to take up job opportunities in coming months.
Scott Morrison: (30:27)
Secondly, COVID has shown that our laws have not kept pace with digital technology when it comes to business communications. For example, by requiring business to use paper for storing information, instead of using electronic delivery or adopting new technologies like blockchain, these laws to are right for modernization. And so today I announce that I’m bringing the deregulation task force into my own department, into the department of prime minister and cabinet as part of the government’s job maker agenda. This will further drive a whole of government approach to how regulatory policy is prosecuted supporting the assistant minister Ben Morton.
Scott Morrison: (31:05)
Our focus applies as much to the culture also of regulators as it does to the content of regulations. Sure anyone in business would understand that point that this crisis has shown what can be achieved when regulators are pragmatic and responsive solving problems without compromising safeguards. As the treasurer I know would reinforce opera in particular with the major banks to ensure that we could be dealing with deferral of loan payments and how that affects banks or capital adequacy ratios and all of these issues. Just working constructively together to solve quite a serious problem that was going to have a significant impact on whether businesses could keep their doors open.
Scott Morrison: (31:53)
The attitude of the regulator mattered as much as the regulations themselves. And so I’ve asked the assistant minister to report back on lessons learned in recent months highlighting cases where governments and regulators have responded to the COVID crisis and it’s economic fallout with urgency and with common sense. And there are many encouraging examples beyond the ones I’ve mentioned. Shop trading hours were deregulated in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia so people didn’t have to spend so long in the queues. Practical problem, practical solution by practical people.
Scott Morrison: (32:29)
Tracks were allowed to resupply along roads and during hours where they were previously burned and the sun came up the next day, it’s extraordinary. Steps were taken to ensure unnecessary professional requirements did not block nurses coming back into the workforce, common sense. At the Commonwealth level, we fast tracked approvals for drug trials, changes were made to the medical benefits scheme to promote the use of telehealth. We cut red tape to allow companies to use overseas standards for hand sanitizer. Cooperation between business and unions meant employers were empowered to reduce hours and reconfigure tasks that their employees are allowed to do, keeping people in jobs.
Scott Morrison: (33:20)
And we reduced financial reporting and other requirements that would have hit firms struggling to survive the shock as I said. As a result, businesses are able to sign documents also with electronic signatures and can conduct virtual AGM. Far from weakening high performance, this agility has helped our economy function, save jobs and has demonstrated what can be done when necessity is presented. At last Friday’s national cabinet I committed the Commonwealth to bring forward further priority is for deregulation in the Commonwealth sphere with specific targets. And I’ve asked them to match me and I’ll expect them to do the same. And I don’t believe I’ll be disappointed at all because there is a unity of purpose amongst national cabinet to get things moving, to get the jobs back.
Scott Morrison: (34:11)
It’s amazing what focus, unity and purpose can deliver. And we want to keep that going. Government of Western Australia already has bills before its legislative council to accelerate major projects, reduce red tape and facilitate bilateral agreements with the Commonwealth to remove duplication between our assessment and approval processes. And my simple message to the Western Australian parliament is passed the bill it’s good for jobs. It provides a model I believe for other state and territory jurisdictions. The productivity commission will also be tasked with informing and developing this Federation wide deregulation agenda.
Scott Morrison: (34:50)
The bringing in of experts and Brendan Murphy is now I suspect a household name, nothing I suspect he ever anticipated when venturing into his career as a public health professional many years ago. But those experts have been incredibly important to our government, to the national cabinet governments, governments all around the country. And I’ve asked the commissions chair, Michael Brennan, to brief the next national cabinet meeting on priority areas where we can work together to unlock investment and create jobs. And I look forward to his presentations as I know the premiers and the chief ministers also do. So in conclusion, Australia faces an immense challenge as we look to recover from our first recession in three decades. Those words are hard to say. For many of us, I think for most Australians, it still sinks in.
Scott Morrison: (35:45)
We worked so hard to get Australia back on the right track one and a half million jobs, a budget brought back into balance and then within space of days, it shows how important economic resilience must be for the future. It shows how we must never let the tension and the cord slacking when it comes to the important economic changes we need to make to secure Australians lives and livelihoods. We need to return that growth that will support real sustainable jobs. The wages that support families with all the decisions they want to make. And importantly, the essential services that Australians rely on. Our governments five-year job make a plan chats the way forward for a new generation of economic success. We are weathering this storm. It’s now time to gather that momentum to continue to build the confidence that we need to resume Douglas Copeland’s great adventure. Thank you very much for your attention.
