Mr MORTON (Tangney—Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet) (15:27): I rise to speak on this matter of public importance. These are serious times and they call on serious people. And the member for Shortland's 10 minutes of fame is up. That was an amazing performance for the member for Shortland. But this government is focused on making important decisions on the issues that matter to Australians. And we can commit the funding needed to address the problems that this country faces because of the strong economic and fiscal budget that this government oversees. I'm going to run through a range of those issues and challenges that we're facing and that we're committing support to—and we're able to do that because of that strong fiscal and budget management of this government. This country is in drought. Australian farmers have had to contend with a terrible drought and this government has stepped up to support them. The government's plan in relation to drought is to provide immediate help to directly help those people experiencing hardships, to help local communities find local solutions and to invest in long-term resilience measures. We're investing more than $8 billion in drought-relief work, including $1 billion announced since the election. I'm going to run through those spending initiatives, because that's what this matter of public importance is about. Firstly, Shane Stone is heading up the National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency, putting staff on the ground to make sure that our response is right. There's $47 million to extend the Drought Communities Programme to more councils, $20 million to help keep kids in school, and $5 million for child care. There's $1 billion worth of drought loans of up to $2 million, with no repayments and no interest for the first two years to make it cheaper for farmers to buy fodder, transport stock, build water infrastructure, agist cattle, mend fences and refinance their existing debts. I see those opposite don't appear to be so interested in what the government is doing to respond to the needs of Australians when they need it. They were here for the performance and the theatrics of the member for Shortland, but they have disappeared. The Australian government, in conjunction with the South Australian government, has struck a deal to secure 100 gigalitres of water that farmers can buy at a discounted rate if they are going to contribute to growing fodder with that water—120,000 tonnes of fodder, to help those drought affected communities get back onto their feet. As we know, Australia has suffered from bushfires, and I have joined the Prime Minister in visiting individuals and communities that have been affected. This government has stepped up. This government has made responsible spending decisions to support those communities—not just those communities that are directly affected, but those communities and those economies that are also broadly affected in our economy. We take this job and this role very seriously. There's $76 million to support the tourism recovery package, to encourage domestic and international tourism, to protect those jobs and small businesses in those economies right around Australia. There's an initial $100 million for a national clean-up package to assist those areas impacted by fire with site-clearing costs on all residences and commercial properties, with a fifty-fifty sharing arrangement with the affected states. There's $40 million to directly help the great work of those volunteer organisations like the Salvation Army Property Trust and St Vincent de Paul, who have been providing services in these communities. There's $10 million to deliver the financial counselling that is required in these communities. There's $100 million to provide grants of up to $75,000 to primary producers to deal with their immediate needs. Mr Burns interjecting— Mr MORTON: While I hear some of those opposite yawn while I go through these support mechanisms that we're putting in place to support these communities, this is not something that we should disrespect—particularly funding like $2 million to Lifeline and, in particular, Kids Helpline; there's $8 million for back-to-school mental health. These communities that have been affected in these areas need the support that this government can give them, and we can only give them support, without introducing things like flood levies, because of the strong economic and fiscal management that this government presides over. In relation to the issues that are currently facing this country, there is the very serious issues of the coronavirus. Our first responsibility is to protect the Australian people, and that is exactly what this government is doing. This morning, while the Prime Minister and members of the National Security Committee were meeting, talking about our response to the coronavirus, their meetings were interrupted by the parliamentary parlour games of those opposite. Mr Brian Mitchell: Then stop gagging debate! Mr MORTON: You, members opposite— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Llew O'Brien ): Members on my left! Mr MORTON: knowing that the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General, the Minister for Health and other members of the National Security Committee were in the cabinet room discussing Australia's response to the coronavirus, were playing political parlour games and distracting those ministers and the Prime Minister from doing their job of keeping Australians safe. Shame on you! Spending decisions will come as we respond to the health and economic needs of Australians in responding to the coronavirus, and this government will stand ready, because we are strong economic and fiscal managers of our economy. I am going to share with you some of the areas that I am most excited about. In my responsibility as Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, I lead our government's deregulation agenda. As part of that, I'm responsible for the Office of Best Practice Regulation, and we have made some announcements recently in relation to the regulatory impact analysis framework, and I'm going to share those with you today. The regulatory impact statement or RIS process helps the government navigate the complex policy challenges where there are changes in the behaviour of businesses or individuals. These RISs, or the impact analysis settings, allow us to make sure that we are making decisions that are fit for purpose. We have made decisions to simplify the process for policymakers. The previous four categories of the regulatory impact statements will be condensed into one, with the level of analysis to be proportionate to the magnitude of the problem and the potential impacts. To ensure the effort put in by agencies is more accurately recognised, there will be four levels of quality assessment: insufficient, fit for purpose, good practice and exemplary. They should all aim for exemplary; that is what our expectation is of them. To ensure the focus on regulatory costs doesn't come at the expense of understanding economic and competition impacts of new proposals, agencies will still be required to include the regulatory or red tape costs in a RIS. However, the Office of Best Practice Regulation will no longer be required to agree to these costs in isolation. We will also task the Office of Best Practice Regulation, which oversees the government's RIA settings, to assess independent reviews, which can substitute for regulatory impact statements, for relevance to the problem and the recommended policy option. Well-designed, well-targeted, limited and fit-for-purpose regulation supports the government to deliver our agenda and priorities effectively. While those opposite might not be interested in the regulatory impact statements that are so important to better decision-making in government, this government is committed to making sure that these processes are fit for purpose. The hypocrisy of those opposite knows no bounds. We're asked about government spending. I refer you to the Auditor-General's report that found that when the Labor leader, the member for Grayndler, was administering programs as infrastructure minister, he disproportionately gave money to Labor seats. The ANAO report in 2011 found ministers waived the eligibility criteria for projects funded by Labor's Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program, and that a number of projects in coalition seats did not get funding. The ANAO report reads: ... whilst the majority of applications received related to projects located in a Coalition held electorate (55 per cent of all applications), the significant majority (some 82 per cent) of these were not approved for funding… … whilst 40.3 per cent of all applications related to a project in an ALP held electorate, just under 60 per cent of approved projects were in an ALP held electorate. The report also found that Mr Albanese's own office had set out the projects by electorate: In addition to the data originally provided by the department, two new columns were added to the worksheet to identify the electorate in which the project was located, and the political party that held that electorate. That's what the report said. The hypocrisy of those opposite knows no bounds. On days when the parliament and the Prime Minister are dealing with issues relating to the safety of Australians, those opposite play political parlour games in this House as opposed to allowing the government to get on with the business of government. (Time expired)