Scott Morrison says ‘there is hope’ for Australia despite economic downturn and coronavirus crisis

The PM is calling for calm as Victoria continues to grapple with a second wave of coronavirus but admits he’d still avoid the area for now.

The prime minister has addressed the ongoing coronavirus crisis in Victoria, reminding Australians that spikes in cases should not come as a shock to Australians.

Victoria recorded 33 new coronavirus cases today, its highest daily case report in months.

Speaking on A Current Affair, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said while he probably wouldn’t take his family to the hotspots in Victoria, the occasional outbreak should be expected.

“We have always said as we continue to move forward and the economy opens up, there will be outbreaks and cases and what matters is how we respond to them. They are inevitable,” Mr Morrison said.

“We can‘t expect there to be no cases. That is not success. What success is, is that we live alongside the virus, deal with the challenges that come along, keep opening up the economy, we keep getting people back into jobs.

“I‘d go to Victoria, but I wouldn’t go to the hotspots. That’s the point. There’s a localised outbreak and they’re containing that and that’s what’s important.

“If you are living in Wangaratta, you are as exposed as you are if you live in Wagga. I think we need to keep this in perspective.

“There is an outbreak in Victoria, and what would be described internationally as a modest level, but it requires a very swift and very comprehensive response and the Victorian government is leading that and they are getting strong support from other states and they are getting strong support from the federal government.”

The PM said he was proud of Australians. Picture: A Current Affair

Mr Morrison said Australians were living through “the hardest time we have seen since the Great Depression”.

“These are very hard times. Those hard times are showing themselves with people losing their work, they’re showing themselves with people losing businesses, showing themselves with people unable to connect in the way they have in times past with big family gatherings and those sorts of things,” he said.

“These are really hard times. The thing is about where we are as Australia, there is hope.

“Today the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, handed down the outlook for the local economy and they handed out an improved outlook for Australia from what they said from April to May.”

“This is the hardest time we have seen since the Great Depression but Australia is doing better than almost every other country in the world, both on the economy and on the health front we are working together to get through this.”

Mr Morrison said despite massive job cuts since the coronavirus crisis hit – the latest being at the ABC and Qantas – the PM was proud of how the country had handled it.

“I have been so proud of how Australians, despite setbacks, have clung together.

“I know what happened in my own community with what has happened with Qantas we are going to get support from each other. I think we will continue to do that.”

The PM was also questioned about how the Qantas job cuts would affect the country – especially his own electorate of Cook where most of the job cuts are expected to occur.

“These jobs have been lost because of the coronavirus. This is the COVID-19 recession. And for a business, Qantas, that needs to fly planes around the world, when you can't do that, that has an obvious impact,” Mr Morrison said.

“I have had a long association with the company, even before I went into parliament, and I know how just absolutely devastating it would be.

“Qantas is a family and there is such a level of pride in people working there and putting that uniform on regardless of what role you play.

“I was at Qantas just as COVID-19 was escalating and I went down there to thank the staff for the amazing work they did in getting Australians out of Wuhan in China. That is their nature, they always turn up.

“For my own community in the Shire in southern Sydney, they will be gutted because everyone will know someone who will ultimately be affected by this but at the same time they will, I'm sure know that this would not be completely unexpected but it won't make it any easier.”