As we come out of this COVID crisis and as we are on this road ahead, infrastructure development will play a critical role in our job maker plan. Our government has already committed nearly $180 billion on economic infrastructure over the next decade. And I’ll have the next slide. With more than half allocated across the four years of the [inaudible 00:10:25]. This isn’t just roads and rail that get us to work and get us to school and get goods to market and to ports. It’s dams that improve water security and underpin an expansion of high value agriculture as part of our 2030 agriculture plan. The telecommunication services that keep us connected, the poles and wires, which are critical to removing bottlenecks in our electricity grid and improving competition and driving down prices. Defense assets, which keep our nation secure and supporting many regional economies, advanced manufacturing. As we come to the end of this financial year, the Commonwealth will have invested more than $24 billion for key infrastructure projects in key government portfolios.
Scott Morrison: (24:13)
And as we move into 2021, we are pushing to do even more. Since last November, we have worked with state, territory and local governments to bring forward or inject additional investment totalling… This on top of what we’re doing… some $7.8 billion. That includes $4.2 billion for joint priority projects with the states and territories at [inaudible 00:00:24:35]. $1.75 billion in additional funding for Sydney Metro, Western Sydney Airport, fast-tracking a nearly $11 billion project that will support 14,000 jobs in the heart of Western Sydney. A $1.3 billion bring forward of the financial assistance it’s program that Deputy Prime Minister announced recently providing untied funds for all councils across Australia to use at their discretion. And that comes on top of the support as the DPM remind you of what has been done to support councils through both drought and bush fire recovery assistance.
Scott Morrison: (25:14)
$500 million in new funding to establish a new program supporting all councils to undertake local road and community infrastructure, upgrades that previously weren’t in their forward schedules, new spending. And today, I’m committing a further $1.5 billion to immediately start work on small priority projects, identified by the states and the territories as part of our partnership. As part of this package, $1 billion will be allocated to priority projects, which are shovel-ready. And being smaller projects, they’re ready to go with 500 million reserves specifically to target road safety works. This is an important opportunity to make our roads safer right across the country, not just in rural and regional areas where it is critically important.
Scott Morrison: (26:03)
… not just in rural and regional areas where it is critically important, but also in other parts of the country. Further announcements on these specific projects that will be made in coming days and soon. And the result being we will have brought forward or provided additional funding of some $9.33 billion in infrastructure investment in just the past eight months to build the pipeline of future projects. We’re determined though, to get out of the way and speed up progress by improving approvals processes. One area in which the Commonwealth has a direct regulatory role for relevant projects is through approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. According to departmental estimates, delays associated with these approvals alone costs industry over $300 million, just in 2019 and that’s not good enough.
Scott Morrison: (26:55)
The Commonwealth has already taken steps to cut project approval times under the EPBC Act. And at the end of 2019 approval decisions took 90 days on average today they take 40. That is what we achieved this year in 2020. Our goal is to cut these times by a further 25% by the end of this year and get it down to 35 for major projects. Ultimately, our objective is the streamlining of Commonwealth and state processes to a point of single touch approvals. The national cabinet has had already early discussions on how we can achieve this objective and there is already, I can assure you a high level of interest and engagement and indeed even agreement. The national cabinet will come back to this issue very shortly informed by the current review of the EPBC Act, being conducted by Graham Samuel. Now, when it comes to major projects, of course, focusing on Commonwealth approvals, won’t do much to deliver projects faster if we also don’t address the state approval processes.
Scott Morrison: (28:03)
And today I announced a priority list of 15 major projects that are now on a fast track for approval under a bilateral model between the Commonwealth States and territories. Joint assessment teams will work on accelerating these projects worth more than $72 billion in public and private investment. Projects that will support 66,000 direct and indirect jobs under. Our new project, this investment and most importantly, these jobs will be brought to market earlier by targeting a 50% reduction in Commonwealth assessment and approval times for major projects from an average of three and a half years to 21 months. Now this priority list includes the inland rail from Melbourne to Brisbane. The Meritus link between Tasmania and Victoria, Olympic dam extension in South Australia, emergency town water projects in new South Wales and road rail and iron ore projects in Western Australia. Early examples of this approach are already paying dividends and are very encouraging.
Scott Morrison: (29:09)
And I commend the New South Wales government whom we’ve been working with and we are on track to complete Commonwealth assessment and approval for the snowy 2.0 project in under two years, unlocking over 2000 regional jobs. Now successful deregulation has increased competition and economic efficiency, raising productivity, and ultimately supporting jobs and wages. Early gains have been made in the process I established with assistant minister Morton last year through the establishment of the deregulation task force.
Scott Morrison: (29:43)
Now this has already included simplifying business registers, streamlining export documentation and making it easier for a sole trader and micro business to employ people. In most cases, their first ever employee. The next phase of the task force work will zero in on areas to exist COVID-19 economic recovery. So for example, occupational licensing and registration requirements often vary across States and territories, which increases cost on business and workers who operate or move across Australia. Greater mutual recognition of qualifications and improved information flows between jurisdictions will be vital to allow Australians to take up job opportunities in coming months.
