‘This is not normal’: Scott Morrison fires up at pandemic ‘meddling’

Scott Morrison has delivered a highly-charged speech where he accused “the left of politics” of wanting to meddle in people’s lives beyond the pandemic. It all but confirmed when the election will be held.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has accused “the left of politics” of wanting to continue to meddle in people’s lives beyond the pandemic, in a highly charged political speech that all but confirmed a May election.

He also revealed plans for a “balanced” restart of Australia’s migration program and a push to get under the age of 30 in the dole queue into jobs.

Speaking at the Sydney Institute’s annual dinner on Monday night, Mr Morrison appealed to a pandemic-weary population and declared it was “not normal for government to tell Australians where we can and can’t go”.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Martin Ollman/NCA NewsWire

“Australians kept their side of the deal. It is time for governments to now keep theirs; to step back and let Australians step forward,” he said.

“Why do I stress this? Because I believe some on the left of politics will draw precisely the wrong lesson from the pandemic.

“The reach of government in this pandemic is not some new norm. It has a use-by date.”

He said government should not be “a meddling, busybody overseer”.

In a clear indication he intends to follow through with a March 29 budget and May election, he declared parliament would be back in February.

To deal with the increasing skills shortage in Australia, exacerbated by international borders being slammed shut for more than 18 months, he said there would be both training for Australians and the restart of migration programs.

The Prime Minister revealed plans to get people under the age of 30 off the dole and into employment.

Mr Morrison said it would be done in a balanced way which prioritised “national unity and social cohesion”.

“We intend to keep it that way with a sustainable migration program that gets the balance right – keeping our borders secure, avoiding population pressures on our infrastructure and services and meeting the labour needs of our economy, as well as family reunion and humanitarian obligations,” he said.

The Prime Minister said there were 207,000 Australians in the Jobactive program, which links job seekers with employers, who were “job ready”.

“Nearly 40 per cent are under the age of 30. We need to get them into jobs,” he said.

The “quiet Australians” who delivered the Coalition the surprise 2019 election win were also referenced, as his said “Team Australia” had more work to do.

“Our success has been built on the resilience, strength and quiet confidence of the Australian people,” the Prime Minister said.

Originally published as ‘This is not normal’: Scott Morrison fires up at pandemic ‘meddling’