Coronavirus

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:12): My question is to the Treasurer. What role, if any, is the Board of Treasurers undertaking in relation to cooperating on measures to combat the impacts of the coronavirus?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:13): As the Premier has indicated, the national cabinet has taken the preeminent role in terms of trying to coordinate state-based responses to the coronavirus pandemic. The Board of Treasurers, which has been operating for a year or two now—originally chaired by New South Wales Treasurer Mr Perrottet, chaired by me last year and now very capably chaired by comrade Tim Pallas from Victoria—is working assiduously together in terms of trying to see a coordinated and cooperative response between Liberal and Labor state and territory governments.

There has been an extraordinary level of cooperation. We have essentially teleconferenced almost twice a week in recent weeks. We just completed a teleconference with federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at lunchtime today in terms of looking at coordinated responses right across the board. The states and territories are all looking at recovery and stimulus packages. They all come under different names.

Nevertheless, they try to address the key issues, firstly in trying to support our hardworking health colleagues in terms of providing support and, more importantly, funding for the important work that they are undertaking on our collective behalf, but secondly in terms of working together with all other ministers right across the board in terms of the economic recovery and trying to protect as many jobs as we can and to protect those who unfortunately may well have lost jobs.

The state government has announced its first stimulus package and, in the not too distant future, it will announce a second stimulus package. In all of that we have consulted with the Board of Treasurers in terms of trying to get the greatest degree of consistency. To be fair, both Liberal and Labor treasurers have been quite frank in sharing not only what they have done but what they are contemplating doing, and that has certainly assisted me, on behalf of the South Australian government, in contemplating what we might need to do in South Australia so that we are not significantly out of step in relation to what is being done in other states and territories.

Nevertheless, we are all different. We have a different capacity to respond but there are also differing needs in some of the states and territories, which has been acknowledged in slightly different responses to the industry and sector pressures we are each adopting. The most recent area where a lot of work is being done is in relation to the complicated area of both commercial and retail tenancies as well as residential tenancies. A lot of work is being led by a number of jurisdictions.

There is no conclusion to those views as yet, but the governments—both Labor and Liberal—have acknowledged that this is a big issue, given that the pandemic is going to be with us for a little time. There are businesses going out of business, and the issue of their retail tenancies and what governments might and might not do in terms of response will be a key issue not only for the tenants but also for the landlords in those circumstances.