![\"Australia\"](\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Australia.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Alan](\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Alan-Tudge-Headshot-300x200.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Subjects: Coronavirus, COVIDSafe App, racism, support for small business, China, temporary<\/span> Secondly, can I just point out that the coronavirus app is available, as you would be aware, <\/span>and there’s almost 2.5 million people in Australia who have downloaded this app. Now, this<\/span> If you need support, please call the Australian Human Rights Commission. Please call the <\/span>police. Or if you need counselling support, there are those avenues available as well. We’ll <\/span>be placing some advertisements in some of the multicultural media in the weeks ahead, <\/span>pointing these facts out that racism is unacceptable and providing guidance as to who <\/span>people might be able to report to if they see it or are facing it themselves. treatments. We’re now obviously encouraging the schools to reopen, so the kids can go <\/span>back and there’ll be further developments in the weeks and months ahead. Happy to take <\/span>any questions that you may have.<\/span> there any timeframe you can set, especially for those overseas and ones who want to get <\/span>the visa extended, and want to know in which way the department can help.<\/span> leave the country. Now we have made it such that they can apply for that superannuation <\/span>while they’re in the country if they’re facing hardship. That was even in supermarkets by the way up until quite recently where we allowed <\/span>international students working in supermarkets to work 40 hours per week rather than 40<\/span><\/span> They can also contact some of our emergency relief providers as well but also note some of<\/span>
\nvisa holders<\/span>
\nALAN TUDGE: Well, good morning everybody and thanks for joining us once again at these<\/span>
\nweekly updates which I provide. I wanted to start just by again saying a very big thank you <\/span>to all Australians, including the multicultural communities here in Australia.
\n<\/span>
\nWe have a total number of cases of just over 6700 at the moment, and in the last 24 hours, <\/span>only 13 new infections were discovered. Now, that is a very low number and that continues <\/span>the trend which Australia is on in terms of having a very, very low infection rate. So it’s very<\/span>
\npleasing and everybody has made a contribution towards achieving that end result.
\n<\/span>
\nThere’s no other country in the world that is doing better than Australia at the moment in <\/span>relation to flattening the curve, keeping infection rates low, keeping the death rates very, <\/span>very low and dealing with this coronavirus crisis. So thank you once again for all of the <\/span>efforts which you have made, abiding by the social restrictions and continuing with the <\/span>directions which federal and state governments are providing.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ncoronavirus safe app helps you stay safe and it helps the community stay safe. I’m <\/span>encouraging everybody to please download this app, make it active, so that then if you are <\/span>in contact with somebody who has the virus, you will be able to be notified and take those <\/span>precautions as a result. That might mean getting the test yourself, getting treatment should <\/span>you need to do so, but also then isolating yourself from others so that you may not be at risk<\/span>
\nfor other people, infecting them as well.
\n<\/span>
\nPlease take the time to download this app. You can download it on your Apple or on any <\/span>other Android device as well. It is a very straightforward thing to do. It’s obviously free. <\/span>There’s only a few pieces of information which are required to enter in to the app to make itactive: your name, your age range, your postcode and your telephone number. Four pieces <\/span>of information only.
\n<\/span>
\nAll of the information on there is yours. It doesn’t go anywhere unless it is triggered by <\/span>somebody who has the infection and that you have been close by to them – in which case <\/span>then you would get an alert from the relevant state official. That of course then enables you <\/span>to be safe and enables you to avoid having the risk of infecting other people.
\n<\/span>
\nIt’s a very important app and we want as many Australians to download this as possible. So<\/span>
\ncan I ask the multicultural media who are here today to please encourage people to <\/span>download that app. I’ll point out that there are now – the fact sheets in relation to this app is <\/span>now translate into 63 languages and they’ll be distributed through our normal networks to <\/span>the 2000 or so organisations that we have regular contact with. Those fact sheets are <\/span>available here today as well. Now that outlines all the privacy mechanisms. It outlines how <\/span>this app works and other details which you may be interested in. We won’t be translating <\/span>the app into other languages because it is so straightforward, but if you are having difficulty <\/span>in understanding the app, just ask somebody else who can help you set it up. You may want <\/span>to have a look at the fact sheet in your native language so that you can feel comfortable that <\/span>all the privacy concerns are addressed, which I’m sure you will once you read those fact <\/span>sheets.
