A national campaign has been launched to support the recovery of Australia’s small businesses by calling on all Australians to ‘Go Local First’.

Funded by the Morrison Government, the campaign led by the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) will urge Australians to ‘Go Local First’ when purchasing products and services to help the small business sector get back on its feet.

The campaign will highlight the vital role of small businesses in our nation’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

Minister for Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash said now more than ever Australian small businesses needed local communities to back them and support their recovery by choosing to shop with them either in-person or online.

“Australians know when they make the choice to go to their local small businesses, they are supporting their community and the national economy as a whole,” Minister Cash said.

“The ‘Go Local First’ campaign will feature numerous small businesses from across Australia including cafes, chemists, retailers, trades, hairdressers, butchers, accountants and bookkeepers.”

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta MP said spending with local small businesses kept money within our communities and helped the local economy thrive.

“This campaign is all about getting behind your local small business whether it is your local baker, plumber, barista or butcher for example,” Mr Vasta said.

“Every small business employs locals in our community and it’s time we all come together and support one another.

“The resourcefulness of Australians working together will see us emerge stronger on the other side.

“I encourage everyone in our local community to actively support this campaign and do whatever you can to back our fantastic small and family businesses and Go Local First.”

Over the coming months, Australians will see the ‘Go Local First’ message on TV, radio, online and in their community.

For more information on the campaign visit www.golocalfirst.com.au

The Morrison Government’s updated Defence Strategy and ongoing commitment to maximising Australian industry involvement in Defence capability projects will create new jobs and investment in Queensland over the coming decade and beyond.

As detailed in the 2020 Defence Strategic Update and 2020 Force Structure Plan released by Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP and Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC today, the Government will invest a record $270 billion in Defence capability and infrastructure over the next decade across Australia.

Through this Plan, there will be a $3 billion investment over the coming decade into the refresh and redevelopment of Defence facilities in Queensland including:

• Southern Queensland sites including Gallipoli Barracks (Enoggera), Swartz Barracks (Oakey), Borneo Barracks (Cabarlah), Kokoda Barracks (Canungra) and RAAF Base Amberley; and
• Northern Queensland sites including Lavarack Barracks (Townsville), RAAF Base Townsville, RAAF Base Scherger; HMAS Cairns; and Shoalwater Bay and Townsville Field training areas.

Local industry involvement in the delivery of these projects will be maximised through this Government’s Local Industry Capability Plan initiative.

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta MP said this would ensure local suppliers, contractors and tradies had the opportunity to secure more of this work, creating more jobs for local communities in Queensland.

This investment comes on top of the Government’s significant investment in building and sustaining Australian Defence Force capability in Queensland.

Over the 12 months to March 2020, Defence has invested around $3 billion in Queensland. Examples of key programs and activities in Queensland include:

• The supply of medium and heavy trailers to support Army’s field vehicles providing around 95 jobs
• Satellite ground station delivery planning and management and planning for Defence operations maintaining around 20 highly skilled jobs
• The provision of tactical communications networks for the Army supporting around 245 jobs
• The sustainment of hydrographic ships and associated vessels at facilities in Cairns supporting approximately 120 jobs
• Support, maintenance and training services for Army’s rotary fleet at Oakey supporting around 175 jobs
• Sustainment management of the KC-30 air-to-air efueling capability supporting around 270 jobs
• Maintenance and upgrades of the Australian-built Bushmaster providing around 80 jobs to ensure ADF personnel are protected against explosive and ballistic threats on the battlefield.

Significantly, the Morrison Government is investing $5.2 billion to deliver, 211 Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles, 186 of which will be built in South East Queensland.

Today, Queensland is home to around 28,000 Defence personnel, including ADF permanent and reserve members and Australian Public Service employees. This number is forecasted to grow over the coming years.

The policies and investment in the 2020 Defence Strategic Update and 2020 Force Structure Plan will make the ADF more capable for the wide range of scenarios Australia will face in the future, more agile to rapid changes, and more potent if a situation should call for it.

What is more, much of this investment in Australia’s defence capabilities will go directly to Australian industry, creating jobs and skills. This Government’s investment in defence capability is already benefitting around 15,000 Australian businesses, who support around 70,000 Australian workers. These numbers are set to increase in line with these new opportunities for Australian industry.

This is a comprehensive plan to further build the resilience, agility and capability of the ADF, and create a more secure and safe Australia. The people of Queensland can have confidence that this Government will ensure that we can defend our nation and protect our interests today and into the future.

