Scott Morrison says coronavirus stimulus package is in the works

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has hinted that a stimulus package will be introduced as the coronavirus threat ramps up across Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said Australia is “well prepared” to face the coronavirus threat, hinting that a stimulus package was in the works as part of the government’s economic response to the epidemic.

Mr Morrison said the government was still working on the details of the package but announced the Treasury is “working closely together with the other relevant agencies of government to address the boost that we believe will be necessary”.

“It will be a targeted plan. It will be a measured plan. It will be a scalable plan. It will be targeted on the real diagnosis of the economic issue we are looking to confront here,” he told reporters.

The Prime Minister said the government would ensure they “do not make the same mistakes” that have been seen when past stimulus measures were introduced.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison the Federal Government will soon release a strategy outlining plans to help deal with the economic impact of the global coronavirus outbreak. Picture: Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

During his time as prime minister, Kevin Rudd introduced two stimulus packages, one worth $10.4 billion in 2008 and a second package worth $42 billion announced in 2009.

The second package included a $950 cash bonus for every Australian taxpayer who earned less than $80,000.

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The decision was criticised by other members of parliament as it put the budget into deficit.

Mr Morrison said there was a lot to be learned from the past stimulus packages.

“There is a lot of learning from what happened last time and it is important that as the business sector bounces back, as it will on the other side of this, this is why this health crisis with economic, significant economic implications, is different from a global financial crisis,” he said.

“If you don’t work to get the details of a package like this right, then it can have very serious implications, both economically and more broadly, and frankly, we saw that last time, and we don’t intend to repeat those mistakes.”

He said the government was focusing on securing jobs, cash flow and investment as the impact of the coronavirus continues to unfold.

Coronavirus fears start to reverberate around Westmead Hospital. Picture: Jeremy Piper

There have been 34 cases detected in Australia, with 21 people fully recovered and one death.

The Prime Minister said at the moment he wasn’t concerned about how a mass outbreak might impact the supply of goods in Australia, but noted that possibility was being taken into consideration with the government’s plan.

“My objective is to support Australians through a very difficult challenge, to keep them in work, to keep their businesses in business,” Mr Morrison said.

“And the truth of this matter is this is a significant virus and it is taking hold around the world at a very rapid rate. But Australia is in a very good position to respond to this.

“We are not immune from it but we will get through it. We will get to the other side of this. And on the other side, I have every confidence that we will see the economy bounce back and Australians will thrive once more.”

Mr Morrison said he has received confirmation from Coles and Woolworths that they have measures in place in regards to their supply lines.

Woolworths Hornsby's toilet tissue racks were ransacked by cautious shoppers preparing for the coronavirus to worsen. Picture: Kaitlyn Hudson-O'Farrell

There have been numerous reports of stores being left with empty shelves after people rushed to stockpile supplies in preparation for the virus.

He urged Australians not to panic and to go about their business as usual.

Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said there was no reason for people to panic buy.

“We do have a very advanced pandemic plan, we are working across every part of the health system to make sure that we are prepared for any eventuality,” he said.

“But at this stage, we have small numbers of cases that are controlled and the community can be reassured that there is no reason to change normal behaviours.”

Travel bans remain in place for foreign nationals arriving from Iran and China, but the government has indicated further travel bans are unlikely to have any effect on the spread of the disease.

Globally there have been more than 90,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 3117 deaths.