Coronavirus Australia: Morrison government’s coronavirus policies ‘saved 16,000 lives’

Scott Morrison praises nation’s response to the coronavirus crisis, saying his government’s policies saved thousands.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Scott Morrison has praised the nation’s response to the coronavirus crisis, declaring his government’s health response had saved the lives of 16,000 Australians.

The Prime Minister welcomed the improving situation in Victoria and said the “light was getting a little brighter” as he paid tribute to the resilience of Australians as he addressed colleagues in a party room meeting on Tuesday ahead of the release of the most significant budget since World War II.

Mr Morrison conceded that the measures announced on Tuesday evening would be “extraordinary” but he insisted the government would continue to be guided by its economic principles with any fiscal support being “temporary, targeted and proportionate.”

“It’s extraordinary in what will be announced tonight but we maintain the system of principles and actions of temporary, targeted, proportionate response to challenges we face,” he said.

He cited new data from the Medical Journal of Australia, released on Monday, that used mortality data at the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak in March and April to calculate the number of lives that would have been lost if Australia’s coronavirus outbreak had been as widespread as the UK.

The modelling calculated that there would have been an extra 16,313 deaths in Australia.

“The recent analysis of medical journal of Australia, indicating that Australia’s responses saved an estimated 16,000 lives across our country,” Mr Morrison said. “One of the few countries in the world to have been able to navigate and both health and economic crises, alongside those such as Norway, or South Korea.”

Mr Morrison said the world had never seen a recession of this scale at a time when the economy was so globally interconnected, but argued the budget should provide Australians with “confidence, assurance and hope” as the nation begins to rebuild.

He said the Coalition would continue to demonstrate they were responsible economic managers and new measures would “empower Australians to be able to plan for their future with confidence.”

“It’s about building a plan to deal with challenges of today, tomorrow, and for the future,” he said.

He also took aim at former Labor government’s economic management, declaring that despite the scale of investment his government had made, the nation hadn’t “seen the type of waste from previous large government interventions” such as school halls and cash for clunkers.

“The Coalition continue to demonstrate our responsible approach as economic managers. The last six years have been really about building resilience for uncertainty and those uncertain times have well and truly come,” he said.

Mr Morrison said 760,000 jobs had already come back online since widespread lockdowns saw many businesses shutter their doors.

He said government investment in energy, skills and infrastructure would create “more competitive environments that are consistent with LNP principles and generates growth.”

He praised outgoing Finance Minister Mathias Cormann’s contribution to the nation’s strong economic position, declaring he had been like the “spirit level of the budget.”

Some Coalition backbenchers raised concern over the pressures faced by travel agents with others raising issues about labour shortfalls in the agriculture sector.

Mr Morrison said the recession had been “distressing” for many people, telling the meeting that while the government can cushion the blow of the economic crisis it can’t eliminate the problem for all businesses.

He said the cabinet’s expenditure review committee had doubled its meetings since last year to tackle COVID-19-related challenges.