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta MP has officially launched the Bonner Winter Essentials Drive to donate goods to local charities and organisations supporting people in our community doing it tough.

Mr Vasta said the coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on local communities and as a result, local organisations supporting vulnerable people were finding their resources stretched.

“Nationally our government has delivered emergency relief funding to many of these organisations, including an additional $200 million under the Community Support Package,” Mr Vasta said.

“However, with more than 21,000 people in Queensland living rough, either through boarding houses, supported accommodation or sleeping out in the cold, at a local level there is always more we can do.

“Bonner’s local charities and organisations always go above and beyond to support vulnerable people in our community and this is our chance to make a difference and give back.”

Mr Vasta said he was seeking donations of non-perishable food items, hygiene products and blankets to donate to Bonner charities.

“My office in Wynnum will be a drop off point for donations, and local Councillors Steven Huang and Ryan Murphy have also offered to be collection points for the Bonner Winter Essentials Drive,” Mr Vasta said.

“This is the first global pandemic we have faced and just like in times of natural disaster, we need our community to come together and help each other out.”

Drop off locations:

• Office of Ross Vasta MP – 69 Clara Street, Wynnum
• Office of Cr Ryan Murphy – Shop 8 Millenium Centre, 14 Millenium Blvd, Carindale
• Office of Cr Steven Huang – 2072 Logan Rd, Upper Mt Gravatt

From July 1 2020, more than 17,000 small and family businesses in Bonner will be paying less tax as a result of legislated tax cuts passed by the Morrison Government.

As the 2020-2021 financial year begins, incorporated small and family businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million will see their company tax rate reduced from 27.5 per cent to 26 per cent.

Unincorporated businesses will also benefit as the rate of the small business income tax offset increases from 8 per cent to 13 per cent.

The changes mark the next stage of the Morrison Government’s accelerated small business tax cuts, legislated in October 2018, which brought forward tax relief for small and medium businesses by five years.

Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business Michaelia Cash said this was a big win for the small business sector.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and with 3.5 million small businesses across the country, they are a vital part of our COVID-19 recovery,” Minister Cash said.

“As COVID-19 health restrictions ease and the economy re-opens, this tax relief will support Australian small and family businesses to bounce back stronger and get to the other side of this crisis.”

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta MP said bringing forward these tax cuts would be a shot in the arm for hard working small and family businesses in Bonner.

“At a time when they need it most, these tax cuts will lead to more investment, increased employment opportunities for Australians and helping small business owners keep more of their money,” Mr Vasta said.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said these legislated tax cuts would provide further support to small business during the COVID-19 crisis.

“The Coalition Government has delivered extensive support for small and medium sized businesses during the COVID-19 crisis,” Minister Frydenberg said.

“We have extended the Instant Asset Write Off to $150,000 for another six months, are providing the Cash Flow Boost of up to $100,000 for employing small businesses, and are boosting access to capital through our COVID-19 SME Guarantee Scheme.

“This is in addition to the extensive income support JobKeeper, JobSeeker, and our Supporting Apprentices & Trainees wage subsidy are providing to support small businesses and sole traders across Australia.”

The Morrison Government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme has had an incredibly successful first year and from today, an additional 10,000 loan guarantees are now available for first home buyers over the next 12 months through participating lenders.

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta MP said the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme was a key election commitment of the Morrison Government, and cut years off the time it took for Australians to save for a deposit.

“The Scheme has so far provided 10,000 guarantees to eligible first home buyers to allow them to purchase a modest home with a deposit of as little as five per cent,” Mr Vasta said.

“The Scheme can also be used in conjunction with the Morrison Government’s First Home Super Saver Scheme and HomeBuilder, and first home buyers may also be eligible for state and territory grants and concessions.

“National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) data shows applications for guaranteed loans are being received from all parts of our community, be it in our capital cities, regional centres or rural areas.”

In the Scheme’s first year of operation, data also showed guaranteed loans went to applicants whose income were well below the Scheme’s caps.

The average income of single applicants is $66,488 ($125,000 cap) and for couples $109,410 ($200,000 cap).

The Scheme has proven most popular with first home buyers under the age of 30 years of age who secured 59 per cent of guarantees, and 12 per cent of guarantees have been secured by Australians over the age of 40.

The largest amount of applications for guaranteed loans, 45 per cent, were made through mortgage brokers.