\n<\/span>
\nThe next point I want to make today is my concern and the Government’s concerns in <\/span>relation to an apparent rise in racist attacks against people of Asian origins. I just want to reemphasise <\/span>that this is completely unacceptable conduct. It has no place in Australia.
\n<\/span>
\nWe have one of the greatest multicultural countries in the world, where we welcome <\/span>people from across the planet to our shores, and in doing so, we’ve all been enriched. And <\/span>we encourage tolerance. We encourage integration and we’ve done this so well. Any <\/span>incidences of racism are absolutely firmly rejected by myself, by the Prime Minister and the <\/span>Australian Government. I just want to re-emphasise that point because there have been too <\/span>many individual instances that I have heard of that have been played out in the public <\/span>sphere, and it is not acceptable.
\n<\/span>
\nThe Australian Government is on the side of the broader Australian community, including <\/span>the multicultural communities. You shouldn’t have to put up with it. And we’ve got <\/span>protections in place to ensure that you don’t. I encourage people that if you are facing <\/span>racism, then report it to the Human Rights Commission. If you have faced violence or <\/span>assaults which is based on racism, then report it to the police – don’t hesitate to do so – and <\/span>they will be followed up. For other people who might witness racist attacks, I encourage you <\/span>to call it out because I can assure you that 99.9 per cent of Australians abhor racism of any <\/span>description. I just want to really re-emphasise those points.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>
\nFinally, can I just make a comment in relation to small business today. This is not new <\/span>information but I just wanted to emphasise this to the multicultural community, because <\/span>new Australians are well and truly overrepresented in terms of small business creation and <\/span>in the running of small businesses.
\n<\/span>
\nWe know that many small businesses are doing it really tough at the moment right across <\/span>Australia. I just wanted to emphasise to multicultural community who are running small <\/span>businesses that there is a lot of support which is available to those small businesses.
\n<\/span>
\nObviously, the JobKeeper payment is the most important one and that is, if you have had <\/span>revenues decline by 30 per cent or more, a month versus the previous year’s similar month, <\/span>then you’ll be eligible for $1500 per fortnight for each of your employers. So it’s a very <\/span>significant contribution to help your business along. There’s also up to $100,000 in <\/span>payments which businesses can apply for to boost their cash flow and that is worthwhile <\/span>examining as well. That’s available to businesses up to $50 million dollars in turnover.
\n<\/span>
\nThere’s a further $20 billion guarantee that we’ve put in place which provides more ready <\/span>access to loans. And so again, that is something that small businesses should look into <\/span>should they need that financial assistance. As well as we have increased the instant asset <\/span>write off. So if you’re in the position to invest at the moment, then you can write off an <\/span>asset immediately in this financial year of value up to $150,000. Now that just will help <\/span>obviously with your cash flow come tax time as well.
\n<\/span>
\nOf course we’ve introduced just as well to mandatory code of conduct on commercial <\/span>tenancies. So for those businesses, often your rents may be one of the significant costs <\/span>which you have, we now have a mandatory code of conduct to assist with you at your <\/span>negotiations with the landlord, which may help facilitate that reduction in those rental <\/span>costs.
\n<\/span>
\nSo there’s a number of items there which I encourage those small business owners to look <\/span>in to. Go to the Australia.gov.au website and that will have the full details in relation to that. <\/span>And again, we’ll have fact sheets in multiple languages as well.<\/span>
\nLet me finish where I started in again thanking the broader multicultural communities for <\/span>everything they have done today in terms of contributing to our success to date in flattening<\/span>
\nthe curve and getting control of the coronavirus. We’re not out of the woods yet, but we are <\/span>obviously looking now at the road out to get back to as normal as possible in the future.<\/span>
\nWe’ve started that journey by reopening elective surgeries, reopening things like IVF<\/span><\/p>\n
\nQUESTION: [Indistinct] speaking on behalf of the Chinese community. Last week long, I <\/span>received three reports of racial attack, and obviously, the victims are not happy with the <\/span>way the police are dealing with them. So their garage and door and house got racial words <\/span>like \u201cChinese go home\u201d like this, and then report it to the police, and police refuse to show <\/span>up, and they just tell the victims too paint those words on their own. So what can you <\/span>comment on the situation?
