Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm so proud of how the Perth community and the Perth electorate have responded during this pandemic crisis. Our community has, I believe, the highest number per capita of rainbows and teddy bears in windows of any electorate in the country. The Forsyth Gardens retirement village residents gained social media fame with their socially distant street party. We've seen many small businesses innovate. Childcare centres have been struggling through change after change after change. Whipper Snapper Distillery made 13,000 litres of sanitiser out of 130,000 litres of wine. Some would say that's a waste; I think it's a great achievement. Beaufort Street Books had international authors join them on Zoom. Future Bayswater have the farmers market. The Pan Pacific hotel are providing homes for people who are homeless. Finlay & Sons and many other great cafes have continued to serve their community.

Our local councils have done a fabulous job. The City of Perth has $10-a-day parking for workers. The City of Vincent has arts grants for people who have been forgotten during this crisis. The City of Bayswater has a $5 million local stimulus package. The City of Stirling has a hotline for vulnerable people. The Town of Bassendean is revitalising its town centre. We've seen the Batman and Robin of Western Australia, Mark McGowan and Roger Cook, providing leadership for all Western Australians.

As I said in this parliament in March, we need and want the Prime Minister and the government to do well. Equally, I'm proud of how the opposition leader and our side have conducted themselves during this time. But doing well means doing something about jobseeker; doing well means doing something about JobKeeper. That will provide certainty for small businesses, vulnerable communities and our education sector.

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