For more information and eligibility criteria visit NHFIC’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme website: https://www.nhfic.gov.au/what-we-do/fhlds/

The Morrison Government has announced reforms to higher education to increase the number of graduates in areas of expected employment growth and demand.

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta MP said university students would now pay less for their degree if they study in areas of expected employment growth.

“Our Government’s new package is focused on better preparing students to succeed in the jobs of the future,” Mr Vasta said.

“To power our post-COVID economic recovery, we will make a bigger contribution to degrees in areas of expected employment growth such as nursing and teaching, making them cheaper for students to undertake study in a job with a guaranteed career pathway.

“The Coalition Government will also provide an additional 39,000 university places by 2023 to meet the expected increase in demand because of COVID-19.”

Mr Vasta said the package would restructure higher education funding to better align the cost and revenue of a university degree, with around 60 per cent of students seeing a reduction or no change in their student contribution.

“Course fees for current students will be grandfathered, with the new funding model applied to students who commence their studies from 2021,” Mr Vasta said.

“Students in Bonner will continue to have access to the world’s most generous income contingent loan scheme­, the Higher Education Loan Program.”

From 2021, students will pay:

• 46 per cent less to study teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English and languages
• 62 per cent less to study agriculture and math, and
• 20 per cent less to study health, architecture, environmental science, IT, and engineering.

Cutting down on our waste footprint and improving recycling methods were the main topics of the first Bonner Youth Advisory Council (BYAC) meeting on Monday, June 22.

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta MP said each high school in his electorate was invited to select students to take part in the program, as a chance to be the youth voice of the region.

“The BYAC participants were chosen as future leaders and the youth voice for their school to discuss and share the issues that matter most to them,” Mr Vasta said.

“The first meeting was held on Monday via Zoom and our special guest was the Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management Trevor Evans.”

Mr Vasta said topics discussed included how young people could encourage others to cut down on their waste footprint, and how the Government could support young people to achieve a reduction in their waste footprint.

“We had some great questions including how we’ve improved recycling in Australian and what policies we’re looking at to keep going down the path of plastic free, like supermarkets have done,” Mr Vasta said.

“The BYAC meeting was also a great opportunity to learn more about the role Assistant Minister Evans plays in shaping this policy area and the students who took part really did a fantastic job asking questions.

“I also shared some insight on some of the great waste management programs already operating in Bonner, including the Ocean Crusaders bottle cap recycling scheme.

“The more young people learn about the role we play in the community, it provides them a greater opportunity to get involved, give feedback and influence change on the issues they care about.”

Mr Vasta said he wanted to congratulate everyone who took part in the BYAC Zoom meeting, and he looked forward to organising the next one.

Australians will have better access to subsidised medicines and medication management services through community pharmacy with the Morrison Government finalising a seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement (7CPA).

Under this landmark agreement, the government will continue to partner with community pharmacy to ensure Australians have access to more than 200 million subsidised Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) prescriptions each year through their community pharmacy of choice.

Medicine safety will be a key focus of the 7CPA with the Morrison Government increasing its investment in medication management services and programs to $1.2 billion over five years, which is an additional $100 million investment compared to actual expenditure in the Sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement.

Minister for Health Greg Hunt MP said elderly Australians, people with chronic conditions and Australians on concession cards would benefit from this increased investment through simplified and improved Community Pharmacy medication management, and adherence programs, such as dose administration aids and medicine checks.

“There will also be greater support for regional, rural and remote pharmacies to deliver community pharmacy services with reforms to the Rural Pharmacy Maintenance Allowance to adopt the Modified Monash Model for rural classification,” Minister Hunt said.

“Our Government will also implement reforms to improve access to medicines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by expanding the number of people eligible for the Closing the Gap PBS Co-payment measure.”

This program provides free or lower cost medicines to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who have, or at risk of, chronic disease.

There will be greater transparency for consumers on the cost of their medicines, and the government will reduce the level of discretionary fees that can to be charged on medicines priced below the general patient co-payment.

Consumers will continue to have access to cheaper medicines through the continuation of the optional $1 discount on PBS co-payments.

The Morrison Government will also work to support the adoption of a nationally consistent approach to vaccinations available through community pharmacies.

The 7CPA signed by the Commonwealth, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and for the first time the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, will commence on July 1, 2020 and be in place until June 30, 2025.

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta MP said the 7CPA demonstrated the Morrison Government’s ongoing support for patients and community pharmacy.

“This agreement acknowledges the role Australia’s community pharmacies have played and continue to play in our government’s efforts to improve the health of all Australians,” Mr Vasta said.

