Coronavirus Australia: Christian Porter to stand in as house leader for isolated Peter Dutton

Peter Dutton’s sons were caught-up in the Queensland schools outbreak, with Christian Porter filling in as Leader of the House this week.

Peter Dutton. Picture: Martin Ollman

Christian Porter will fill in as Leader of the House after Peter Dutton was forced into quarantine, as the Morrison government looks to pass key legislation underpinning its upgraded support for businesses and individuals affected by mandated lockdowns.

Mr Dutton, the Defence Minister and a senior member of the cabinet, will have to isolate for two weeks after his sons were caught up in the Queensland schools outbreak. He will be unable to attend parliament, with the ACT government imposing strict restrictions on MPs arriving from hotspots.

Mr Porter, who was house leader for almost two years before losing the job in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this year, will lead the government’s agenda in the House of Representatives for a fortnight.

That agenda will include passing a bill to make possible the commonwealth’s massively upgraded business support package, which includes weekly payments of up to $100,000 to assist small and ­medium-sized employers affected by restrictions in Greater Sydney to meet payroll expenses.

The bill will be introduced on Tuesday.

The NSW government will administer the JobSaver scheme, and the legislation is required to re­imburse the state based on an agreement to equally share the costs. The law will allow the Australian Taxation Office to share information with state authorities for administrative purposes.

It will also insert a new power in income tax laws to allow business support payments to be tax-free, as business support grants are gen­erally tax-deductible.

Similarly, the amendments will give tax-free status to the Covid disaster income support payments for individuals who have lost hours as a result of health measures. This weekly payment has been extended to Queensland employees as residents in the southeast of the state, including Brisbane, brace for an eight-day lockdown.

In a statement on Monday, Mr Dutton, who contracted Covid-19 last year after flying to the US, confirmed Mr Porter would step in.

“My sons attend a school subject to the current Queensland Health directive, and as a household member I am subject to the 14-day direction. I will quarantine at home with my family,” he said.

“Having had Covid and being fully vaccinated, I have also tested negative this morning.”