\n<\/span>
\nALAN TUDGE: I’m very aware of that particular case you’re referring to. It happens to be my<\/span>
\nelectorate as well. I’ve spoken to the family there too and provided my great sympathy to <\/span>them – my 100 per cent support for them – and reassuring them that the individuals who did<\/span>
\nthat are cowards and are not representative of the broader Australian population. I can’t be <\/span>more blunt than that. They did call the police, I know the police have looked into the matter,<\/span>
\nand I’ve encouraged them also to contact the Human Rights Commission as well in relation<\/span>
\nto it. But to date, the police have not been able to identify the individual who did that <\/span>damage and made those disgraceful attacks on their home, not only in terms of the racist <\/span>language but also in terms of throwing rocks through their windows and causing general <\/span>harassment.
\n<\/span>
\nIt’s unacceptable, and I’ve made that comment very public as well as have other community <\/span>leaders, and I think 99.99 per cent of Australians would be equally disgusted by that <\/span>individual coward who did that act.
\n<\/span>
\nQUESTION: Minister Tudge, the Australian Government’s push for an independent review<\/span>
\non COVID-19 has led to China threatening to boycott Australian goods and services. Your<\/span>
\nviews on this one?
\n<\/span>
\nALAN TUDGE: Our desire is for there to be a full investigation into where the coronavirus <\/span>crisis came from, and what were the conditions which set it about. And I think it’s a <\/span>reasonable request to have, in part so that we can learn the lessons of what occurred and <\/span>ensure that it doesn’t happen again in the future. Because this has had global ramifications<\/span>
\nas you know. Many thousands of deaths and massive economic impact across the world. So<\/span>
\nwe need to know what happened so that we can learn those lessons. And we certainly <\/span>reject any suggestion that economic coercion is an appropriate response to our reasonable <\/span>suggestion that there be a proper independent investigation into what happened so that we<\/span>
\ncan learn the lessons.
\n<\/span>
\nQUESTION:<\/strong> Just one question about the temporary visa holders, they are contacting the <\/span>department but the responses have been very slow or not get any response at all. So is<\/span><\/p>\n
\nALAN TUDGE:<\/strong> Yes, certainly if you are overseas at the moment and you’re not an Australian <\/span>citizen or a permanent resident, then you can’t come into the country because our borders <\/span>are closed. There are exceptional circumstances for compassionate reasons, in terms of <\/span>diplomats and others who may be able to get an exemption granted by the Australian <\/span>Border Force commissioner, who we have delegated to have that power. However, the<\/span>
\nborders are closed.
\n<\/span>
\nNow, we also have difficulty in terms of processing visas offshore at the moment too <\/span>because many of the core services which you need to go to fulfil your visa application are <\/span>closed down. For example, the health services to check your medicals, the English language <\/span>testing regimes, for example, are often closed down. So that is an impediment obviously to <\/span>us being able to finalise visas as well.
\n<\/span>
\nAt some stage in the future, and it’s too early to say when, we will want to reopen our <\/span>borders of course, because we’re a country built on migration and we\u2019ll continue to be a <\/span>country built on migration. Immigrants have literally built our country and they\u2019re so <\/span>important to our society and our economy. But it’s too early to say just yet when we might <\/span>be able to open those borders.
\n<\/span>
\nQUESTION: Okay<\/strong>, regarding visa holders as well here, a lot of complaints that our readers<\/span>
\n[indistinct] have told us is that they have come here for a better life to contribute to this <\/span>country and then pay taxes, insurance, school fees, and yet apart from Tasmania offering <\/span>[indistinct], they don’t get anything. Is there a chance that something might be set up for<\/span>
\nthese people who are in dire straits without a job at the moment?
\n<\/span>
\nALAN TUDGE:<\/strong> It depends on which category you’re referring to. We have put some <\/span>additional funds into the emergency relief fund, which anybody who’s a resident in Australia<\/span>
\nis able to access through the normal emergency relief providers.
\n<\/span>
\nOur broad message has been that we know that some people are in difficulty. We know <\/span>that, we acknowledge that, and we have empathy for their situation, which has not been <\/span>caused by them. Having said that, whenever a person comes into Australia on a temporary <\/span>visa, there’s always been the expectation that they’re able to look after themselves while <\/span>they’re temporarily in Australia. And that we have always reserved the welfare and the job <\/span>assistance to citizens and permanent residents. We have made it easier for people to be <\/span>able to look after themselves by giving them access to their own superannuation while <\/span>they’re in Australia.
\n<\/span><\/span>
\nNow, as you probably know typically when a temporary resident who has been working in <\/span>Australia leaves the country, they are able to apply for that superannuation as soon as they<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span>
\nNow, if you’ve been working for a year or two you, may well have $10,000-$20,000 in that <\/span>superannuation account which you can access to help with the living costs. We’ve also <\/span>provided flexibility in relation to visas as well and particularly for those who have been on <\/span>skilled visas who may have had their hours reduced or may have been stood down.
\n<\/span><\/span>
\nOrdinarily, that would lead to them being in breach of their visa condition. We’ve allowed <\/span>greater flexibility there such that their visa will still be valid. There won’t be any issue there<\/span><\/span>
\nwhile they may have reduced hours.
\n<\/span>
\nOf course, we’ve increased the ability for some visa holders to work more hours, particularly<\/span>
\ninternational students in certain industries, particularly the working holidaymakers in <\/span>certain industries as well. Those industries where we know that we do need those skills and<\/span><\/span>
\nin fact, there’s greater demand for those skills.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nhours per fortnight, just to help deal with the enormous demand, as everybody knows, <\/span>which were placed on those supermarkets when there was the rush going on over the last <\/span>couple months.
\n<\/span><\/span>
\nQUESTION: As we know like when the Australian immigration system we have a hundred or <\/span>so subclasses, especially those who are overseas on the temporary visa and department is <\/span>willing to help, is there any way you can refine the subclasses, those who are overseas, they <\/span>may get a chance to extend the visa while they are overseas? Is there any anyway that you<\/span><\/span>
\ncan fine tune the subclasses to put in on the public domain and people can have easy <\/span>access?
\n<\/span><\/span>
\nAnd similar to this concern, the COVID-19 form on the Department of Foreign Affairs <\/span>website is only – looks like it’s only helping the people who are Australian citizens or their <\/span>immediate family members. The temporary visa holders, they’re agreed to contact the <\/span>department, they’re still like contacting their NGO, they’re contacting their MARA agents. So<\/span><\/span>
\nis there any specific point of contact that you can establish for temporary visa holders?
\n<\/span>
\nALAN TUDGE: It depends what they want to contact the Government in relation to it. So if<\/span>
\nit’s in relation to their visa, then they should be contacting the Immigration Department, my<\/span>
\ndepartment, in relation to that. And if they’re concerned about their visa conditions, they<\/span>
\nshould do so as a matter of urgency.
\n<\/span>
\nIf it’s in relation to other matters – if they’re an international student, for example, they may<\/span>
\nwant to contact the university or their tertiary institution because many of those institutions<\/span>
\nare providing hardship payments for their students. In fact, there’s been about $110 million<\/span>
\nset aside for international students to be able to access from those tertiary institutions.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthe consulates are providing assistance to those individuals as well. That’s obviously a <\/span>course of action that people can take. Those consulate offices are here in Australia to <\/span>support their citizens. So I know that in many instances those consulate offices have been of <\/span>assistance.
\n<\/span>
\nFurthermore, there’s been great community support for individuals who have found <\/span>themselves into difficulty and, in some respects, that’s the great Australian way that we all<\/span>
\nchip in and help one another when that occurs and I know there’s been instances where <\/span>that’s happened also.
\n<\/span>
\nJust briefly in relation to those who are overseas and the extension of their visas there – it’s<\/span>
\nhard without knowing the individual visa class they’re on. Some visa classes don’t allow <\/span>lawfully an extension while others do. So depending on what their visa class is, if they’re <\/span>concerned that it’s going to expire, then if their visa class does allow an extension, they <\/span>should be looking to do that again as soon as possible or when their visa is due to expire.
\n<\/span>
\nQUESTION: [Indistinct] small business. There are some parents who are here from India and <\/span>also some Buddhist visitors from India. So because of the no flights, now India is in a <\/span>