“Community pharmacies have played a central role in supporting their community during the recent bushfires and have kept their doors open to support patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Remuneration for the dispensing of subsidised PBS medicines, community pharmacy medication management programs and services, is expected to be $18.3 billion over the five years of the agreement.

The Morrison Government will provide greater funding predictability for the dispensing of PBS medicines by community pharmacies through structural reforms to dispensing remuneration, and risk sharing arrangements to ensure Australians continue to have timely access to safe and affordable medicines for the next five years.

Reforms to pharmaceutical wholesaling and the Community Service Obligation Funding Pool arrangements will ensure pharmaceutical wholesalers can continue to support community pharmacies in providing equitable and timely access to medicines for all Australians, particularly those living outside our major cities.

The Morrison Government continues to make more medicines available for patients through the PBS. Since 2013, our Government has approved more than 2,400 new or amended medicine listings on the PBS.

This represents an average of around 30 medicine listings or amendments per month – or one each day – at an overall investment by the Government of $11.6 billion.

Taken together, the measures agreed as part of the 7CPA underscore the Morrison Government’s rock solid commitment to ensuring that Australians can access essential, affordable medicines and community pharmacy services, when and where they need them.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Procedure is holding a public hearing as part of its inquiry examining the practice and procedure relating to question time in the House.

Chair of the committee Mr Ross Vasta said the Committee would hold a public hearing by teleconference tomorrow, 4 June.

“This is the first of the Committee’s public hearings into this inquiry,” Mr Vasta said.

“The committee will hear from a range of witnesses about how Question Time can be improved.

“I’m really looking forward to the feedback and looking into ways we can make it easier for people to engage with question time and be part of the process.”

The Committee has received more than 40 submissions and has conducted surveys to seek suggestions from the public and from Members on the rules and conventions around question time and opportunities for change.

At the conclusion of its inquiry, the Committee will make recommendations to the House for its consideration. Further information about the inquiry is available on the Committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday, 4 June 2020
Time: 11am to 3.45 pm
Location: Teleconference

Indicative times:

11am – 12 noon: Mr Harry Jenkins
1pm – 2pm: Ms Anna Burke
2pm –2.45pm: Professor Colleen Lewis
3pm–3.45pm: Accountability Roundtable

3.45pm: Close

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Investing in low emissions technologies to strengthen our economy and support jobs and businesses is a Morrison Government priority as we navigate the road to recovery from COVID-19.

The government has released the Technology Investment Roadmap discussion paper to bring a strategic and system-wide view on future investments in low emissions technologies.

With an opportunity to develop new industries and jobs, investing in new and emerging low-emission technologies is a win for the economy and a win for the environment.

Federal Member for Bonner Ross Vasta MP said the Technology Investment Roadmap was the next step in the Morrison Government’s technology not taxes approach to reducing emissions.

“We are focused on putting Australia at the forefront of research and development and maintaining our strong track record of reducing global emissions,” Mr Vasta said.

“Emissions are lower today than when we were elected in 2013 and deploying the right technology when and where it is needed will allow Australia to capture new opportunities to reduce emissions even further.

“Real action on technology, not taxes, is the pathway to further remissions reduction here and around the world.”

Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said there was enormous potential in technologies like hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, soil carbon sequestration, biofuels, resources and energy exports to reduce emissions while strengthening our economy.

“This is about developing technologies to support jobs growth and this is also about ensuring mums and dads and small businesses are paying a fair cost for energy, and not imposing taxes on them,” Minister Taylor said.

“At its core, this is about technology not taxes.

“It means reducing emissions, not reducing jobs and the economy and it is an approach based on rigour, confidence, optimism, and Australian ingenuity not ideology.

“The alternative is to sign up to long term targets without a clear plan, an approach that will penalise energy-intensive industries and reduce economic activity.”

The Roadmap goals will be developed in consultation with industry, researchers and the financial sector, with progress reported through an annual Low Emissions Technology Statement.

The Roadmap will be a cornerstone of Australia’s Long Term Emissions Reduction Strategy, to be released ahead of COP26.

The Government has already made substantial investments in clean energy technology, with more than $10 billion invested in more than 670 clean energy projects with a total project value in excess of $35 billion.

To contribute to this important national conversation or learn more about the Roadmap process, visit https://consult.industry.gov.au/climate-change/technology-investment-roadmap/.

Written submissions are open until Sunday 21 June 2020.