Scott Morrison: (30:27)
Secondly, COVID has shown that our laws have not kept pace with digital technology when it comes to business communications. For example, by requiring business to use paper for storing information, instead of using electronic delivery or adopting new technologies like blockchain, these laws to are right for modernization. And so today I announce that I’m bringing the deregulation task force into my own department, into the department of prime minister and cabinet as part of the government’s job maker agenda. This will further drive a whole of government approach to how regulatory policy is prosecuted supporting the assistant minister Ben Morton.
Scott Morrison: (31:05)
Our focus applies as much to the culture also of regulators as it does to the content of regulations. Sure anyone in business would understand that point that this crisis has shown what can be achieved when regulators are pragmatic and responsive solving problems without compromising safeguards. As the treasurer I know would reinforce opera in particular with the major banks to ensure that we could be dealing with deferral of loan payments and how that affects banks or capital adequacy ratios and all of these issues. Just working constructively together to solve quite a serious problem that was going to have a significant impact on whether businesses could keep their doors open.
Scott Morrison: (31:53)
The attitude of the regulator mattered as much as the regulations themselves. And so I’ve asked the assistant minister to report back on lessons learned in recent months highlighting cases where governments and regulators have responded to the COVID crisis and it’s economic fallout with urgency and with common sense. And there are many encouraging examples beyond the ones I’ve mentioned. Shop trading hours were deregulated in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia so people didn’t have to spend so long in the queues. Practical problem, practical solution by practical people.
Scott Morrison: (32:29)
Tracks were allowed to resupply along roads and during hours where they were previously burned and the sun came up the next day, it’s extraordinary. Steps were taken to ensure unnecessary professional requirements did not block nurses coming back into the workforce, common sense. At the Commonwealth level, we fast tracked approvals for drug trials, changes were made to the medical benefits scheme to promote the use of telehealth. We cut red tape to allow companies to use overseas standards for hand sanitizer. Cooperation between business and unions meant employers were empowered to reduce hours and reconfigure tasks that their employees are allowed to do, keeping people in jobs.
Scott Morrison: (33:20)
And we reduced financial reporting and other requirements that would have hit firms struggling to survive the shock as I said. As a result, businesses are able to sign documents also with electronic signatures and can conduct virtual AGM. Far from weakening high performance, this agility has helped our economy function, save jobs and has demonstrated what can be done when necessity is presented. At last Friday’s national cabinet I committed the Commonwealth to bring forward further priority is for deregulation in the Commonwealth sphere with specific targets. And I’ve asked them to match me and I’ll expect them to do the same. And I don’t believe I’ll be disappointed at all because there is a unity of purpose amongst national cabinet to get things moving, to get the jobs back.
Scott Morrison: (34:11)
It’s amazing what focus, unity and purpose can deliver. And we want to keep that going. Government of Western Australia already has bills before its legislative council to accelerate major projects, reduce red tape and facilitate bilateral agreements with the Commonwealth to remove duplication between our assessment and approval processes. And my simple message to the Western Australian parliament is passed the bill it’s good for jobs. It provides a model I believe for other state and territory jurisdictions. The productivity commission will also be tasked with informing and developing this Federation wide deregulation agenda.
Scott Morrison: (34:50)
The bringing in of experts and Brendan Murphy is now I suspect a household name, nothing I suspect he ever anticipated when venturing into his career as a public health professional many years ago. But those experts have been incredibly important to our government, to the national cabinet governments, governments all around the country. And I’ve asked the commissions chair, Michael Brennan, to brief the next national cabinet meeting on priority areas where we can work together to unlock investment and create jobs. And I look forward to his presentations as I know the premiers and the chief ministers also do. So in conclusion, Australia faces an immense challenge as we look to recover from our first recession in three decades. Those words are hard to say. For many of us, I think for most Australians, it still sinks in.
Scott Morrison: (35:45)
We worked so hard to get Australia back on the right track one and a half million jobs, a budget brought back into balance and then within space of days, it shows how important economic resilience must be for the future. It shows how we must never let the tension and the cord slacking when it comes to the important economic changes we need to make to secure Australians lives and livelihoods. We need to return that growth that will support real sustainable jobs. The wages that support families with all the decisions they want to make. And importantly, the essential services that Australians rely on. Our governments five-year job make a plan chats the way forward for a new generation of economic success. We are weathering this storm. It’s now time to gather that momentum to continue to build the confidence that we need to resume Douglas Copeland’s great adventure. Thank you very much for your attention.
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