Government Rents

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:18): Thank you for the response, Treasurer. Will you issue directives to freeze these increases until the economic circumstances improve?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:18): No, I won't be issuing edicts. I am prepared to consider sensibly any reasonable request. As I said, the government, as the honourable member was kind enough to acknowledge, has been very generous with taxpayers' money in the first six months, but there will be some tenants who, as a result of the easing of restrictions, are going gangbusters or are unimpacted in terms of their retail operations.

So I am not going to be issuing, or the government won't be issuing, system wide edicts in relation to what might be a resumption of normal activities. If a particular business is still doing as well or even better than pre-COVID, then there is no earthly reason why whatever the usual arrangements are shouldn't be resumed.

If, in the circumstances the honourable member has outlined, someone is still massively impacted—they are still perhaps on JobKeeper or extended JobKeeper because their business is impacted—then the government has demonstrated in the past a willingness to consider their circumstances generously, and we are at least prepared to consider, without knowing the circumstances, the case the honourable member has outlined.