FOURTH ROUNDTABLE MEETING – GUEST SPEAKERS THE HON MICHAEL MCCORMACK DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER & GRANT CAIRNS, EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER, COMMONWEALTH BANK - MAY 2020
On 29th May Committee for Wagga held our fourth Members Roundtable of 2020 with guest speakers The Hon Michael McCormack MP, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Member for Riverina & Leader of the National Party and Grant Cairns, Executive General Manager - Regional & Agribusiness Banking, Commonwealth Bank.
The focus of the Roundtable was ‘The role of Federal Government & the Business Community in COVID-19 Recovery & making Wagga Wagga the ‘City of Choice’ to accelerate growth towards 100,000 residents’.
The accelerated economic and population growth for the City is very much a focus for Committee for Wagga – as it is for the State Government and the Wagga Wagga City Council. Our community and region have faced the recent challenges of an extended drought, catastrophic fires and now the health and economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 is arguably the biggest single ‘disruptor’ to life as we know it that anyone has, and hopefully will, experience.
The Hon Michael McCormack, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Member for Riverina & Leader of the National Party
The Hon Michael McCormack updated members on the Federal Government’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, touching a little on bushfire recovery. Grant Cairns focused on regional recovery from these events. Question and answers from various industries were discussed with recovery efforts being the major discussion points.
Key points raised during the discussion:
Australia is the envy of many other countries due to our low COVID-19 infection and mortality rates; these have been the result of the community taking responsibility for social distancing and adhering to Government advice and guidelines. The health benefits of these policies have come at an economic cost, affecting businesses and millions of workers. In response the Commonwealth Government has introduced its economic support package currently totalling $259 billion, including JobKeeper and JobSeeker, to help soften the impact on the economy.
The JobKeeper support program is designed to have businesses up and running in October and will conclude on 30 September 2020.
This pandemic will change the economy and the nation. In some instances, this change will be positive, for example in the manufacturing industry as we investigate manufacturing a greater number of goods in Australia, whilst in other areas or industries the impact will be more significant, and some will struggle.
Inland Rail plans and the Riverina Intermodal and Freight Logistics (RiFL) Hub at Bomen have not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal, State and Local government are working together to boost and promote the importance of transporting goods from regional NSW and Australia to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne within twenty-four hours.
Housing and construction are a vital part of our economy. We need to inspire residential construction to encourage new dwellings. The Federal Government continues to work on this area and participants were encouraged to watch this space.
We should be proud of our economic past; we have one of the strongest agricultural industries in the world and we continue to develop and enhance it. Other areas of strength include the resources sector, the aged care sector and defence to name a few - as a country we are looking to expand and diversify our trade. We need to foster entrepreneurship and innovation now, during this pandemic, and into the future.
Paul Gianniotis of ProWay Livestock Equipment asked if the Federal Government would consider expanding the NSW Government’s Rural Assistance Authority Farm Innovation Fund nationally given its success in NSW. Michael McCormack stated all Federal programs consider the situation at a national level when they are established by the Commonwealth. Each and every year, across Australia, there is a community in drought. Nationally our farmers have received Federal Government assistance through various measures including the Farm Household Assistance via the Regional Investment Corporation and the Future Drought Fund which provides secure, continuous funding for drought resilience initiatives of up to $100 million per year.
Regional Australia is well placed to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Opportunities exist for regional tourism to grow and expand as we move out of the current isolation. International Aviation will continue to operate in a restricted environment which will create opportunities for regional tourism and domestic flights. The emphasis on holidaying at home, with people choosing to tour regional areas, will be advantageous for Wagga Wagga and the Riverina.
Grant Cairns, Executive General Manager - Regional & Agribusiness Banking, Commonwealth Bank
A third of Commonwealth Bank customers live in regional Australia and the bank has a long association with Wagga Wagga. One of the key lead indicators of the development of a region is business lending, in the past year both lending and deposits have increased 7% in the Riverina region. Our focus within regional Australia is the agriculture sector, we recognise that a strong agriculture sector leads to regional development.
Commonwealth Bank recognised early on that cash flow preservation would be a key element to business continuation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank provided cashflow support via two methods: it deferred loans for a minimum of 3 months, this program will be extended for another 3 months, resulting in $500 million remaining in Australian businesses, that would have been used as loan repayments, and the Commonwealth Bank made emergency overdraft facilities available to eligible customers to cover the period prior to the receipt of JobKeeper funds from the Federal Government.
Commonwealth Bank has supported customers in accessing the Coronavirus Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) Guarantee Scheme, a $40 billion Federal Government initiative to guarantee up to 50% of new loans issued by eligible lenders to SMEs. The demand for these loans has been unprecedented, Commonwealth Bank has approved loans to 6,000 businesses, totalling almost $700 million, representing almost 60% of the loans approved under this scheme to date.
The Commonwealth Bank realises business will require support in the future. We are having conversations with our customers, enquiring how they are tracking, what the help and support is required now and moving forward, what their businesses will look like ‘on the other side’, and what their business requires to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both presenters were asked how, as a city, we can place Wagga Wagga at the forefront of the hearts and minds of people locally and nationally to grow Wagga Wagga to a to a sustainable, liveable regional city with a population of 100,000. Michael McCormack responded: ‘If it happens anywhere in Australia it’s happening in Wagga Wagga’. We have a diversified economy, three arms of defence, we grow everything, and we are a modern outward looking city. Local Government, Committee for Wagga and our business community are focused on being the best versions of themselves and promoting a positive progressive image. We need to project an outward, progressive, and positive image of Wagga - our city, our products and our regional economy. ‘There is no better place in all of Australia to live.’
Committee for Wagga thanks our guests, The Hon Michael McCormack MP and Grant Cairns, on behalf of the Committee for Wagga Board & Executive, members and invited guests for their time and insights provided during our Roundtable. We look forward to inviting members to our future Roundtables which will focus on discussions with industry representatives.
A full audio report of the webinar can be found at the following link:
